Posting your iOS app on X, Reddit and newsletters but not sure which one works? Use a tagged link for every post and read the numbers. No SDK and no API keys.
You posted about your app on X, in a Reddit thread and in your newsletter. Downloads went up. Which one did it? With one plain App Store link in all three places, you can't tell. The fix is simple and doesn't need an SDK: give every post its own link.
The problem with one link
App Store Connect shows where downloads came from in broad terms, such as App Store search or web referrals. It can't tell you that the Reddit post beat the tweet. To learn that, the link in each post has to be different.
Step by step
- 1Add your app to Howdy by name. It reads your public App Store listing.
- 2Create a source link for each place you'll post: for example X launch thread, Reddit r/iOSProgramming and Newsletter issue 14.
- 3Paste each link only in its own post, video description or email.
- 4Wait for visits to arrive. Each link shows its own count within seconds.
- 5After a couple of days, open the app's Overview and look at the best source.
What Howdy counts exactly
- Visits to each link, live
- How many people were sent on to the App Store
- Country and device, without storing IP addresses
- Where in-app visits came from, such as Instagram, TikTok or X
What only Apple can report
Installs themselves are reported by Apple inside App Store Connect. If a link carries Apple's campaign parameters (a provider token and a campaign token), App Analytics can show installs per campaign. Howdy adds those parameters automatically once you paste your provider token. Apple's numbers are aggregated and arrive with a delay, so treat them as the daily summary and Howdy's counts as the live view.
Put the two together
Type each link's installs into Howdy and it shows an install rate: installs divided by visits. A channel with fewer visits but a higher rate may be worth more than the loud one.
Add your app in two minutes at howdy.bio. Your first app is free, with 5 source links.
Quick answers
- Do I need an SDK to track app installs by source?
- No. Tagged links count every visit and App Store tap on their own. Apple's App Analytics can add install counts per campaign if the link carries Apple's campaign parameters.
- Can I see installs per link?
- Apple reports installs inside App Store Connect, aggregated and with a delay. Howdy counts visits and taps exactly, and lets you enter each link's installs from App Store Connect to see your install rate.
- Does Howdy need my App Store Connect keys?
- No. Howdy reads your public App Store listing and never asks for API keys.