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Create an App retargeting audience

How to create an app retargeting audience?


The audience you choose for your app retargeting ad set determines who sees your ads, and whether your campaign delivers at all. For app retargeting, there's one rule that applies to every audience you build: it must be made up of people who have your app installed.


Two audience types, two different approaches

When you select iOS app or Android app as your conversion location, only two audience types are available:

  • Retargeting (automated) - Criteo's AI automatically identifies users who've previously interacted with your app and keeps the audience current. You don't build this one from scratch; you simply select it and let it run. It's the recommended starting point for most app retargeting campaigns because it delivers the broadest reach of qualified app users with the least setup.

  • Customizable - You build this audience yourself from your own data: contact lists (such as device advertising IDs from your MMP) and app event segments. Use Customizable audiences when you want to reach a specific group. For example, users who installed your app in the last 60 days, or high-value buyers who've gone dormant.

Option 1: Create a retargeting audience (recommended)

You can create a retargeting audience inline during ad set setup, or in advance from the Audience Library.


During ad set setup:

  1. On the Select your audience screen, choose Retargeting as the audience type.

  2. Click Create audience.

  3. The Create audience modal opens. Fill in the following:

    • Name - Give your audience a clear, descriptive name.

    • Visitor type: Select the group of users you want to target. Leave it on All to include every user who's interacted with your app.

    • Include users who visited between: Set the recency window. Enter a number of days in both fields: for example, 0 to 90 days ago targets users who visited in the last three months. The maximum window is 400 days.

    • Exclusion list: Toggle this on if you want to suppress a specific segment, for example, users who've already purchased recently.

    • Click Save. Your audience is ready to use. 


From the Audience Library:

  1. In the left navigation, go to Assets > Audiences > Audience Library.

  1. Click Create audience.

  1. Select Retargeting as the type and follow the steps.

Option 2: Create a customizable audience

Use a Customizable audience when you want to target a specific group of your app users based on your own data.


Before you start, you'll need:

  • Access to the Audience Library and permission to create audiences

  • Contact Lists containing app user identifiers, typically device advertising IDs (IDFA for iOS, GAID for Android), or other app-linked identifiers exported from your MMP or CDP

 
To create a customizable audience:

  1. In the left navigation panel, go to Assets > Audiences > Audience Library.

  1. Click Create audience.

  1. Select Customizable as the audience type.

  1. You'll see the Audience Builder, which lets you combine Contact Lists and segments using simple include/exclude logic. To add Contact Lists:

    • Drag a Contact List into the Include area to target those users.

    • Drag a Contact List into the Exclude area to suppress those users. For example, users who purchased in the last seven days.

    Combining multiple lists: You can use three operators to build more complex audiences:

    Operator 

    What it does 

    Example 

    AND

    Narrows your audience - includes only users who appear in all selected lists 

    Recent installers AND high-value buyers 

    OR 

    Broadens your audience - includes users who appear in any of the selected lists 

    Cart abandoners OR lapsed browsers 

    NOT 

    Removes a specific group 

    All app users NOT recently active 

  2. Give your audience a clear name that includes:

    • The Operating System (iOS or Android)

    • The purpose or logic (for example: App RTG — Android — Lapsed high-value buyers — Q3 2026)

  1. Click Save.


Your audience is now in the Audience Library and can be selected when building an app retargeting ad set.

Best practices for app retargeting audiences

A well-configured audience is the foundation of a strong campaign. Keep these best practices in mind as you build.

Go broad first

Low audience size is the most common reason app retargeting campaigns underdeliver. If you're not sure where to start, use a Retargeting audience; it's automatically built for scale and doesn't require any list management.

Keep your Contact Lists fresh

Audiences built on outdated lists lose reach over time. Work with your MMP or data team to refresh your lists regularly.

Verify your identifiers

Your Contact Lists should contain device advertising IDs (IDFA for iOS, GAID for Android) or MMP-provided identifiers that map to real app users.

Name clearly

You'll likely build multiple audiences over time. Names that include platform, recency, and intent (for example, iOS — Cart abandoners — 30d) make it much easier to manage your Audience Library.

Troubleshooting

Problem 

What to do 

Can't find a Contact List segment 

The segment may still be processing after upload. Confirm ingestion is complete in the Audience Library before building. 

Save button is blocked 

A referenced segment isn't a Contact List. Replace it with a Contact List-based segment. 

Audience size is very small 

Broaden your include logic using OR, reduce your excludes, or switch to a broader Contact List. Small size leads to limited or no delivery. 

Campaign launched but isn't delivering 

Check that your audience contains only app users. If the audience includes non-app users, it will silently block delivery. Review your Contact List identifiers. 

Changes not applying to your ad set 

Edits to a Customizable audience are reflected across all ad sets linked to it — once you save, the update is live. Allow a short time for delivery to reflect the updated audience. 

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