Brutally Honest: User Acquisition in the Post-IDFA World

The piece serves as a concise briefing on user acquisition (UA) strategies in the era following Apple’s IDFA deprecation. It positions itself as a “no‑BS” newsletter aimed at marketers and product teams who need actionable insights without excessive jargon. The author, Matej Lancaric, frames the discussion around recent performance metrics—highlighting a “best week at MAU” as evidence of effective tactics, though specific numbers are not disclosed. The tone is informal yet professional, using brief anecdotes (“Hard week after best week at MAU!”) to illustrate the volatility of mobile metrics in a privacy‑first landscape.

Key takeaways emphasize that traditional attribution models are increasingly unreliable, urging readers to adopt privacy‑compliant measurement frameworks such as probabilistic matching and cohort analysis. The author stresses the importance of diversifying traffic sources, reducing reliance on third‑party cookies, and leveraging first‑party data to maintain acquisition efficiency. While the post does not present raw survey data or a detailed methodology, it references industry trends and regulatory shifts that shape UA practices.

Geographically, the focus is global but implicitly centered on iOS‑centric markets where IDFA removal has had the greatest impact. The timeframe is current, reflecting developments up to May 2026. Overall, the article offers a pragmatic snapshot of post‑IDFA UA challenges and recommends adaptive strategies for marketers navigating an increasingly privacy‑constrained ecosystem.