Apple Rejecting Apps that Access UDIDs

Facing pressure from regulators regarding how apps can obtain and share user data, Apple has commissioned two of its ten review teams to start rejecting iOS software that accesses the UDID (unique device identifier).

Sources with alleged knowledge of Apple’s plans are telling TechCrunch that two of a total of 10 review teams “started doing blanket rejections of apps that access UDIDs this week.”

Of the 10 teams Apple uses as a net for the tens of thousands of apps being submitted each week, four will be commissioned for the job next week.

The number will keep escalating until all teams will be “turning down apps that are still using UDIDs.”

 

The report quotes Jim Payne, who led mobile advertising network AdMob before it sold to Google for $750 million. Payne said: “The UDID is essential for managing the conversion loop. All the performance dollars that are spent on mobile are going to impacted by this not being there.”

Victor Rubba, chief executive of Fluik, said “Everyone’s scrambling to get something into place. We’re trying to be proactive and we’ve already moved to an alternative scheme.”

Fluik makes iOS games, including Office Jerk and Plumber Crack. The studio is based in Canada. Rubba is refraining himself from issuing any updates until he can better assess the situation caused by Apple’s recent change of heart.

Playhaven, a company that helps developers monetize more than 1,200 games across iOS and Android tells TechCrunch that, in a week’s time, several of its customers have been rejected.

Playhaven’s CEO, Andy Yang, advises developers to be flexible and support multiple ID systems until one of them is deemed fit for Apple’s requirements.

“This is definitely happening,” Yang said. “In the next month or two, this is going to have an impact on all ad networks and apps using advertising. Everybody’s trying to make their own choices about what to use instead.”

Posted in: News, Review, Software