Written by Krisztián Stark
Key takeaways
- There are three audience filters: device type, operating system (Windows, Android, iOS) and browser. Leave a filter empty to include everyone.
- The offerwall reads each user's browser user agent, and a user must match every filter you set, so each filter shrinks your audience.
- There is no macOS or Linux option. Ticking any operating system leaves those users out, so use Desktop only when you want every computer.
Which device targeting does Sharklio offer?
A Sharklio campaign has three audience filters: Device type (Any device, Desktop only, or Mobile & tablet only), Operating system (Windows, Android, iOS) and Browser (Chrome / Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera). The offerwall reads each user’s browser user agent and shows your campaign only if the user matches every filter you set. Leave a filter empty and it includes everyone.
These filters work on top of your countries: a user must be in one of your countries first. There is no targeting by device model, operating system version, carrier or language, and bids are set per country, not per device.
Where to set device, OS and browser targeting
In the campaign builder, open section 2. Targeting & bids and scroll to Audience, below the country bids. Device type is a drop-down, and operating system and browser are chips you can tick, one or several. The same filters exist for task and offer campaigns.
On a live campaign, changes to these filters apply right away, without a new review. The campaign page lists your current choices under Rules & budget, and shows “Any” where a filter is empty.
The options and how each one is matched
| Filter | Options | Who matches |
|---|---|---|
| Device type | Any device, Desktop only, Mobile & tablet only | Mobile & tablet means the user agent identifies a phone or tablet, such as Android, iPhone or iPad. Everything else counts as desktop. |
| Operating system | Windows, Android, iOS | iPhone, iPad and iPod count as iOS. Users on any other system, such as macOS, Linux or ChromeOS, match none of the three. |
| Browser | Chrome / Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera | Chrome / Edge also covers Chrome on iPhone and most browsers built on Chrome. Firefox includes Firefox on iPhone. |
Within one filter, a user needs to match any one of the options you ticked. Across filters, they need to match all of them. Ticking Android and iOS reaches users on either, while Desktop only plus iOS reaches almost no one.
How the offerwall detects a user’s device
Every browser sends a short text called a user agent, which names the device, the operating system and the browser. The offerwall reads it when the user opens the wall, and checks it again when the user starts your campaign, so a campaign that does not match is not available to them. Publishers who load offers through our API send the user’s device or user agent with each request, and the same check runs when the user starts the campaign.
For offer campaigns, the device is also available to your tracker: the {device} placeholder in your tracking link becomes desktop, android or ios.
Edge cases to know before you narrow a campaign
- Mac and Linux users. There is no macOS or Linux option. If you tick any operating system, these users no longer see the campaign. To reach every computer, choose Desktop only and leave Operating system empty.
- iPads in desktop mode. An iPad that requests the desktop version of websites, which Safari on recent iPads does by default, identifies itself like a Mac. It then counts as desktop and not as iOS.
- Offerwalls inside apps. When a publisher opens the offerwall inside an app, the page may run in an in-app web view. On iPhone, these often do not name a browser at all, so a browser filter can hide your campaign from those users.
- Conflicting filters. Desktop only with Android or iOS, or Mobile & tablet only with Windows, leaves almost nobody. Pick either a device type or an operating system that implies it, not two that contradict each other.
- Edge and other Chrome-based browsers. They share the Chrome / Edge option, so you cannot target Chrome without Edge.
When to use each filter
- Mobile app installs. Tick the operating system of your store: Android for Google Play, iOS for the App Store. If your app is on both, either run one campaign whose starting link leads to a page that sends each user to the right store, or run two campaigns, each with one operating system and its own link.
- Windows software. Choose Desktop only and tick Windows.
- Browser extensions. Choose Desktop only and tick the browser your extension store serves, for example Chrome / Edge or Firefox.
- Websites and web sign-ups. Leave all three filters empty unless your site truly fails on some devices. Every filter you add shrinks the audience that can see your campaign.
- Offer campaigns with one tracker. If your tracker can route users with
{device}, one campaign without filters can serve all platforms.
Illustrative setup: one game on two stores
A studio has its game on Google Play and the App Store with different store links. It creates two task campaigns with the same countries and instructions: one with Operating system set to Android and the Google Play link as the starting link, the other with iOS and the App Store link. It bids $0.30 on the Android campaign and $0.45 on the iOS one, because it values iOS players more, and compares the two after the first approved completions. The bids are illustrative.
Check your results before you narrow
Each completion shows the user’s Device (Desktop, Android, or iPhone or iPad), Platform and Browser. Before you add a filter, look at a few days of completions: if the users you would exclude are being approved at the same rate as the rest, the filter only costs you reach. Add filters when a device clearly cannot complete your task, not to guess at quality. Countries remain the main lever for cost, which How to choose countries for your campaign and Set bids by country explain.
Target the devices your product supports
Start broad, add a device or operating system filter only where your product needs it, and let approved completions show you who your users are. You can create a free account and build a campaign with Create your first campaign; device targeting is in section 2 of the builder.
Frequently asked questions
Can I target Mac users only?
No. There is no macOS option. Desktop only with Operating system left empty reaches Windows, Mac and Linux users together.
Do tablets count as mobile?
Mostly. Android tablets and iPads that identify as iPads count under Mobile & tablet only. An iPad that requests desktop websites identifies as a Mac and counts as desktop.
What happens if I leave every filter empty?
Every user in your countries can see the campaign, on any device, operating system and browser.
Can I bid more for iOS than for Android?
Not inside one campaign, because bids are per country. Run two campaigns with different operating systems and set different bids in each.
Can I target by operating system version or device model?
No. The filters are device type, operating system and browser. If your app needs a minimum version, say so in the first step of your instructions so users on older devices can skip it. How to write task instructions that pass review shows where such limits belong.
