Lookback window

How it works

Each recorded click or view starts a timer. When a person opens the app for the first time, the MMP looks back from that moment over the length of the window and collects the touchpoints it finds. Under last-touch attribution, the most recent one inside the window wins.

Take a hypothetical window of seven days. A person clicks an ad on the 1st and installs on the 5th: the ad is credited. Another person clicks on the 1st and installs on the 12th: the click has expired and the install becomes an organic install.

Windows are usually set separately for clicks and for views, with views given less time because seeing an ad is weaker evidence than tapping it. Many MMPs also let you set a different window per channel. Airbridge, for example, lets you configure the window per channel and match type, down to days, hours or minutes.^[1]

When it matters

The window matters most in two situations. The first is when your MMP and an ad platform report different install totals: if their windows differ, their counts will too. This is one of the common first-campaign attribution mistakes. The second is when people take a long time to decide. An app that needs thought before download loses credit to organic under a short window, while an impulse download is barely affected.

How it relates to attribution

The window is one of the rules that turn raw clicks into credited installs. A longer window raises paid installs and lowers organic. A shorter one does the reverse. Record the value you use for each channel, because a report cannot be compared with another report unless both used the same window. A separate window applies to returning users, covered in re-engagement attribution.