Adjust (mobile marketing)

Adjust (mobile marketing)
Name	Adjust
Type	Private
Industry	Mobile marketing
Founded	2012
Founder	Christian Henschel, Paul Müller, Tim Koschella, Phillip Schuster
Headquarters	Berlin, Germany
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Mobile attribution, analytics, fraud prevention, automation
Num employees	1000+ (2024)

Adjust (mobile marketing) is a mobile measurement and analytics company that provides attribution, fraud prevention, and marketing optimization tools for mobile apps and digital advertisers. Founded in 2012 in Berlin, the company grew into a global provider serving publishers, advertisers, and agencies across mobile ecosystems. Adjust's offerings intersect with mobile operating systems, ad networks, analytics platforms, and regulatory frameworks shaping advertising technology.

History

Adjust was founded in 2012 by Christian Henschel, Paul Müller, Tim Koschella, and Phillip Schuster in Berlin, joining a wave of European technology startups that included Delivery Hero, Zalando, SoundCloud, Spotify, and Klarna. Early growth coincided with global expansion of Android (operating system), iOS, and the rise of app stores such as the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Adjust expanded through product development and acquisitions, following precedents set by companies like AppLovin and Unity Technologies in mobile monetization and analytics. Its timeline traces interactions with regulatory milestones such as the General Data Protection Regulation and technological shifts like Apple's App Tracking Transparency and Google's changes to advertising identifiers. Offices and data centers were added in regions covered by institutions including European Commission initiatives and markets influenced by firms such as Tencent, ByteDance, Meta Platforms, and Amazon (company).

Products and Services

Adjust's core suite includes mobile attribution, analytics, fraud prevention, and automation tools used by advertisers and publishers similar to services from AppsFlyer, Branch Metrics, Singular (company), and Firebase (Google). Its attribution product ties install and engagement events to campaigns delivered by networks like Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, Apple Search Ads, Snapchat (company), and TikTok (company). Analytics features resemble capabilities offered by Mixpanel, Amplitude, and Adobe Analytics, enabling cohort analysis and lifetime value metrics. Fraud-prevention tools compete with offerings from FraudScore-adjacent vendors and work with partners such as Sift (company) and Riskified, integrating signals used by platforms like PubMatic and The Trade Desk. Adjust also offers audience building and automation comparable to Braze, Iterable, and Klaviyo for cross-channel campaigns tied to Google BigQuery and Amazon Web Services infrastructures.

Technology and Methodology

Adjust employs SDKs for Android (operating system) and iOS to collect event data, attribute installs, and measure engagement, following approaches used by Firebase SDKs and Facebook SDK. Attribution methods include deterministic linking of identifiers such as IDFA and Google Advertising ID under paradigms discussed in literature from IAB Tech Lab and academic research by teams affiliated with institutions like MIT and Stanford University. Adjust uses probabilistic models when deterministic signals are unavailable, paralleling statistical techniques from studies by Oxford University and University of California, Berkeley. Its pipeline leverages cloud and data technologies employed by Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure, and integrates with identity resolution platforms inspired by work from LiveRamp and Tapad. For fraud detection, Adjust applies heuristics and machine learning concepts similar to research from Carnegie Mellon University and commercial tools from DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science.

Privacy and Compliance

Adjust adapted to regulatory environments including the General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act, and rulings from entities like the European Court of Justice. Adjust updated practices following Apple's App Tracking Transparency and industry responses coordinated by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and IAB Tech Lab. The company undertakes compliance audits and aligns with standards promoted by organizations such as ISO and data protection authorities including the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Germany). Adjust's privacy features were implemented amid debates involving firms like Apple Inc., Google LLC, Meta Platforms, and privacy advocacy groups including Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Market Position and Partnerships

Adjust competes with mobile measurement partners such as AppsFlyer, Branch Metrics, Singular (company), and Kochava. Its market position benefits from partnerships with ad networks and platforms including Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, Apple Search Ads, TikTok (company), Snapchat (company), and programmatic platforms like The Trade Desk and AppNexus. Adjust's integrations extend to marketing clouds and CRM systems like Salesforce, HubSpot, and data warehouses like Snowflake and Google BigQuery. The company has collaborated with agencies and publishers including WPP, Publicis Groupe, Omnicom Group, and mobile-first firms such as Supercell and King (company).

Funding and Ownership

Adjust's financing included venture rounds and investor activity similar to trajectories of European scaleups like Klarna and Delivery Hero. Investors and financial partners in the adtech sector include corporate and private equity entities comparable to those backing companies such as Criteo and InMobi. Ownership and secondary transactions follow patterns observed in acquisitions by firms like AppLovin, IronSource, and Zynga, and involve advisors and law firms operating in markets such as Frankfurt, London, and New York City.

Criticisms and Controversies

Adjust has faced scrutiny common in adtech, analogous to controversies involving Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Cambridge Analytica, and debates around tracking policies from Apple Inc. and Google LLC. Critics and regulators have questioned practices around cross-app tracking and data retention in contexts overseen by bodies like the European Data Protection Board and Federal Trade Commission. Industry commentary from outlets including TechCrunch, The Verge, Wired (magazine), and Bloomberg (company) has covered tensions between measurement capabilities and privacy reforms shaping the mobile ecosystem.

Category:Marketing companies