Attribution

Attribution in Layers means: a conversion happened in your app — which ad caused it? Layers' answer combines three signals:

1. SDK events from the Layers SDK (server-side, via in.layers.com).
2. CAPI / Events API forwarding to Meta and TikTok with event_id for deduplication against the platform's pixel/SDK.
3. SKAdNetwork (iOS) and Apple Search Ads attribution token.

Server-side first

The Layers SDK does not ship a Meta Pixel or TikTok Pixel SDK. Instead, events go to the SDK ingest endpoint and Layers forwards them server-side via:

• Meta Conversions API (CAPI) — SDK events are mapped to standard Meta events (purchase_success → Purchase, subscription_start → Subscribe, sign_up → CompleteRegistration, etc.). Unmapped events are dropped at the relay.
• TikTok Events API — SDK events are mapped to standard TikTok events (purchase_success → Purchase, content_open → ViewContent, etc.). Unmapped events are dropped at the relay.
• Apple Search Ads — the SDK reports the AAAttribution.attributionToken() on first launch; Layers requests attribution data from Apple Search Ads on your behalf.

The canonical mapping tables are documented in standard events. You can override individual events per app via sdk_apps.settings.eventMap.

This means you get iOS 14.5+ attribution without any pixel-blocking risk, and you do not have to manage CAPI / Events API tokens or pixel IDs in your app code.

Why event_id matters

If you also have a client-side Meta Pixel installed (e.g., on your marketing website), you'll get duplicate events at Meta unless they share an event_id. The Layers SDK generates a UUID v4 per event and forwards it. If your client Pixel sends the same event_id for the same event, Meta dedupes them.

Recommendation: emit event_id from your client Pixel that matches the SDK event_id. The simplest pattern is "fire both at the same time with the same ID."

Attribution windows

Attribution windows are set on the ad platform itself (Meta Ads Manager, TikTok Ads Manager, Apple Search Ads), not by Layers. Each platform's default window applies to how it reports conversions back through Insights / Reporting APIs.

Layers does not dedupe across platforms — a single conversion attributed by both Meta and Apple will show up in both platforms' reports. The cross-platform rollup in the dashboard displays per-platform attribution; the sdk_events table is the source of truth for actual conversions observed by the SDK.

SKAdNetwork (iOS)

Layers does not run a custom SKAdNetwork conductor. Meta's and TikTok's own SKAN integrations handle this through the SDK + CAPI flow. If you need a managed SKAN conductor (postback aggregation, conversion-value schema), keep using AppsFlyer / Adjust alongside.

Honest about gaps

• iOS install attribution for paid ads is fundamentally probabilistic post-iOS 14. Even with CAPI + SKAN, expect measurement loss vs the pre-ATT era.
• Cross-platform install attribution (e.g., Meta-aided install but TikTok saw the user too) is not reconciled. The platform that matched first wins.
• App Tracking Transparency dialogs are your responsibility — Layers' SDK does not prompt. If you've removed Meta's SDK in favor of Layers', schedule the ATT prompt yourself.

What gets attributed in the dashboard

The project dashboard shows:

• SDK conversions — the count from sdk_events (Layers' source of truth for events observed by the SDK).
• Meta / TikTok / Apple conversions — what each platform reports back via its Insights / Reporting / attribution endpoints after the platform has done its own attribution.

These should be close but rarely identical. The biggest divergences are:

• iOS users without ATT consent (Meta/TikTok rely on probabilistic matching).
• Users who clicked an ad but had ad-blockers active (CAPI catches these server-side; Pixel-only setups don't).