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SeaKing · 06-05-2012, 01:58 PM

For those who use iOS devices as eReaders:
iPhone and Ipad iOS Privacy violations
If the Ad people can do it, who else can?

Ad Networks Bypass iPhone Privacy Rules
The Wall Street Journal Technology
June 5, 2012, 4:21AM ET

By JOEL SCHECTMAN And JESSICA E. VASCELLARO

"Mobile ad networks are using new techniques to target iPhone users by circumventing Apple Inc.'s earlier efforts to protect user privacy.

Apple last summer said it would stop allowing app makers to use a unique identifier embedded in iPhones and iPads to track users as they move from app to app, which is an important way for advertisers to position their ads for appropriate audiences.

To avoid the limits of Apple's rules, ad networks that serve advertisements within mobile apps have started using new identifiers that collect information like location and preferences as the user moves across apps. One of the tracking systems is based on a unique identifier located in the iPhone's wireless networking hardware—a system known as Open Device Identification Number, or ODIN. The other prominent tracking alternative, called OpenUDID, uses the device's built-in copy-and-paste function.

These networks claim they will lose millions of dollars a week in revenue unless they can gather personal data from users to better target them. Privacy advocates argue these new techniques could allow marketers to identify individuals and violate unsuspecting users' privacy."

--read more--

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06-05-2012, 01:58 PM	#1
SeaKing Frequent Flier Posts: 1,282 Karma: 2058993297 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: KB kindle aboard, Galx Tab 7.0 Plus, trying out Droid 1 as mini-tab	iPhone and Ipad iOS Privacy violations For those who use iOS devices as eReaders: iPhone and Ipad iOS Privacy violations If the Ad people can do it, who else can? Ad Networks Bypass iPhone Privacy Rules The Wall Street Journal Technology June 5, 2012, 4:21AM ET By JOEL SCHECTMAN And JESSICA E. VASCELLARO "Mobile ad networks are using new techniques to target iPhone users by circumventing Apple Inc.'s earlier efforts to protect user privacy. Apple last summer said it would stop allowing app makers to use a unique identifier embedded in iPhones and iPads to track users as they move from app to app, which is an important way for advertisers to position their ads for appropriate audiences. To avoid the limits of Apple's rules, ad networks that serve advertisements within mobile apps have started using new identifiers that collect information like location and preferences as the user moves across apps. One of the tracking systems is based on a unique identifier located in the iPhone's wireless networking hardware—a system known as Open Device Identification Number, or ODIN. The other prominent tracking alternative, called OpenUDID, uses the device's built-in copy-and-paste function. These networks claim they will lose millions of dollars a week in revenue unless they can gather personal data from users to better target them. Privacy advocates argue these new techniques could allow marketers to identify individuals and violate unsuspecting users' privacy." --read more-- .