Getting to know Google’s Privacy Sandbox on Android terminology

Any user-initiated action in a mobile app, i.e. what are commonly called installs, sessions and events. Note that uninstalls are not yet reported in Privacy Sandbox.

An ad being served to users, i.e. what is commonly called impression, view-through, and/or ad views.

Commonly called a click.

The entity that serves ads to users, commonly called partners, channels, and/or ad networks.

A process by which sources (i.e. ad networks) are enabled to share events and navigations (impressions and clicks) with Privacy Sandbox and MMPs.

Sharing of events and navigations with MMPs is done either via a redirect URL or by so-called shared source keys with the MMP. The latter will probably be used by major ad networks such as Meta and ByteDance. Google Ads is already implemented and uses source keys.

MMPs are the only entities allowed to receive data for all sources advertisers are working with.

A process by which MMPs, acting on behalf of their clients, are enabled to share trigger data with Privacy Sandbox. Sharing this data is needed to inform the Event Level and Summary Reports and to make sure that sources (i.e. ad networks) receive trigger data.

Note that sharing data with sources via callbacks will not be replaced by the sharing of trigger data, they will exist in parallel.

The API that provides the data needed to measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns without the use of cookies and advertising IDs. The Attribution Reporting API informs two separate but complementary reports, the Event Level Report and the Summary Report.

The event level report provides non-aggregated data on events and navigations (impressions and clicks) for all regular campaign levels (network, campaign, ad group, and creative). However, the report does not directly match this data to trigger data (installs, sessions, and events). Instead, attribution is only provided for so-called ‘coarse values’ (see below).

The Event Level Report does not provide real-time data. Data is provided in batches of two days, seven days, and another configurable number of days with a maximum of thirty days after attribution.

The Summary Reports provides more detailed insights in the trigger data, allowing advertisers to understand user behavior in the app, compensating for the limitations of the coarse values in the Event Level Report. However, the data in the Summary Report is not directly linked to event and navigation data and provides aggregated values only.

A combination of triggers (installs, events, and sessions) which advertisers expect will frequently occur. Advertisers need to set up these coarse values as a common trigger pattern. These coarse values will then be attributed to events and navigations (impressions and clicks) to triggers, allowing them to understand the effectiveness of their ad campaigns in the Event Level Report.

Advertisers can predefine eight coarse values. Only the most frequently occurring pattern will be attributed to events and only the top-three frequently occurring patterns will be attributed to navigations.

An API via which data about the interests of anonymized users of Google can be shared.

An audience builder tool allowing advertisers to create audiences based upon data available in the Topics API.

A technological layer between Android apps and the Android OS, preventing app developers from accessing device level data.