3

IFA (Identifier for Advertisers) is something new in iOS6 and resembles a unique ID that can be passed to advertisers to anonymously keep and track user context (and hopefully provide a better experience).

My questions come particularly from the web-development domain (i.e. mobile browser/javascript):

Is there any equivalent for IFA on Android (if yes, in which OS version does it exist)? If there is none, what is the common alternative - is it just a cookie? If so, what is the right technique to implement it (I guess 3rd party cookie / security is something that should pop-up in the context)?

Actually any well-working/well-formed way to track user context for ads relevance will be mostly welcomed.

BreakPhreak
  • 10,940
  • 26
  • 72
  • 108
  • 1
    There is pretty much nothing that is guaranteed to work as a reliable unique device identifier on Android, see http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2785485/is-there-a-unique-android-device-id – zapl Nov 12 '12 at 14:37

2 Answers2

3

Unique identifier for mobile platforms such as Android and iOS basically uses Android_ID and UDID (Deprecated) now its IFA. Android OS also allows other system indentifiers like equipment ( IMEI, MEID or ESN ) and subscriber ( IMSI from the SIM and WLAN MAC address) identifiers.

For mobile web, like online, third party cookies are used. Third-party cookies are effective on Android devices. But in iOS devices, third party cookies are disabled by default in safari browser. To overcome this, ad network can use invisible iframes write cookies via the website users visits( looks like first-party cookies).

Another approach is to collect information disclosed by the browser itself to build up a fingerprint for that device. This is depends on the browser ( javascript enabled or not ) and how heavily the consumer uses the browser, accuracy over 94% is readily achieved.

Another approach is to rely on domain specific persistent identifiers. ( Original Source )

Blue Cava offers device fingerprinting platform for delivering the right online content and recognizing devices displaying good or bad behavior. If you are willing to pay for this service, please check this out. BlueCava also offers JavaScript client-side APIs for those who want more flexibility and integration options. To integrate, place the JavaScript in the HTML of the page the end user will consume, and it will call the BlueCava servers.

thomasbabuj
  • 3,779
  • 3
  • 24
  • 22
0

...or generate a GUID and store it in sharedPreferences?

UUID.randomUUID();
Simon
  • 14,407
  • 8
  • 46
  • 61