What are Fake App Installs?

Fake App Installs are fraudulent installs that are reported to attribution platforms as if they were real users — but in reality, they come from bots, emulators, or manipulated traffic.

They are generated to steal ad budgets by tricking advertisers into thinking a campaign is performing well, when it’s actually being gamed.

These installs don’t come from real people, and they never turn into active or paying users.

How does it work?

Fraudsters use various techniques to fake installs:

• Emulated devices that simulate real installs at scale
  
  

• Device farms with hundreds of real phones running automated scripts
  
  

• Click injection or click spamming, which flood attribution platforms with clicks hoping to claim credit for organic or real installs
  
  

• SDK spoofing, where fake postbacks are sent directly to MMPs without a real app being opened
  
  
  

Some ad networks or publishers may unknowingly participate in fraudulent traffic, while others are part of organized fraud rings.

Fake installs often lead to:

• Low or zero engagement
  
  

• No in-app events
  
  

• High churn and refund rates
  
  

• Misleading ROAS and CPA data
  
  
  

Why it matters

Fake installs drain ad budgets, pollute performance data, and make it harder to optimize real campaigns.

Detecting and preventing them is critical for:

• Maintaining attribution accuracy
  
  

• Protecting CAC and LTV calculations
  
  

• Avoiding wasted spend on low-quality traffic sources
  
  

• Preserving trust with partners and stakeholders
  
  

Not all installs are equal, and some are pure noise designed to steal your growth budget.