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Data discrepancies may occur between Meta and Airbridge due to varying reasons. Read on to learn the primary causes of the discrepancy. For more details, you may also refer to this article from Meta.
AttentionMake sure the channel integration with Airbridge is completed before checking up on the causes of data discrepancy.

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Differences in the Attribution Model

The differences in the attribution rules of Meta and Airbridge may cause the data discrepancy. In particular, the definition and configuration of the attribution window differ, and Meta and Airbridge classify events differently.
Meta
Meta uses the following attribution settings and event classification:
  • Click-through: 1 day, 7 days
  • View-through: 1 day
  • Engaged-view: 1 day
  • Event classification: all events within the period set in the attribution settings, with no distinction between target events and subsequent events
For more details, refer to this article from Meta.
Airbridge
The winning touchpoint is determined from the touchpoints collected within the lookback window.
  • Lookback window: 7 days from the day a click occurred by default
  • Attribution window: 30 days by default
  • Event classification: a target event attributed to the winning touchpoint, and a subsequent event following the touchpoint that the target event was attributed to
The lookback window and the attribution window can be configured on the [Management]>[Attribution Rules] page. For more details, refer to this article.
Meta attributes conversions to Meta when there has been any interaction with an ad from Meta ads within the attribution window. Airbridge, however, collects touchpoints from various ad channels and attributes conversions to a winning touchpoint based on the attribution model used in Airbridge. Therefore, Airbridge may attribute some of the conversions claimed by Meta to have been driven by Meta ads to ads from other ad channels.For more details on this issue, refer to this article.
When you use AEM, your iOS campaign performance may look different than usual. Meta Ads measures performance using its own methodology to provide AEM attribution data, while Airbridge continues to use the same attribution model as before.Airbridge provides Meta Ads AEM attribution data collected on or after October 10, 2024. When you use AEM, you’ll collect both SKAN data and AEM data, so Meta Ads iOS campaigns may show higher reported performance.For more details about AEM, refer to the Airbridge guide or this article from Meta Business Help Center.

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Differences in Aggregating Data

Event duplication will occur if you don’t disable event logging in the Meta SDK. Duplicated events cause data discrepancies between Airbridge and Meta Ads. Make sure to disable event logging in the Meta SDK.To check the source of the events aggregated by Meta Ads, follow the steps below:
  1. In Meta Ads Manager, go to [Events Manager]>[Data Sets] and select the app whose events you want to check.
  2. Check the [Integration] value of the event. If the value is Multiple, click Export Data to download the event data.
  3. In the downloaded file, check facebook_sdk_received_count and mmp_received_count. The facebook_sdk_received_count column counts the events the Meta SDK collected, and the mmp_received_count column counts the events Airbridge sent to Meta Ads. If facebook_sdk_received_count is not 0, the Meta SDK is also collecting that event.
NoteIf both Airbridge and another mobile measurement partner (MMP) send events to Meta Ads, the mmp_received_count column doesn’t distinguish the events Airbridge sent from those sent by the other MMP.
If events are duplicated, disable event logging in the Meta SDK. For the steps, refer to this section of the article.
Meta aggregates event data using web pixels, mobile SDKs, conversion API, or conversion modeling, and performs attribution. Airbridge mainly uses ADIDs and Airbridge Device IDs to recreate the user journey by connecting the event data with the winning touchpoints. For more details on the identifiers Airbridge is using, refer to this article.
The Meta Ads Manager reports ad performance based on the date of the ad impression or click. By default, Airbridge reports ad performance based on the event timestamp. This discrepancy in the reporting of aggregate data may cause data discrepancies.In the Actuals Report, you can use the Date Option feature to freely configure how you want to view the ad performance results. When selecting the is based on Touchpoint Date option, ad performance results will be reported by the date of the touchpoint and mitigate the data discrepancies. Refer to the following article to learn more.
When it comes to receiving conversion event data, Meta uses postback which causes a delay of several hours before the data is displayed in the Meta Ads Manager. On the other hand, Airbridge generally displays conversion events in real-time on the dashboard.
When the time zones for Meta and Airbridge are set differently, the data will be displayed differently, causing discrepancies. Refer to the following article to understand the app time zone used in Airbridge.

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Differences in Data Display

The SKAN data in Airbridge and Meta Ads may differ due to the following reasons:
  • Event mapping between Airbridge and Meta Ads
  • The way SKAN data is displayed
For more details, refer to this article.

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Fraud Validation Rules

Airbridge identifies ad fraud based on the fraud validation rules you configure in your Airbridge dashboard. The fraudulent conversions and touchpoints are processed according to the prevention level you set - they can be marked as fraud but still attributed or not attributed at all. Refer to this article to learn more about the prevention levels. Meta, on the other hand, is known not to have a fraud validation rule, which may cause a discrepancy in data.