LinkCleanhttps://example.com/landing?wbraid=ABw-xyz0123_4abcdefgh
After LinkCleanhttps://example.com/landing
wbraid
Ad-click identifiers · Google Ads · introduced ~2021
What is wbraid?
What wbraid does (and how it differs from gbraid)
wbraid and gbraid are sibling iOS-era replacements for gclid. The difference is the destination: gbraid is for iOS app-install attribution (clicks that end up at the App Store), wbraid is for iOS web attribution (clicks that end up on a normal website). Both work without needing App Tracking Transparency permission.
If you tap a Google Search ad on iPhone and the destination is a web page, the URL usually has ?wbraid=<token>. Tap one that links to App Store, and the URL has gbraid instead. The two never coexist on the same URL.
Why both exist
Apple treats web destinations and App Store destinations differently for privacy bookkeeping, so Google needed two parallel mechanisms — one for each side. Both aggregate clicks rather than identify users individually, both work without ATT consent, and both feed into Google Ads' same conversion-attribution dashboard on the advertiser's side.
How LinkClean removes it
wbraid ships default-on in the ads catalog. Same pipeline as gbraid + gclid + every other vendor-specific click identifier — stripped on every host.
Frequently asked
When do I see wbraid vs gbraid?
wbraid on iOS clicks heading to web destinations; gbraid on iOS clicks heading to the App Store. The two never coexist on the same URL.
Is wbraid still tracking me individually?
Not the way gclid did. It aggregates at campaign level. But it still records that a click happened from your iOS device toward a specific ad, and Google can join it back to broader signals on their side.
Will removing wbraid hurt the page?
No. The destination web server doesn't read it. Only Google Ads' conversion-tracking script does, on the destination, after load.
Clean tracking on iPhone, in one tap.
LinkClean strips ~80 vendor-specific tracking parameters from any link, from any app's share sheet — and preserves functional ones like hl, t (YouTube timestamp), and q (search). No account, on-device.
