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It is not. It is the Device Id that is exposed. Assuming the same user is using the device, you can track that user across application, and advertisement comp
by ardit33 16y ago
It is not. It is the Device Id that is exposed. Assuming the same user is using the device, you can track that user across application, and advertisement companies can get a clear picture of the user's preferences by aggregating the data coming from all apps.
Some apps have legitimate need for the device id though.
I agree with the seeded hash of an UDID. A developer can track one user across handsets, but two different developers can't tell form the hashed uid if it is the same customer.
This solves both the problems of 1. developers having to implement full blown account/login systems if their app is offering subscription services when a simple user id would suffice and 2. not allowing the user to be tracked across services.
I think this was just bad design from Apple.
- gyardley 16y agoAdvertising companies also have legitimate needs for tracking exposure to advertising across applications. Frequency caps, for instance -- advertisers buy inventory across multiple applications with the explicit provision that a user won't be shown the same ad creative more than a specified number of times in a given period. Not having cookies accessible across applications is the true design flaw. No one particularly wants to use the UDID for anything. Everyone would much rather use exactly the same infrastructure used for web advertising.