Meta Ads FAQ and discrepancies

Troubleshoot common issues and understand expected discrepancies between Meta Ads Manager and Linkrunner

Meta Ads Manager and Linkrunner will rarely show identical numbers. Most of the gap is expected. This page explains what's normal, what's fixable, and how to compare the two dashboards correctly.

For setup instructions, see the Meta Ads integration guide. For Web-to-App campaigns, see Meta Web to App.

Meta publishes its own explanation of how it attributes and reports conversions: About Meta attribution.

Meta Ads FAQ

Meta login fails: business assets were not granted the requested permissions

When you click Add Meta Account, Meta can stop the login with this message, followed by an ID and a code that starts with #1349246:

The following business assets were not granted the requested permissions.

The message comes from Meta, before the login returns to Linkrunner. Meta did not give Linkrunner access to the asset with that ID, so no ad account is connected and nothing is saved in Linkrunner.

Linkrunner connects through your Meta business portfolio, so the Meta login needs both of these:

• A Meta account with full control of the business portfolio.
• The ad account you want to connect, added to that business portfolio. See Meta's guide to add an ad account to your business portfolio.

Compare the ID in the message with your ad account ID

Meta explains where to see the ID of the ad account you want to connect in Find your ad account ID. If the message lists several IDs, check each one.

If the IDs match, check who does the login

Meta did not share the ad account you want. Check that the ad account is listed in the business portfolio you pick in the Meta popup, and that the person who logs in has full control of that portfolio.

If another business portfolio owns the ad account, such as an agency's, ask a person with full control of that portfolio to do the Meta login. They need Admin or Member access to your Linkrunner project first, see Add teammates.

If the IDs differ, log in again with only the ad account you need

The ID is for something other than your ad account, and it may have stopped the whole login. First check that the person who logs in has full control of the business portfolio. Then open Ad Account Integration, click Add Meta Account again, pick the business portfolio that owns the ad account, and select only that ad account.

Confirm the ad account is connected

When the login succeeds, Linkrunner lists the ad accounts Meta shared. Select yours and click Import Accounts. The ad account then appears on the Ad Account Integration tab.

If Meta shows the message again, contact Meta Business Support. Meta's error reference lists contacting Business Support as the fix for code 1349246. You can also email support@linkrunner.io with a screenshot of the message and the ID of the ad account you want to connect.

Events aren't showing up in Meta Events Manager

Walk through this checklist.

Verify the Meta app integration in Linkrunner

Open Integrations → Meta Ads and confirm the App ID and Install Referrer Decryption Key are saved.

Verify CAPI credentials

On the Ad Account tab, confirm the ad account is connected and CAPI is configured with the Dataset ID and CAPI Access Token from Meta Events Manager.

Check the event mapping

On the Event Mapping tab, confirm the event is mapped, then click the paper plane Send event to ad network icon to fire a test event.

Wait for processing

Events can take up to 1 hour to appear in Meta Events Manager after Linkrunner sends them.

Installs show in Linkrunner but not in Meta

Linkrunner sends MobileAppInstall to Meta only for installs it attributes to a Meta campaign. Organic installs and installs attributed to other networks are never sent, so they can't appear in Meta's numbers.

Two more common causes:

• The 7-day event window. Meta accepts conversion events up to 7 days old. An install processed or attributed more than 7 days after it happened is not sent to Meta at all.
• Missing CAPI credentials. Postbacks require the Dataset ID and access token on the ad account connected to that campaign. Without them, Linkrunner tracks the install but sends nothing to Meta.

Meta reports more installs than Linkrunner

This is the most common direction of discrepancy, and most of it is by design:

• Meta self-attributes. Meta claims every install with a Meta ad engagement inside its window, even when the user's last touch was another network. Linkrunner uses last-touch attribution across all networks and credits one source per install.
• View-through conversions. Meta counts installs after an ad view (1-day view window) by default. Linkrunner measures view-through only on Android, and only when Meta Install Referrer is set up. Meta also shares view-through data only for App promotion campaigns with broad targeting; see the Meta View-Through Attribution FAQ. iOS view-through installs land as organic in Linkrunner.
• Cross-device attribution. Meta can credit an ad click on one device for an install on another. Linkrunner matches signals on the same device only.
• Modeled results on iOS. Meta's iOS reporting (Aggregated Event Measurement and SKAdNetwork) includes modeled and aggregated conversions. Linkrunner's SDK attribution on iOS is deterministic, and users who deny App Tracking Transparency often can't be matched, so those installs show as organic.

Linkrunner reports more Meta installs than Meta

• Window differences. Linkrunner matches clicks up to 30 days before the install. Meta's default click window is 7 days, so a click 8 to 30 days before first open counts in Linkrunner but not in Meta.
• Ads Manager attribution settings. The install count in Ads Manager depends on the ad set's attribution setting and the columns you compare. Use Meta's Compare Attribution Settings view before treating the gap as real.
• Events older than 7 days. Installs that Linkrunner attributes late are kept in Linkrunner but dropped by Meta (see the previous question).

Do I need the Facebook SDK?

No. Linkrunner attributes Meta installs without it.

If you do integrate the Facebook SDK alongside Linkrunner, disable its automatic event logging (AutoLogAppEventsEnabled = false). Otherwise Meta receives the same in-app events twice, once from the Facebook SDK and once from Linkrunner CAPI, and its event and revenue counts inflate. Meta deduplicates install events automatically, but not in-app events sent from two sources.

How Android and iOS attribution differs

• Android: Deterministic. Linkrunner decrypts the Meta campaign metadata in the Google Play install referrer using your Referrer Decryption Key. With Meta Install Referrer enabled, it also reads campaign metadata from the Facebook or Instagram app on the device, which adds view-through measurement.
• iOS: There is no install referrer. Linkrunner attributes deterministically by matching the install to a Meta click (deep-link click, or IDFA when the user grants App Tracking Transparency). Meta itself measures iOS through Aggregated Event Measurement and SKAdNetwork, which are aggregated, modeled, and delayed by 24+ hours.

For iOS Meta App campaigns where Linkrunner has no SDK-attributed installs, the dashboard shows the install counts Meta reports through its Marketing API, so those figures follow Meta's SKAN reporting and timing. See iOS Campaign Data Limitations.

How Web-to-App campaigns are attributed

Web-to-App attribution comes from the click, not from Meta's API. When a click arrives with the campaign_id, adset_id, and ad_id macros on your Linkrunner destination URL, Linkrunner auto-creates a campaign named Meta W2A - <campaign id> and attributes the install to it by click matching.

Linkrunner sends the website Download conversion to Meta only when the install matches a click. If no click match is found (more common on iOS, where there is no install referrer), the install is still tracked in Linkrunner but no conversion is sent to Meta for it.

Meta reports the same conversions under your Sales campaign in Ads Manager. See Meta Web to App for setup.

What causes discrepancies

The differences fall into three groups.

Timing

Meta dates conversions to the ad click or view. Linkrunner dates installs to the first app open. A Jan 5 install in Linkrunner can show on Jan 1 in Meta if the ad interaction happened then.

Counting

Meta is a self-attributing network: it claims every install with a Meta engagement in its window, including view-through and cross-device. Linkrunner uses last-touch attribution, deduplicates across networks, and counts one install per user.

iOS (AEM / SKAN)

Meta measures iOS through Aggregated Event Measurement and SKAdNetwork: aggregated, partly modeled, and delayed 24+ hours. Linkrunner's iOS attribution is deterministic and depends on ATT consent or a deep-link click.

Row-by-row comparison

Area	Meta Ads Manager	Linkrunner
Install record time	Date of the ad click or view	First app open
In-app event record time	Date of the ad interaction	Campaigns tab: the day the event happened, in the project time zone, credited to the install's campaign
Attribution windows	7-day click, 1-day view by default (set per ad set)	Android: install referrer read at first open. iOS and Web-to-App: clicks matched up to 30 days
View-through conversions	Counted by default	Android only, requires Meta Install Referrer; not measured on iOS
Attribution scope	Meta engagements only; claims installs regardless of other networks	Last-touch across all networks; one source per install
Cross-device	Credits installs on a different device from the ad interaction	Same-device signals only
Reinstalls	Install events deduplicated within a 90-day window	One install per user; re-attribution possible only 90+ days after the original install
Time zones	Ad account time zone	Project time zone (synced Meta spend and clicks stay on Meta's calendar day)
Events sent to Meta	Only mapped events, and only when under 7 days old	All SDK events appear in Linkrunner
iOS installs	AEM and SKAN, includes modeled results, delayed 24+ hours	SDK-attributed installs; Meta-reported counts shown for iOS App campaigns without SDK attribution
Processing delay	CAPI events appear within ~1 hour; SKAN adds 24+ hours	Near real time

Troubleshooting checklist

If the gap is much bigger than expected:

• App ID and Install Referrer Decryption Key are saved in the integration tab.
• CAPI Dataset ID and access token are configured for the connected ad account.
• Events are mapped and a test event (paper plane icon) reaches Meta Events Manager.
• If the Facebook SDK is also integrated, its automatic event logging is disabled.
• Android: Meta Install Referrer is configured if you expect view-through installs.
• iOS: SKAdNetwork is configured and you compare against Meta's SKAN reporting. See SKAdNetwork integration.
• Web-to-App: the ad's destination URL includes the campaign_id={{campaign.id}}, adset_id={{adset.id}}, and ad_id={{ad.id}} macros.
• You compare the same date range in the same time zone, remembering Meta reports on the ad-interaction date.

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For any questions or assistance, please contact us at support@linkrunner.io.