Meta Install Referrer Decryption Key

The Meta Install Referrer Decryption Key is a 64-character key found in your Meta Developer account that enables Singular to decrypt the Google Play Store referrer metadata for Meta’s Install Referrer solution.

It used to be called the Facebook Install Referrer Decryption Key.

Singular, as a Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) has a deep integration with Meta only allows advertisers access to aggregate marketing and attribution data. Any field normally identifying a self-attributed Meta conversion is marked as “Unattributed” in user level logs. However, advertisers can opt to enable Meta’s Install Referrer measurement solution via their MMP, to access user-level data for Android MAI campaigns.

This gives you better and more granular attribution reporting.

Meta’s Install Referrer provides valuable information for mobile marketers on campaigns that are working in multiple attribution modes:

• View-through installs
• Click-through installs
• Multi-session click-through installs

The Meta Install Referrer works on Android but not iOS, where Apple has different privacy policies. It gives access to user-level attribution data for Android app installs when you’ve set an app install objective for a campaign on Facebook, Instagram, or Facebook Audience Network. The Meta Referrer is essentially two technologies combined: the Google Play Install Referrer and the Meta Install Referrer.

How does it work?

1. A user clicks on an ad and is directed to the Google Play Store.
2. Facebook appends encrypted campaign metadata to the click url (known as the Referrer URL).
3. The user installs and opens the app.
4. The Meta Referrer URL along with additional content from the Google Play Store are added to the install referrer.
5. Singular’s SDK will pass the Meta Referrer URL to Singular’s servers.
6. Singular decrypts it using the advertiser-provided Meta Install Referrer Decryption Key.
7. Singular ingests the Meta Referrer URL for reporting to advertisers who can use Singular ETL or leverage Singular’s real-time BI postbacks.

This is relatively new: it’s something that Meta introduced in 2021. And while the Google Play Install Referrer only works for click-through flows, the Meta Install Referrer works for view-through attribution as well.

The Meta Install Referrer also works for additional app stores beyond Google Play.

Check your Facebook developer portal for your Android apps to locate your Install Referrer decryption key. There will be just one Install Referrer decryption key per Facebook App ID.

1. Log in to your Meta Developer Portal
2. Navigate to “My Apps”
3. Select your Android app
4. Navigate to “Basic” within the “Settings” menu option
5. Scroll down to the Android app store section and locate the “Install Referrer Decryption Key”

Interested in learning more about Facebook’s Install Referrer solution and how it works?

Check out our blog post Install Referrer: What you need to know, for all things Install Referrer.