What is a click ID?
A click ID is a unique ID a tracking system gives each tap on a tracking link. It travels to the advertiser and comes back with any later install or event, so that conversion can be matched to the exact tap that led to it.
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A click ID has one job, which is to connect two moments that may be days apart: the tap and the conversion.
Example: player u_48213 taps Harbor Blocks on an iPhone in Texas at 2:06 PM, and the tap is recorded as clk_7Q2f81. That ID goes with the player to the advertiser’s side. When the install is reported at 2:09 PM, it arrives with clk_7Q2f81, and the install is matched to that tap.
Since each tap gets its own ID, a repeat tap by the same user is a new click ID. What decides whether the install counts is the matching rule, such as the first tap or the most recent one.
The advertiser’s side needs the click ID, because it has to send it back. The publisher mostly doesn’t, so plenty of systems never return it to the publisher at all. Publishers get a user ID and a conversion ID back, which is what they need to credit someone.
We record each tap under its own click ID and add it to the advertiser’s destination URL as afos_click_id. The advertiser sends it back as clickId on each event. It never comes back on a publisher postback: clk_7Q2f81 stays on our side, and what comes back is sub_id=u_48213 with an action_id for the conversion. How a tap is recorded: Click Tracking and What happens after a user clicks.
Questions
What is the difference between a click ID and a sub ID?
The tracking system makes the click ID, one for each tap. You make the sub ID, usually one for each user. One user who taps three times has three click IDs and one sub ID.
Can I get my own click ID back on a postback?
Yes, if you put it on the link yourself. On AffiliateOS, send it in sub1 to sub10 and it comes back on the postback under the same name.
Is a click ID personal data?
It identifies a tap, not a name, but it can be tied to one person once it's stored against their account. Treat it the way you treat the rest of your user records.