What Is an MMP? (Mobile Measurement Partner)

Why do you need an MMP?

Every ad platform reports its own contribution and naturally counts in its own favor. Meta may claim an install while Google and TikTok claim credit for the very same one. Add up the dashboard reports and you’ll see far more installs than actually happened.

An MMP solves this by acting as a single referee where every channel competes under the same rules. It also ties post-install behavior — sign-ups, purchases, retention — back to each channel, so you can compare user quality, not just install counts.

How does an MMP work?

1. SDK integration: The MMP’s SDK is added to the app and records events such as installs, sessions and purchases.
2. Click tracking: When a user clicks an ad, the channel sends a click signal to the MMP.
3. Attribution matching: When the install happens, the MMP picks the winner among the clicks within the attribution window based on its rules (usually last click).
4. Postback: The result is reported back to the ad platform so its algorithm can optimize.
5. Reporting: All channels are compared by cohort in a single dashboard.

iOS and the impact of SKAdNetwork

With Apple’s ATT framework, user-level attribution on iOS became heavily restricted. For users who don’t opt in, MMPs now rely on Apple’s SKAdNetwork framework: data arrives aggregated, delayed and anonymized.

That doesn’t make an MMP unnecessary — it makes it even more critical. Modern MMPs combine SKAN postbacks, deterministic data from opted-in users and modeled estimates into a single, consistent view. Building that yourself is very costly in practice.

What to look for when choosing an MMP

• Channel integrations: Whether every network you use is supported.
• Pricing model: Usually charged per attributed install; as volume grows, it can become a significant cost line.
• SKAN and modeling capabilities: How mature its iOS solution is.
• Raw data access: Whether you can export data to your own data warehouse.
• Fraud protection: Its ability to detect bots and click fraud.
• Deep link support: Infrastructure for routing users from a campaign to a specific in-app page.

Common setup mistakes

1. Not planning your event architecture up front. Events that are added and renamed later make historical data impossible to compare. Put your naming convention in writing from day one.
2. Not sending revenue values. When purchase events are sent without a value parameter, ROAS can’t be calculated and value-based optimization doesn’t work.
3. Leaving attribution windows inconsistent across channels. Windows need to be standardized for a fair comparison.
4. Not setting up a SKAN conversion value schema. On iOS, this schema is your only source of signal; leaving it empty means flying blind on your iOS campaigns.

Frequently asked questions