ATT opt-in rates in 2025: Benchmarks, insights and how to increase yours

App marketers struggle to improve ATT opt in rates, leaving valuable user data and ad spend effectiveness on the table. 

The solution? Rethink your consent strategy. So you can optimize prompts and user experience for higher conversion value.

In this guide, we'll explore current ATT trends, analyze tactics driving user consent, and share best practices you can apply immediately to enhance tracking permission, ad performance, and user engagement.

Table of contents

• What is App Tracking Transparency (ATT)?

• State of ATT in 2025: Where are opt-in rates now?​

• Why low ATT opt-in rates are a problem

• How to improve ATT opt-in rates in 2025

• Using Purchasely to optimize engagement and consent

• Final thoughts

What is App Tracking Transparency (ATT)?

App Tracking Transparency (ATT) is Apple’s privacy policy that requires apps to ask users for explicit permission before tracking their activity across other apps and websites. 

Introduced with iOS 14.5 in 2021, ATT changed the game for app marketers, advertisers and mobile developers.

When users open an app for the first time, they now see an ATT prompt asking whether they want to “allow tracking” or not. This permission determines whether an app can access the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) — a unique device-level ID used for attribution, targeting and ad performance tracking.

Without ATT consent, advertisers lose access to user-level data, making it harder to personalize ads, track conversions and measure return on ad spend. 

This shift has forced mobile marketers to rethink how they build campaigns, track user behavior and demonstrate the value of consent in a much more privacy-conscious environment.

State of ATT in 2025: Where are opt-in rates now?

When Apple launched ATT in April 2021 with iOS 14.5, most users quickly adapted to the new control. 

By Q3 2021, 80% of iOS users chose to opt out of tracking on major social media platforms, causing advertisers to lose roughly 40% of their impression volume across Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. 

While many app publishers initially believed it was “too early” to predict the impact, the longer-term effects became clear by 2022 when Meta cited ATT as a key reason behind slowing revenue growth.

Fast forward to 2025, and the story around ATT opt-in rates has changed again — and not for the better. 

According to research from Singular, opt-in rates have continued to fall. After a 16% drop in Q1 2024, opt-in rates declined another 12.5% in Q2 2024, reaching a global yes rate of just 13.85%.

Source: Singular

Note: It’s important to note that this number reflects immediate prompts — apps that request tracking permission right at download. 

The drop-off highlights why simply "asking early" is no longer a viable strategy. Users expect a clear reason to allow tracking — and if apps fail to deliver value upfront, the answer will almost always be no.

The good news is there is a way to improve ATT opt-in rates. More on that later.

Gaming vs non-gaming ATT opt-ins

A clear divide has also emerged between gaming and non-gaming apps. 

In Q2 2024, games posted an 18.58% immediate opt-in rate compared to just 11.92% for non-gaming apps. That 6.67% gap is widening each quarter, showing that gaming apps are getting better at securing early user consent.

Source: Singular

Games often benefit from users’ eagerness to jump into play, allowing for more emotional timing and framing when presenting tracking prompts. Non-gaming apps — especially those in categories like productivity or social — typically face greater skepticism and need stronger messaging strategies to drive tracking consent.

According to Singular’s report, the variation by vertical is also significant:

• Music games achieved the highest ATT opt-in rates at 35%

• Adventure, Card and Simulation games followed closely, around 24-25%

• Casino and Trivia games struggled, both falling below 10% opt-in

• Outside of gaming, Weather apps led the non-gaming space with a strong 38% immediate opt-in rate

• Art & Design and Food & Drink apps also performed well, while other categories like Maps & Navigation maintained higher-than-average rates

Why low ATT opt-in rates are a problem

Low ATT opt-in rates make it much harder for app marketers to track user behavior, optimize ad campaigns and measure conversion value accurately.

Without permission to access user-level data, advertisers lose visibility into how users move through the funnel, which impacts everything from campaign attribution to customer experience. It becomes difficult to know which ads are working, what users are doing after clicking and how to improve ad spend efficiency.

Without reliable data tracking, For marketers, having to rely on aggregated or modeled data, lacks the precision needed for effective user acquisition and retargeting. That can drive up ad spend, lower ROAS and make it harder to deliver personalized ads that actually resonate with users.

For example, imagine a fitness app running a Google Ads campaign targeting users interested in running programs. If most users decline the ATT prompt, the app can no longer track who installs from the ad or how active they are post-install. 

As a result, they can't optimize their campaign toward high-value users, leading to wasted budget and missed opportunities for user acquisition. 

Over time, this disconnect between ad network reporting and real user behavior can seriously impact growth.

How to improve ATT opt-in rates in 2025

It’s not all doom and gloom. The good news is that you can improve ATT opt-in rates by taking a step back and thinking about it strategically.

The best-performing apps in 2025 use structured testing, tailored messaging and smart timing to turn tracking consent into a competitive edge.

Here’s how to build your own ATT optimization playbook.

1. Avoid immediate ATT prompts post-install

One of the biggest reasons apps see low ATT opt-in rates is because they ask for tracking permission the second a user opens the app. This catches users off guard. They haven't experienced any value yet, they don't know if they can trust you and the easiest response becomes “No, don’t allow.”

Showing the ATT prompt immediately after install is almost guaranteed to tank your consent rate. Users need context. They need to feel connected to your app’s purpose before they’re asked to make a privacy decision.

Instead, delay the prompt until the user has completed a meaningful action, like:

• Signing up

• Exploring a feature

• Completing a first task 

Once users see the value you provide, they’ll be far more likely to grant tracking permission when you ask.

2. Build a testing framework that evolves

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Once you understand your baseline ATT performance, then you can build structured tests to learn what moves the needle.

Start by tracking your opt-in rate by:

• App version

• User acquisition channel

• Geography

• Device type

Once you have that foundation, design experiments that test different elements: prompt copy, timing, design, and user segmentation. Use A/B or multivariate testing to isolate what works.

Set clear success metrics. A lift in opt-in rate is great, but it needs to translate into better downstream outcomes like ROAS, user LTV or conversion to paid.

Think of ATT optimization as a funnel within your funnel. One that deserves the same rigor you’d apply to pricing tests or onboarding flows.

3. Personalize consent messaging by audience and region

Generic prompts don’t perform well. Different users care about different things. Your messaging should reflect that.

For example:

• Users in privacy-conscious markets like Germany or Japan often need more clarity and reassurance around how their data will be used

• In countries like Brazil or the UAE, users are generally more open to data sharing, meaning you can focus messaging more on benefits.

Audience also matters. A user who discovered your app through a Google ad might respond better to performance-driven messaging (“We use data to show you better recommendations”) versus someone who came in through a friend referral, where community trust might be more important.

Localization isn't just about language. It's about values, tone and expectations.

4. Communicate a clear value exchange

Ultimately, tracking consent is about trust and benefit. If users don’t understand why they should opt in or what’s in it for them, they’ll default to “Ask App Not to Track.”

So your messaging needs to spell it out. But in simple, human language. 

Tell users how tracking enables:

• Fewer irrelevant ads

• Smarter recommendations

• Smoother app experience

• Access to free features (in ad-supported apps)

You don’t need to oversell. Just be honest, respectful and clear about how their data improves their journey.

Framing tracking as something that powers personalization and convenience changes how users respond.

5. Understand the dual opt-in requirement

Here’s where many teams get stuck: getting ATT consent doesn’t always mean you can track a user. That’s because you also need consent on the ad network side — for example, if you’re using Google Analytics, Facebook Ads or Flurry Analytics.

Both parties need permission. If either one is missing, user-level tracking breaks. This is known as the “dual opt-in” challenge, and it’s critical to solving attribution gaps in 2025.

Work with your analytics, marketing and product teams to map how ATT consent flows into your broader data tracking setup. 

That includes campaign optimization, attribution models and retargeting strategies. If one part is misaligned, you’re not getting full tracking value.

Using Purchasely to optimize engagement and consent

Purchasely is an app experience platform that helps product and growth teams design, test and optimize in-app journeys — from onboarding and paywalls to pre-permission prompts. It gives teams more control over how they communicate with users, without relying on engineering support for every small change.

When it comes to ATT opt-in rates, Purchasely provides a flexible, no-code way to improve the consent experience. Rather than relying on the default iOS prompt alone, you can build branded, native-looking pre-prompts that explain why you’re asking for permission and what users can expect if they say yes.

Why that matters

The default ATT prompt is limited. You can’t customize the design, and you can’t explain why data tracking is important to the user experience. That’s where many apps lose the user. It feels cold, abrupt and disconnected from the app’s value.

With Purchasely, you can:

• Design pre-prompts that match your app’s tone, visuals and brand identity

• Use language that focuses on value, transparency and trust

• Time the prompt to appear after users complete a key action — not at first launch

• Localize messages based on region or user segment

• Run A/B tests to learn which prompt layouts, messages or timing strategies perform best

Because it integrates directly with your subscription and CRM systems, Purchasely also makes it easier to connect ATT consent with user behavior across the entire funnel, from acquisition to monetization.

Final thoughts

Improving ATT opt-in rates isn’t about tricking users into saying yes — it’s about earning their trust with clear, timely communication and a strong value exchange. 

In 2025, the apps leading the way are those that view consent as a product experience, not just a privacy checkbox. The better you handle that moment, the more user-level data you unlock to drive smarter growth and stronger retention.

New to Purchasely? Purchasely is an app experience platform that helps app marketers and product teams turn engagement into growth. Design seamless ATT consent flows, personalized paywalls and in-app experiences that convert. Book a product tour today.