Mobile ad firm MoPub has published a new study which claims that some of the recent privacy protection steps taken by Apple are costing mobile development firms. Following a Congressional inquiry into its privacy practices, Apple began limiting developer access to UDIDs, the unique identifier for each iOS device. However, that restriction made it tougher for companies that serve mobile ads to track views and click-through, ultimately costing developers 24 percent of what they could have earned, says the study.
MoPub CEO Jim Payne says Apple needs to provide developers with an alternative to the UDID soon. “Here, we see a direct correlation between the money paid for an ad and the ability to track an ad,” he wrote. “It’s clear that Apple needs to address this issue with an appropriate alternative, because the damage to a publisher’s bottom line will likely be material if UDID data actually disappears.”
