Quick answer: Meta's default attribution window is 7-day click. Any conversion that happens within 7 days of a click on your ad gets credited to that ad. Apple's ATT enforcement made view-through attribution unreliable, so Meta made 7-day click the new standard for all ad sets.
---
What Is 7-Day Click Attribution?
7-day click attribution tells Meta to credit your ad for any conversion that occurs within 7 days of a click.
Definition: How Meta counts conversions within 7 days of a click
Per Meta's Business Help Center, 7-day click is now the default attribution setting for all new ad sets. A shopper clicks your ad on Monday and buys on Saturday. Meta credits that sale to your ad. Simple as that.
Attribution window explained: The 24-hour increment lookback period
Per Meta's attribution documentation, the window is measured in 24-hour increments between the conversion and the ad touchpoint. Any click that happened more than 7 days before the conversion gets zero credit. No partial credit. No rounding up. The cutoff is firm.
Click vs. view attribution: Why clicks get longer lookback windows
Clicks signal clear intent. Someone who clicked your ad took an active step. Someone who scrolled past it may not have registered it at all. That difference in intent is why click windows run longer than view windows. A 7-day click window captures delayed buyers. A 1-day view window captures only the most immediate responders.
---
Why 7-Day Click Is Now the Default
Apple's ATT prompt changed how Meta could track conversions across apps and websites.
Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) and its impact on tracking
Apple required users to opt into cross-app tracking. Most users declined. That removed a large portion of the off-platform signal Meta used to measure view-through conversions. The data pipeline for impressions outside Meta's own apps got much narrower overnight.
Limitations of view-through attribution post-ATT enforcement
View-through attribution depends on impression data from outside Meta's apps. ATT made that data incomplete and unreliable. Meta could no longer confidently say a conversion was driven by an ad someone saw but didn't click.
How Meta adjusted default windows to maintain measurement accuracy
Per the Meta Business Help Center, on 19 January Meta changed the default attribution setting for all new ad sets to 7-day click and 1-day view, in preparation for Apple's ATT enforcement. After full prompt enforcement rolled out, the default shifted again to 7-day click only. Click-based signals held up better through ATT. View-based signals didn't.
---
How 7-Day Click Differs From Other Attribution Windows
Different windows show different conversion counts for the same campaign. Understanding each one prevents misreading your results.
1-day click: Shorter lookback, higher confidence in direct action
1-day click counts only conversions within 24 hours of a click. Fewer conversions show up. But those are your most direct attributions. Use it when you want the highest-confidence signal with minimal noise.
1-day view: Immediate view-through conversions (limited post-ATT)
1-day view captures conversions from people who saw your ad but didn't click. It's still available as a comparison option in Ads Manager. But the data is less complete now. ATT reduced the view-through signals Meta can reliably collect.
28-day click: Legacy longer window (now deprecated for most accounts)
28-day click used to be the standard default. It caught long consideration cycles where buyers took weeks to decide. Following ATT enforcement, Meta deprecated 28-day click and 7-day view windows for standard advertisers. Per Meta's documentation, historical data for those windows is still accessible via the Ads Insights API. New campaign reporting defaults to 7-day click.
Why these differences matter for ROI interpretation
A 28-day window shows more conversions than a 7-day window for identical campaigns. That's not a performance difference. It's a longer lookback. If you compare campaigns that used different attribution windows, the numbers are not directly comparable. Consistency in your chosen window matters more than picking the one that shows the biggest numbers.
---
How to Read Your Ads Manager Data With 7-Day Click Attribution
Where to find the attribution window setting in Ads Manager
Open Meta Ads Manager. Navigate to your ad set. Click Edit. Scroll to the Attribution Setting section. Your active window is shown there. You can also surface it as a column in your reporting table.
What the metrics mean when you're viewing 7-day click data
Every conversion in your results column was triggered by a click within the last 7 days. Your cost per result, purchase ROAS, and conversion volume all reflect that 7-day window. Keep that in mind when benchmarking against older campaign data that used the 28-day click default.
Understanding discrepancies between different attribution windows
Switching from 7-day click to 1-day click will reduce reported conversions. That is not a drop in actual performance. It is a narrower lens on the same activity. Per Meta's Business Help Center, you can compare attribution settings side-by-side in Ads Manager to see exactly how the window change affects reported results across campaigns, ad sets, and individual ads.
---
Changing Your Attribution Window
Steps to change attribution window at campaign, ad set, or account level
Open Ads Manager and navigate to the ad set you want to update. Click Edit. Find the Attribution Setting field. Select your preferred window from the available options. Save your changes. For account-level defaults, go to Business Settings and update attribution settings there.
Comparing attribution settings side-by-side in Ads Manager
Meta's Ads Manager includes a Compare Attribution Settings feature. Access it in your campaign or ad set reporting view. It shows how the same campaign performs across different windows, like 1-day click vs. 7-day click. This is useful when auditing legacy data or presenting performance to stakeholders.
When to use different attribution windows for analysis
Use 1-day click for flash sales and short-window promotions where the decision cycle is fast. Use 7-day click as your standard reporting baseline. Meta uses it as the API default and it benchmarks consistently across most account types.
---
Using 7-Day Click Data for Campaign Optimization
What a 7-day lookback reveals about customer decision timing
When you break down conversions by day within the 7-day window, you can see how long buyers take to act after clicking. Conversions clustering on day 1 mean your creative drives fast decisions. Conversions peaking on days 5 to 7 mean your audience needs more time. That timing insight shapes your retargeting sequence and frequency caps.
Balancing short-term confidence with full customer journey insight
No single attribution window captures the complete picture. 7-day click gives you a reliable, consistent baseline. It will miss some longer consideration cycles. For high-ticket products, some buyers may convert well outside the 7-day window entirely. Pair attribution data with direct customer surveys and analytics platforms to fill that gap.
Why DTC brands benefit from longer attribution windows
DTC brands often sell products with multi-day consideration cycles. A customer clicks your ad, researches alternatives, then returns to buy on day 6. 7-day click captures that journey. 1-day click misses it. For most DTC advertisers, 7-day click remains the right default reporting lens. Switching to 1-day click for comparison can reveal how much of your volume comes from immediate vs. delayed buyers.
---
Or let Coinis do it.
From a product URL to a live Meta campaign. AI-generated creatives. On-brand copy. Direct publish to Facebook and Instagram. Real performance reporting. All in one platform.
Start free. Upgrade when you're ready.
15 AI tokens a month. No credit card.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 7-day click attribution mean on Facebook?
7-day click attribution means Meta credits your ad for any conversion that happens within 7 days of someone clicking it. It's the default attribution window for all new Meta ad sets. Conversions that occur more than 7 days after a click are not counted.
Why did Meta change the default attribution window to 7-day click?
Meta changed the default from 28-day click and 1-day view to 7-day click because of Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) enforcement. ATT reduced Meta's ability to track view-through conversions from outside its own apps, making click-based attribution the more reliable measurement option.
Can I still use 28-day click attribution in Meta Ads Manager?
For most standard advertiser accounts, 28-day click and 7-day view attribution windows have been deprecated as active reporting options following ATT enforcement. Historical data for those windows is still accessible via the Ads Insights API for reference purposes.
Will changing my attribution window affect my actual campaign performance?
No. Changing the attribution window only changes how results are reported, not how your ads are delivered. A shorter window shows fewer conversions for the same campaign. That's a narrower lens on the data, not a change in what happened.