In one line
Click injection is an Android fraud technique that fires a fake click in the brief moment between an app finishing its download and install starting, hijacking last-click attribution credit from whatever ad actually drove the user.
Why it matters
Last-touch attribution (LTA) gives conversion credit to the last click before install. Click injection exploits that: no real marketing effort is behind it, but it looks like a legitimate ad drove the install — burning spend on installs that show good CPA but poor downstream retention or revenue.
Signals to watch for
- Suspiciously short time between click and install (seconds)
- Unrealistically high CTR from a specific network
- That network's post-install retention/repeat-purchase rate is unusually low
Go deeper
See other reasons attribution data doesn't match reality in Attribution Data Mismatch.