Learn about the reasons Singular reports show different numbers of installs than the Apple App Store / Google Play Store or Firebase downloads.
See also: Data Discrepancies Troubleshooting Guide - a guide for comparing Singular reports to your ad network dashboard.
Discrepancies in App Installs
Singular uses very different methodologies from the Apple App Store or Google Play for counting and reporting app installs. Therefore, you can expect significant discrepancies between app downloads, as reported by Apple/Google, and app installs, as reported by Singular.
Analysis of Differences in Methods
| Feature | Singular Behavior | Firebase Behavior | Apple App Store | Google Play Store |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Download vs. App Open | Counts an install when the app is first opened. |
Counts first_open when the app is first launched.
|
Counts when the app is downloaded, even if never opened. | Counts when the app is downloaded, even if never opened. |
| Install Date | Based on the first open timestamp. | Based on the first open timestamp. | Based on the download date. | Based on the download date. |
| Timezone | Reported in the customer's timezone. | Uses the timezone set in your Firebase Project. | Variable (often based on event geography). | Account-level selected timezone. |
| Jailbroken / Other Stores & APKs | Installs are tracked from all app stores and sources. | Tracks all sources where the SDK is initialized. | Installs are tracked only for the Apple App Store. | Installs are tracked only for Google Play. |
| User transfers to new device | Recognizes the new device as a new install. | Recognizes the new device as a new install. | Does not count a new install (same iTunes ID). | Does not count a new install (same Google ID). |
| One user, multiple devices | Installs are tied to the device (counted multiple times). | Installs are tied to the Instance ID (counted multiple times). | Tied to iTunes account (counted once). | Tied to Google account (counted once). |
| Multiple users, one device | Installs are tied to the device (counted only once). | Installs are tied to the Instance ID (counted only once). | Tied to iTunes account (counted multiple times). | Tied to Google account (counted multiple times). |
Choice of Metrics in Google Play Console Reports
While comparing discrepancies with the Google Play store, be sure to use the right metric.
If you use Store Listing Performance > Store Listing Acquisitions, you may see up to 50% discrepancies with Singular Attribution.
We recommend using Devices > Device acquisition > New devices. This metric shows the number of devices that installed the app for the first time in the past day. This matches the method used by Singular attribution more closely, so the report matches Singular's at ~80 to 90%.
Choice of Metrics in Firebase Console Reports
To ensure that your Firebase data closely matches your Singular Installs metric, you must select the correct metrics within the Firebase console. Because both platforms are SDK-based and trigger on the "first launch" of the app, they are naturally more compatible than store-level data.
To get the closest match:
-
Use the "New Users" Metric: In the Firebase Dashboard, the New Users card is driven by the
first_openevent. This is the functional equivalent of a Singular Install. -
Align Timezones: Ensure your Firebase Project settings (Project Settings > General) match the timezone used in your Singular reporting. A mismatch here is the most common cause of "daily" discrepancies.
-
Filter by App Version: When comparing a specific launch period, use the Add Filter button in Firebase Analytics to select the specific App Version. This ensures you are comparing the same set of users that Singular is tracking for that specific build.
Missing Historical Import
If you have recently migrated to Singular, you performed a historical import where your previously existing device IDs were migrated to Singular.
However, if the import was not performed for any reason, you may see more installs in Singular, because Singular counts installs for every first open of the app, even if the app was already opened previously, while the stores will not re-count the installs.
Discrepancies in Revenue
You may see discrepancies in revenue between Singular and the App Store/Play Store for various reasons:
- If you are using Singular's In-App Purchase (IAP) Validation, some revenue events might have been flagged as invalid or fraudulent. See In-App Purchase Validation FAQ.
- If you haven't added your Google Play Store Key, Singular cannot validate purchases using IAP validation, and this may also cause discrepancies.
- While setting up your app in the Settings > Apps page, you may have switched on the Reject IAP Without Receipt toggle. This causes the rejection of any purchases where the receipt was not received.
Discrepancies in Retention
It’s important to remember when you are comparing data sets, there are a couple of reasons why the data might look different. Here are a couple of helpful hints to consider.
- Time - What is the time breakdown? Is the report pulled per day in the Store report vs. the report per the entire time period in the Singular report? D7 Retention will look different if you are comparing a full month of data vs. a daily breakdown for a given month
-
Source - Usually, users are looking at data broken down
by Source breakdown, while in the Store report, there is no source breakdown.
These differences may make a big impact on the report's results considering it involves calculation and percentage of it. - Total conversion count - If there is a difference in the total conversion you are seeing from each data source (Singular report vs. the number of downloads in the App Store report), it will have an effect on the calculation of the Retention rate.
- How long has the Singular SDK been integrated in your app? Another possible reason for this discrepancy is the fact that you just recently onboarded with Singular, and users that are considered "New" to Singular but "old" to the App Store will be counted as new conversions while in the store, it won't. This is because Singular counts installs for every first open of the app, even if the app was already opened previously, while the stores will not re-count the installs.