Downloads
Downloads are the result Apple Ads reports for your spend. The number depends on which kind you count: after a tap or after a view, first-time or returning users.
Updated
Apple Ads attributes a download to an ad in two ways. A tap-through download follows a tap on the ad. A view-through download comes from a user who saw the ad but did not tap it. Each can be a new download, from someone who never had the app, or a redownload, from someone who had it before. Adapty Ads Manager reports all of these separately, and CPA, download rate and DPM are calculated from them.
The download metrics and what they count
The table below uses the definitions from the Adapty Ads Manager metrics documentation.
| Metric | What it counts | Window |
|---|---|---|
| Downloads (Total) | All tap-through and view-through new downloads and redownloads from an ad in the reporting period | 30 days after a tap, 24 hours after a view |
| Downloads (Tap-Through) | New downloads and redownloads from users who tapped your ad | 30 days |
| Downloads (View-Through) | Downloads and redownloads from users who viewed your ad but did not tap it | 24 hours |
| New Downloads (Tap-Through) | Downloads from users who tapped your ad and had not previously downloaded your app | 30 days |
| New Downloads (View-Through) | Downloads from users who viewed but did not tap your ad and had not previously downloaded your app | 24 hours |
| Redownloads (Tap-Through) | Users who downloaded your app, deleted it and downloaded it again, on the same or another device, after tapping an ad | 30 days |
| Redownloads (View-Through) | Users who downloaded, deleted and downloaded the app again after viewing an ad without tapping | 24 hours |
New Downloads (Total) and Redownloads (Total) add the tap-through and view-through parts of each group together.
Tap-through vs view-through
Tap-through downloads are the direct result of the traffic you paid for: someone tapped, and within 30 days downloaded the app. View-through downloads are an assist: the user saw the ad, did not tap, and downloaded within 24 hours, perhaps from organic search results. They show that the ad played a part, but the case for causation is weaker.
This is why Ads Manager shows CPA and download rate in both Total and Tap-Through versions. Total gives the ad full credit for everything it touched; Tap-Through keeps to the downloads the tap itself produced.
New downloads vs redownloads
For a subscription app, the split matters. New downloads are fresh users. Redownloads are people who had the app before: some are lapsed users worth winning back, others already hold an active or expired subscription. A campaign with a high share of redownloads can look cheap per download while adding few new trials. On brand keywords in particular, check how many downloads are returning users before counting them as growth.
Downloads are not installs or subscribers
- A download is Apple’s attribution event. An install, as Adapty counts it, is a completed first install or reinstall recorded by the app itself, which is why Ads Manager also reports installs and CPI separately.
- Recent download counts are incomplete, because tap-through downloads can still arrive for up to 30 days after a tap.
- Neither downloads nor installs are revenue. Trials, subscriptions and revenue per keyword show whether the downloads were worth paying for.