Myth: a null SKAdNetwork conversion value means the install was wasted

Myth: a null SKAdNetwork conversion value means the install was wasted

The advice you keep hearing: filter out null-value postbacks, they're junk. Wrong, and it costs you signal.

A null (or 0) conversion value usually means the user installed but didn't trip your updateConversionValue call before the timer locked — slow first session, app killed early, or your SDK fired the lock prematurely. The install is real; SKAdNetwork still attributes it.

✓ Null postbacks still count toward your true CPI denominator
✓ A rising null rate is a diagnostic — your value schema fires too late
✗ Treating null as fraud inflates your 'clean' CPI and hides a measurement bug
✗ Networks love it when you discard nulls — your reported CVR looks worse, theirs looks fine

Fix the lock window before you blame the source. Re-time your conversion value to fire inside the first 6 seconds for app-open events.

Verdict: keep nulls, fix your timer — they're a broken-instrumentation alarm, not waste.
Best for: UA buyers running SKAN campaigns who prune postbacks by value.