When Apple launched its App Monitoring Transparency (ATT) coverage in April 2021, it compelled corporations to hunt permission from app customers earlier than monitoring their information and exercise throughout different apps and web sites for promoting functions.
This main privateness replace has tremendously impacted cellular entrepreneurs and advertisers by making it harder for them to entry the info they depend on for consumer acquisition functions. Snap, Fb, Twitter and YouTube advised the Monetary Instances that ATT was liable for losses of practically $10 billion on the time.
ATT permission is often requested by way of an in-app pop-up notification the place customers can select to permit or deny monitoring on a per-app/sport foundation. Whereas corporations should get permission from customers earlier than monitoring or accumulating their information, there aren’t any tips concerning when or the place this pop-up notification ought to seem in-app.
This received us questioning: is there a really perfect time to ask customers for information monitoring consent? When do the top-grossing video games show their ATT pop-up? And are there any extra techniques that the top-grossing video games are utilizing to encourage their gamers to conform to monitoring?
We performed a examine to seek out out.
Evaluation of ATT monitoring pop-up information amongst US top-grossing 200 video games
Throughout this examine, we manually inspected whether or not pattern cellular video games show ATT monitoring consent pop-ups throughout a hypothetical “first session” (= the primary 25 minutes of gameplay). We selected this time-frame as a result of it’s a cheap period of time for a brand new consumer to spend on a sport and may present perception into whether or not or not the pop-up is displayed early on within the consumer’s expertise.
Nonetheless, it’s essential to notice that there could also be video games which might be listed as not together with any pop-ups, however do characteristic them past this sampling time-frame. Subsequently, whereas our examine supplies helpful insights into the prevalence of ATT monitoring consent pop-ups throughout the first session, some video games should characteristic them afterward within the consumer’s gameplay expertise.
The examine pattern included the US top-grossing 200 record for iOS video games, in keeping with GameRefinery information that was accessed in late January, 2023. The record was analyzed and 99% of the video games have been inspected. The remaining 1% weren’t inspected as a result of they have been premium video games (marked as “Na” within the charts beneath).
The information we gathered is effective for sport builders and publishers who goal to know market tendencies and create profitable video games.
Moreover, sport builders can use this information to establish the options and traits that contribute essentially the most to a sport’s success, serving to to information the creation of recent video games or the advance of present ones. By means of this evaluation, we found when essentially the most profitable video games within the US market have been displaying ATT notifications.
72% of prime cellular video games show ATT pop-ups throughout the first 30 seconds of gameplay
Through the examine, we discovered that the overwhelming majority of sampled video games (88%) included ATT pop-ups throughout the sampling time-frame of 25 minutes. This means a common development of app builders complying with Apple’s new privateness coverage tips.
Nonetheless, it’s value noting {that a} small however vital proportion of video games, round 11%, featured no pop-ups throughout the identical time-frame. This can be as a result of the pop-up options a lot later within the sport or they aren’t even making an attempt to get entry to the identifier.
Our evaluation additionally discovered that 81.4% of the 177 video games with ATT pop-ups displayed them throughout the first 30 seconds of gameplay. The timing of the pop-ups ranged from one second to fifteen minutes and 44 seconds from beginning the appliance, suggesting that some video games are ready to construct belief with customers throughout their gameplay session earlier than requesting permission to trace their information.
Almost 70% of the top-grossing 50 iOS video games request ATT permission throughout the first 15 seconds of gameplay
ATT pop-up timing amongst the top-grossing 100 video games (n=89) ranged from one second to 2 minutes and 22 seconds with 82% of the video games displaying the pop-up throughout the first 30 seconds of gameplay. Virtually 70% of the highest 100 video games displayed the pop-up window between the primary six to 30 seconds of gameplay.
Whereas we’re unable to entry information displaying whether or not customers accepted or denied these requests, our evaluation means that sport builders ought to prioritize displaying ATT pop-ups throughout the first 30 seconds of gameplay to extend their possibilities of customers giving permission for information monitoring.
Among the many prime 50 grossing video games (n=43), ATT pop-up timing ranged from one second to 2 minutes and 20 seconds. 84% of those video games displayed the pop-up throughout the first 30 seconds, and 58% of top-50 video games displayed the pop-up between 6 and 15 seconds, additional consolidating the discovering {that a} “golden window” for ATT pop-up timing exists someplace throughout the first six and 30 seconds of gameplay.
This means that builders ought to goal to show the pop-up early, however not too early, as a way to maximize consumer engagement and compliance with ATT necessities.
Do customized pre-ATT prompts enhance the possibilities of consumer opt-in?
A number of the cellular video games we analyzed displayed an extra pop-up earlier than requesting ATT opt-in permission from their customers, which we’ll name a pre-ATT immediate. These extra pop-ups are delivered to persuade the consumer to permit ATT monitoring, and 23% of the top-200 video games we analyzed included a customized pre-ATT immediate inside the time-frame of the sampling.
High-grossing 100 video games usually tend to show pre-ATT prompts
Our evaluation discovered 26% (45/176) of sampled video games with ATT pop-ups additionally included a customized pre-ATT immediate. Curiously, video games that fall throughout the top-100 grossing chart have been twice as more likely to embody a customized pre-ATT immediate than video games that rank 101-200. Out of the video games ranked 1–100, 27 had customized pre-ATT prompts, whereas solely 18 video games ranked 101-200 had customized pre-ATT prompts.
Based mostly on this information, our evaluation means that customized pre-ATT prompts could also be extra widespread in top-grossing video games or video games that goal to maximise income by focused promoting.
Video games that generate extra income usually tend to request extra consumer data
Along with the above findings, our evaluation additionally discovered a small proportion of video games included extra prompts for consumer data. Particularly, 13% of the sampled video games included some form of extra prompts, similar to requests for e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, age, gender, and different private information.
Just like the findings above, the share of video games displaying extra prompts diverse relying on their rating within the top-grossing chart. 17% of cellular video games within the top-grossing 100 chart included an extra information immediate, in comparison with solely 9% of video games ranked between 101–200. This means that video games that generate larger income are 89% extra more likely to request extra consumer data than video games ranked between 101 and 200.
It’s value noting that this development raises questions concerning the privateness and safety of consumer information. Whereas some customers could not thoughts offering this data, others could really feel uncomfortable sharing private particulars. Sport builders ought to be clear about their information assortment practices and guarantee consumer information is correctly protected.
Moreover, it could be helpful for sport builders to think about other ways to monetize their video games, reasonably than relying solely on consumer information assortment. This might assist construct belief with customers and create a extra optimistic consumer expertise.
Displaying ATT notifications early may enhance the possibilities of opt-in for customers
After analyzing the ATT frequency and the time notifications seem amongst the top-200 grossing iOS video games, our information means that the primary 30 seconds of gameplay is the candy spot for displaying ATT pop-ups.
It’s essential to notice that we weren’t capable of entry information displaying whether or not prospects have been accepting or refusing these notifications, however the development of higher-grossing cellular video games displaying ATT notifications earlier throughout gameplay means that early requests are extra profitable. This deduction relies on the idea that builders of higher-grossing cellular video games are adjusting their ATT notification show time level based mostly on their particular person expertise of how customers are responding to their notification.
We’ve summarized the important thing findings from this information beneath:
- 81.4% of the video games displaying some form of ATT-related pop-up did so throughout the first 30 seconds of gameplay.
- Among the many top-grossing 50 video games (n=43), 58% displayed the pop-up between the primary six and 15 seconds of gameplay. Nonetheless, we imagine that displaying the pop-up throughout the first 5 seconds of gameplay could also be unpopular amongst prime video games on account of the next chance of customers instinctively rejecting the pop-up.
- Our analysis additionally discovered that solely 25.6% (45/176) of sampled video games with ATT pop-ups included a customized pre-ATT immediate.
- Video games within the prime 100 grossing have been 50% extra more likely to embody a customized pre-ATT immediate than video games in top-grossing ranks 101-200.
- 13% of sampled video games additionally included some form of extra prompts for consumer data, together with e-mail, telephone quantity, age, gender, and so forth.
- High-100 grossing video games have been 89% extra more likely to embody extra prompts than video games amongst ranks 101-200.
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