AppsFlyer Destination

AppsFlyer is a mobile attribution and marketing analytics platform. It offers intuitive dashboards, real-time data reports, and a unique deep linking technology to understand your customers better.

Find the open source code for this destination in the GitHub repository.

Connection compatibility

Destination info
Status: Generally Available Supported sources: Android, iOS , Web, Unity, AMP , Cloud, Warehouse, React Native , Flutter, Cordova, Shopify Refer to it as AF in the Integrations object.

Connection modes
Source	Cloud mode	Device mode	Hybrid mode
AMP
Android
Cloud
Cordova
Flutter
iOS
React Native
Shopify
Unity
Warehouse
Web

Supported message types
Source	Identify	Page	Track	Screen	Group	Alias
Cloud mode
Supported sources
Device mode
Android
Cordova
Flutter
iOS
React Native

RudderStack recommends sending events to AppsFlyer in cloud mode only in the following scenarios:

• To transform your events using a transformation.
• To send server-side events.

Get started

Once you have confirmed that the source platform supports sending events to AppsFlyer, follow these steps:

1. From your RudderStack dashboard, add a source. Then, from the list of destinations, select AppsFlyer.
2. Assign a name to the destination and click Continue.

Connection settings

To connect a source other than Android or Apple (iOS, watchOS, iPadOS, tvOS), you need to add a user transformation that adds the OS information required in the events.

See Connect AppsFlyer to non-Android/iOS sources for more information.

Add device mode integration

Starting from v2.3.0 of AppsFlyer Android and iOS device mode, RudderStack supports sending all the custom properties of track events, along with the standard properties.

Once you add AppsFlyer as a destination in the RudderStack dashboard, follow these steps to add it to your project depending on your integration platform:

pod 'Rudder-Appsflyer'

#import "RudderAppsflyerFactory.h"

#import <AppsFlyerLib/AppsFlyerLib.h>

[[AppsFlyerLib shared] setAppsFlyerDevKey:<devkey>];
[[AppsFlyerLib shared] setAppleAppID:<appleappid>];
[AppsFlyerLib shared].isDebug = YES;
[[AppsFlyerLib shared] start];

RSConfigBuilder *builder = [[RSConfigBuilder alloc] init];
[builder withDataPlaneUrl:DATA_PLANE_URL];
[builder withTrackLifecycleEvens:YES];
[builder withRecordScreenViews:YES];
[builder withFactory:[RudderAppsflyerFactory instance]];
[builder withLoglevel:RSLogLevelDebug];
[RSClient getInstance:WRITE_KEY config:[builder build]];

pod 'RudderAppsFlyer', '~> 1.0.0'

import RudderAppsFlyer

@import RudderAppsFlyer;

let config: RSConfig = RSConfig(writeKey: WRITE_KEY)
            .dataPlaneURL(DATA_PLANE_URL)

RSClient.sharedInstance().configure(with: config)
client?.addDestination(RudderAppsFlyerDestination())

RSConfig *config = [[RSConfig alloc] initWithWriteKey:WRITE_KEY];
[config dataPlaneURL:DATA_PLANE_URL];

[[RSClient sharedInstance] configureWith:config];
[[RSClient sharedInstance] addDestination:[[RudderAppsFlyerDestination alloc] init]];

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}

implementation 'com.rudderstack.android.sdk:core:1.+'
implementation 'com.rudderstack.android.integration:appsflyer:1.+'

implementation 'com.appsflyer:af-android-sdk:6.+'
implementation 'com.android.installreferrer:installreferrer:2.+'

import com.appsflyer.AppsFlyerLib;
import com.appsflyer.AFLogger;

AppsFlyerLib.getInstance().init(DEV_KEY, null, this);
AppsFlyerLib.getInstance().setLogLevel(AFLogger.LogLevel.DEBUG);
AppsFlyerLib.getInstance().start(this);

// initialize Rudder SDK
val rudderClient: RudderClient =
    RudderClient.getInstance(
        this,
        WRITE_KEY,
        RudderConfig.Builder()
            .withDataPlaneUrl(DATA_PLANE_URL)
            .withFactory(AppsFlyerIntegrationFactory.FACTORY)
            .build()
    )

npm install @rudderstack/rudder-integration-appsflyer-react-native

yarn add @rudderstack/rudder-integration-appsflyer-react-native

import rudderClient from "@rudderstack/rudder-sdk-react-native"
import appsflyer from "@rudderstack/rudder-integration-appsflyer-react-native"
const config = {
  dataPlaneUrl: DATA_PLANE_URL,
  trackAppLifecycleEvents: true,
  withFactories: [appsflyer],
}
rudderClient.setup(WRITE_KEY, config)

import rudderClient from "@rudderstack/rudder-sdk-react-native";
import appsflyer from '@rudderstack/rudder-integration-appsflyer-react-native';
import {
    setOptions
} from '@rudderstack/rudder-integration-appsflyer-react-native';

// Set options for initializing the appsflyer sdk
setOptions({
    // dev key from the appsflyer dashboard
    "devKey": "<dev_key>",
    // whether we want to run the appsflyer SDK in the debug mode
    "isDebug": true,
})

// Configuration object to be passed while initializing the React Native SDK
const config = {
    dataPlaneUrl: DATA_PLANE_URL,
    // Passing appsflyer factory here, since we want to run appsflyer as a device mode destination.
    withFactories: [appsflyer]
};

// Initialize the React Native SDK
await rudderClient.setup( WRITE_KEY , config);

cordova plugin add rudder-integration-appsflyer-cordova

cordova platform add ios
cordova platform add android

cordova build

RudderClient.initialize(WRITE_KEY , {
  dataPlaneUrl: DATA_PLANE_URL,
  factories: [RudderAppsflyerFactory]
})

dependencies:
  rudder_integration_appsflyer_flutter: ^1.1.0

flutter pub get

import 'package:rudder_sdk_flutter/RudderController.dart';
import 'package:rudder_sdk_flutter_platform_interface/platform.dart';
import 'package:rudder_integration_appsflyer_flutter/rudder_integration_appsflyer_flutter.dart';

RudderConfigBuilder builder = RudderConfigBuilder();
builder.withDataPlaneUrl(DATA_PLANE_URL);
builder.withFactory(RudderIntegrationAppsflyerFlutter());
final RudderController rudderClient = RudderController.instance;
rudderClient.initialize(WRITE_KEY,
  config: builder.build(), options: null);

dependencies {
  implementation 'com.appsflyer:af-android-sdk:6.+'
}

import com.appsflyer.AppsFlyerLib;
import com.appsflyer.AFLogger;

@Override
protected void onCreate(@Nullable Bundle savedInstanceState) {
  super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
  AppsFlyerLib.getInstance().init("AF_DEV_KEY", null, this);
  AppsFlyerLib.getInstance().setLogLevel(AFLogger.LogLevel.DEBUG);
  AppsFlyerLib.getInstance().start(this);
}

import AppsFlyerLib

AppsFlyerLib.shared().appsFlyerDevKey = "AF_DEV_KEY"
AppsFlyerLib.shared().appleAppID = "APPLE_APP_ID"
AppsFlyerLib.shared().isDebug = true
AppsFlyerLib.shared().start()

Connect AppsFlyer to non-Android/iOS sources

AppsFlyer supports all RudderStack sources in addition to Android and iOS. However, you need to add a transformation that adds the OS information to the event payload.

1. Add a transformation as shown below:

export function transformEvent(event, metadata) {
  event.context.os = {
    name: "android",
    version: "8.1.0"
  };
  return event;
}

2. Save the transformation and connect it to your AppsFlyer destination in the RudderStack dashboard.

Send events in cloud mode

RudderStack recommends sending events to AppsFlyer in cloud mode only in the following scenarios:

• To transform your events using a transformation.
• To send server-side events.

To send events to AppsFlyer in cloud mode, you need the AppsFlyer ID generated by the Appsflyer SDK integrated with your app.

Once you obtain the AppsFlyer ID, you can send events to AppsFlyer in cloud mode by including the externalId key within your events’ context. The format of externalId is as shown:

"externalId": [
  {
    "id": "AppsFlyer_ID",
    "type": "appsflyerExternalId"
  }
]

The following table lists the externalId fields:

Get AppsFlyer ID

As mentioned above, the AppsFlyer ID is generated by the Appsflyer SDK integrated with your app.

• If the AppsFlyer SDK is directly loaded on your app, see this AppsFlyer documentation to obtain the AppsFlyer ID.
• If your AppsFlyer SDK is loaded through RudderStack (device mode integration), then you can obtain the AppsFlyer ID by including the code snippet in your app, depending on your platform of integration:

#import <appsflyerlib>
NSString *appsflyerId = [AppsFlyerLib shared].getAppsFlyerUID;

import com.appsflyer.AppsFlyerLib;
String appsFlyerId = AppsFlyerLib.getInstance().getAppsFlyerUID(this);

import { getAppsFlyerId } from "@rudderstack/rudder-integration-appsflyer-react-native"
const appsFlyerId = await getAppsFlyerId();

Identify

The identify call sets userId through the setCustomerUserId method of AppsFlyerLib.

RudderStack supports the identify calls only in the device mode.

RudderStack sets email from the event traits to AppsFlyer using the native SDK’s setUserEmails method:

[[RSClient sharedInstance] identify:@"developer_user_id"
      traits:@{@"email": @"bar@foo.com"}];

Delete user

To delete a user in AppsFlyer, you must configure the Status Callback URLs and API Token settings in the RudderStack dashboard.

You can delete a user in AppsFlyer using the Suppression with Delete regulation of the RudderStack User Suppression API.

To delete a user, you must specify their userId in the event. Additionally, you can specify any of the following in the event:

• AppsFlyer ID
• iOS advertising ID/Android advertising ID (depending on your platform)
• Any custom identifier like email, phone, etc.

A sample regulation request body for deleting a user in AppsFlyer is shown below:

{
  "regulationType": "suppress_with_delete",
  "destinationIds": [
    "2FIKkByqn37FhzczP23eZmURciA"
  ],
  "users": [{
    "userId": "1hKOmRA4GRlm",
    "phone": "+1-202-555-0146",
    "email": "alex@example.com",
    "appsflyerId": "asdhw126"
  }]
}

{
  "regulationType": "suppress_with_delete",
  "destinationIds": [
    "2FIKkByqn37FhzczP23eZmURciA"
  ],
  "users": [{
    "userId": "1hKOmRA4GRlm",
    "phone": "+1-202-555-0146",
    "email": "alex@example.com",
    "ios_advertising_id": "asdhw126"
  }]
}

{
  "regulationType": "suppress_with_delete",
  "destinationIds": [
    "2FIKkByqn37FhzczP23eZmURciA"
  ],
  "users": [{
    "userId": "1hKOmRA4GRlm",
    "phone": "+1-202-555-0146",
    "email": "alex@example.com",
    "android_advertising_id": "asdhw126"
  }]
}

Track

This destination does not strictly adhere to the RudderStack Ecommerce Event Spec.

RudderStack’s track call is mapped to the standard AppsFlyer events wherever possible.

The following table lists the event mapping from RudderStack to AppsFlyer:

For any event not present in the above table, RudderStack makes the following changes to the event name before sending it to AppsFlyer via the native SDK:

• Converting the entire event name to lower case
• Replacing any space with an underscore

Along with the above event mapping, RudderStack also maps the event properties to the corresponding AppsFlyer event properties, as shown below:

A sample track call for an iOS app is shown below:

[[RSClient sharedInstance] track:@"Accepted Terms of Service"
    properties:@{
        @"foo": @"bar",
        @"foo_int": @134
}];

Screen

For all screen calls sent from the SDK, RudderStack calls AppsFlyer’s trackEvent method with screen as the event name. All the event properties are passed to AppsFlyer without any modification.

For the automatically recorded screen calls, RudderStack obtains a Boolean property called automatic.

Advertising ID

RudderStack utilizes the advertising ID for the AppsFlyer destination if it is set as per the following specifications:

• For iOS: Advertising ID documentation

• For Android: Advertising ID documentation

You can find the advertising ID in your event’s context.device.advertisingId.

ATTrackingManager

If the ATTrackingManager.trackingAuthorizationStatus is passed according to ATTrackingManager authorization consent, RudderStack will utilize it for the AppsFlyer destination.

You can find trackingAuthorizationStatus in your event’s context.device.attTrackingStatus.

Debugging

RudderStack sets the logLevel in AppsFlyer based on the logLevel set for the RudderClient. If it is set to DEBUG or more, RudderStack sets the logLevel to VERBOSE for AppsFlyer.

For anything below that, RudderStack sets the logLevel to NONE for AppsFlyer.

Error messages

This section covers some of the possible error messages you may encounter while using this integration.

Invalid platform / required androidAppId / appleAppId missing

This error occurs when either the OS Name or your respective App ID is not set. You can set the App ID in your connection settings.

The SDK automatically sets the OS Name and it can be found in context.os.name.

Appsflyer ID is not set. Rejecting the event.

This error occurs when the appsflyerExternalId is not set. See the Sending events in the RudderStack cloud mode section for more information on setting the appsflyerExternalId.

FAQ

Where can I find the AppsFlyer dev key?

You can find the AppsFlyer Dev Key by logging into your AppsFlyer account and navigating to the Apps Settings page in your dashboard. For more information, see this AppsFlyer Help Center page.

I get an error saying “Build input file cannot be found” for iOS device mode. What should I do?

The latest AppsFlyer SDK requires XCode 12. Make sure you meet this requirement. You may have to downgrade your AppsFlyer SDK to build with a lower version of XCode.

You can declare the pod version in your Podfile as shown:

pod 'Rudder-Appsflyer',' 1.0.0'

How do I get the AppsFlyer ID to send events from my mobile sources in cloud mode?

To send events to AppsFlyer in cloud mode, you first need to obtain the AppsFlyer ID generated by the Appsflyer SDK.

You can get this ID by either directly loading the native AppsFlyer SDK on your app, or loading it in RudderStack (device mode integration).

In case of a device mode integration, include the following code snippet (depending on your platform of integration) in your app to get the AppsFlyer ID:

#import <appsflyerlib>
NSString *appsflyerId = [AppsFlyerLib shared].getAppsFlyerUID;

import com.appsflyer.AppsFlyerLib;
String appsFlyerId = AppsFlyerLib.getInstance().getAppsFlyerUID(this);

import AppsFlyerIntegrationFactory from "@rudderstack/rudder-integration-appsflyer-react-native/src/bridge"
const appsFlyerId = await AppsFlyerIntegrationFactory.getAppsFlyerId()

Once you obtain the AppsFlyer ID, you can send events in cloud mode by by including the externalId key within your events’ context. For more information, see the Send events in cloud mode section above.

Questions? Contact us by email or on Slack