Testing a mobile integration

One afternoon, one device, four facts:

1. 1A tap on a link becomes an install row carrying that link's campaign.
2. 2The install is signed and reports the SDK version you shipped.
3. 3A test purchase becomes a conversion within seconds of the store's notification.
4. 4That conversion is attributed to the campaign from step 1, and flagged as a test.

Every one of these can be checked on the app's Overview tab. Nothing here needs an engineer on our side.

The same applies, less strictly, to iOS: a first install on a device is the clean case.

Also: a build installed with adb, Android Studio, Xcode or react-native run-android carries no referrer at all. It proves the SDK sends, and nothing about attribution. The attribution test needs an install from the store.

1. 1Upload the build to an internal testing track and add the tester's Google account. The tester must open the opt-in link and accept, and that account must be the *active* one in the Play Store app.
2. 2Add the same account as a licence tester (Play Console → Setup → Licence testing). Purchases then show *"Test card, always approves"* and charge nothing. This setting is account-wide.
3. 3Create a tracking link on the app's Install links tab, pointing at the Play listing. Add campaign parameters when you use it: ?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=my_test. One link serves every campaign.
4. 4On the device: make sure the app is not installed. Open the link (send it by chat, tap it on the phone). It must land in the Play Store app, not a web page; a browser that falls back to play.google.com produces a web install with no referrer.
5. 5Install from that Play page and open the app. Within seconds the Overview tab shows an install with the referrer containing rsclid=… and your utm_campaign, signed = true, and the expected sdk_version.
6. 6Make a purchase. Within seconds of Play's notification a conversion appears: is_test = true, attributed to your campaign. If it is a subscription, leave it running: licence-tester plans renew every few minutes, and each renewal must book as its own conversion. That is the failure that looks fine on day one.

1. 1Ship a TestFlight build, or run a development build with a Sandbox Apple ID signed in under Settings → App Store → Sandbox Account.
2. 2Create a tracking link on the Install links tab, pointing at the App Store listing. iOS has no install referrer: a first install attributes deterministically only from an Apple Ads campaign (Apple Search Ads attribution), and from other channels only through the opt-in deferred match on the Attribution tab. What the link proves deterministically on iOS is re-engagement: a tap that opens the already-installed app through a universal link.
3. 3Open the app once. The Overview tab shows an install with signed = true.
4. 4Make a sandbox purchase. App Store Server Notifications fire for sandbox purchases too; the conversion arrives flagged as a test and carries the buyer via appAccountToken. Sandbox subscriptions renew on an accelerated clock, so renewals can be checked the same afternoon.