From May 1, the App Store will no longer support applications that use UDID (a unique device identifier). Anyone who does not have time to abandon it and switch to an alternative solution will have a “path ordered” in iTunes.
Companies use UDID, as a rule, to monitor and collect information about users. The problem is that it can also be used to access users’ personal data. This, in its time, caused a wide public outcry in the United States. According to rumors, in March last year, the US Congress was even preparing for hearings on this issue. As a result, Apple decided to gradually abandon this standard.
A sharp ban on UDID could cause a disaster in the mobile market. The fact is that advertising companies also use the identifier to track the effectiveness of advertising and pricing. If it was turned off, developers would probably lose about a quarter of the revenue generated from advertising.
“Moving away from UDID threatened the advertising revenue of many publishers,” said Jim Payne, executive director of MoPub. “There is a direct connection between the money paid for advertising and the ability to track this very advertising.”
But there was a problem: it was unclear what could be his replacement. There were many proposals, but each of them had serious drawbacks.
The decision came from Apple itself. In iOS 6, UDID has a full–fledged alternative – IFA (advertising identifier). Its key difference from a unique identifier is that it is not tied to personal data, but only to information about user activity in mobile applications (how much they play, how much they spend on IAP, and so on).
From May 1, IFA will cease to be an “alternative”, will turn into a standard.