{"id":210,"count":0,"description":"","link":"https:\/\/tenjin.com\/ja\/glossary\/reported-installs\/","name":"Reported installs","slug":"reported-installs","taxonomy":"glossaries","parent":0,"meta":{"status":["1","1"],"order":["0","0"],"glossary_term_description":["
\r\n\r\nDefinition:<\/b>\r\n\r\nReported installs are app installs reported by ad networks through their APIs. They represent the number of installs each ad network claims to have driven, based on that network's own concept of attribution. Reported installs differ from tracked installs, which are recorded independently by your mobile measurement partner (MMP) through its SDK.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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What are Reported Installs?<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nWhen you run a campaign on an ad network, that network keeps its own count of how many installs it believes it generated. It reports that number back to you through its API. This is your reported install count.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe important thing to understand is that each ad network calculates reported installs based on its own attribution logic. Different networks use different attribution windows, matching methods, and rules for claiming credit for an install. This means the reported install figure reflects each network's particular view of what it drove, rather than a single, consistent standard applied across all of your channels.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThat is not a flaw, but it is a reason to treat reported installs as one input rather than the whole picture. To get a complete and balanced view of your install performance, you need to compare reported installs against an independent measurement.\r\n\r\nWe find that this article<\/a> provides a comprehensive overview of how different ad networks calculate reported and tracked installs.\r\n<\/span>\r\n

Reported Installs vs Tracked Installs<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nThis is the core distinction to understand. Reported and tracked installs measure the same thing, installs, but from two different vantage points.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
<\/td>\r\nReported Installs<\/b><\/td>\r\nTracked Installs<\/b><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Source<\/b><\/td>\r\nAd network APIs<\/span><\/td>\r\nYour MMP's SDK<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Attribution logic<\/b><\/td>\r\nEach network's own<\/span><\/td>\r\nConsistent across channels<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Includes organic installs<\/b><\/td>\r\nNo<\/span><\/td>\r\nYes<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Independence<\/b><\/td>\r\nReported by the network<\/span><\/td>\r\nMeasured independently<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nReported installs<\/b> come from the ad networks themselves, each using its own attribution concept.<\/span>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<\/span>Tracked installs<\/b> are recorded by your MMP, such as Tenjin, through its SDK. Because the MMP applies a consistent methodology across every channel, tracked installs give you an independent and standardized count that does not depend on each network's reporting.<\/span>\r\n\r\nUsing both together is what gives you the full picture. Reported installs show you what each network is claiming. Tracked installs give you an independent benchmark to measure those claims against.<\/span>\r\n

Why Organic Installs Matter for the Comparison<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nOne key difference between the two metrics is how they handle organic installs.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOrganic installs, those that happen without being driven by a paid ad, appear under tracked installs but not under reported installs. This makes sense: an ad network only reports the installs it believes it drove through advertising, so organic installs fall outside its reporting entirely. Your MMP, however, tracks all installs, including organic ones.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis difference is important when you compare the two metrics directly. If you compare total tracked installs (which include organic) against total reported installs (which do not), the numbers will not line up, and the gap can be misleading.<\/span>\r\n\r\nTo make a fair, like-for-like comparison, you need to isolate paid installs on both sides. Tenjin allows you to deselect organic installs from your analysis, so you can compare reported and tracked installs on equal terms and draw accurate conclusions about how your paid channels are actually performing.<\/span>\r\n

Why Both Metrics Matter<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

Comparing Install Sources<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nHaving both reported and tracked installs in one place lets you compare how different sources are performing at the app, channel, and campaign level. Discrepancies between the two are often where the most useful insights live.<\/span>\r\n

Spotting Discrepancies<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nA significant gap between reported and tracked installs for a given network is a signal worth investigating. It could point to attribution differences, double-counting, tracking issues, or in some cases install fraud. Catching these early protects your budget.<\/span>\r\n

Accurate Cost Measurement<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nReported and tracked installs each feed their own cost metric. CPI (cost per install) is based on reported installs, while tCPI (cost per tracked install) is based on tracked installs. Seeing both lets you understand your true acquisition cost from two perspectives rather than relying on a single, network-supplied figure.<\/span>\r\n

Confident Decision-Making<\/strong><\/h4>\r\nWhen you can see what networks are claiming alongside an independent measurement, you can make UA decisions with far more confidence. You are not taking any single source at face value.<\/span>\r\n

Reported Installs in Tenjin<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nTenjin displays both reported and tracked installs in the dashboard, side by side. Alongside them, you can see both CPI and tCPI, giving you a complete view of your install volume and acquisition costs from both the network-reported and independently-tracked perspectives.<\/span>\r\n\r\nHaving both sets of metrics in one place is what makes meaningful comparison possible. You can evaluate install sources across apps, channels, and campaigns, deselect organic installs for a fair comparison, and quickly identify where reported and tracked figures diverge. No blind spots, no taking a single source's word for it, just a clear and complete picture of where your installs are coming from.<\/span>\r\n\r\n
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Related Terms<\/b><\/h2>\r\n