What ATT actually changed
In 2021, Apple rolled out App Tracking Transparency. Users were asked whether to allow tracking. Most said no. The per-user signal that platforms like Meta relied on for iOS targeting became more restricted. Attribution became more limited and arrives slower than it does on Android.
That's real. But it's not the same as "you can't track iOS."
What you can still do
With a native app install campaign — meaning your app is linked directly to Meta or Google, not sent through a landing page link — you can still track installs and in-app events. You configure which events matter through the SDK: install, trial start, paid conversion. The platform optimizes against them.
You're not flying blind. You're working with a narrower window and slower confirmation than you had before 2021. That's different from broken.
Where tracking actually breaks
Here's where it breaks: when someone runs traffic to a landing-page link and tries to stitch measurement afterward. That's the setup where you lose attribution. And it's a setup choice, not an Apple problem.
Most of the "you can't track iOS" conversation comes from accounts built this way. The campaign was never native. The SDK was never configured properly. Attribution failed because the integration was never there, not because Apple took it away.
iOS and Android as separate channels
iOS and Android can't share a native install campaign. The platform separates them. This isn't a workaround — it's how the tool works. You run them separately, judge them separately, and expect different economics.
In one launch: iOS installs cost more than four times what Android installs cost for the same app in the same week. That's not unusual. Adaptation is less dramatic than people expect. Run native install campaigns with the app linked and events configured in the SDK. Don't trade that for a landing-page link. Judge iOS on its own cost curve and its own timeline.