• Marketing Land
  • Sections
    • MarTech
    • CMO
    • Social
    • SEM
    • SEO
    • Mobile
    • Analytics
    • Display
    • Email
    • Retail
    • Video
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Marketing Land
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Mobile
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Retail
  • MarTech
  • More
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Marketing Land

Marketing Land

Lean into your data

To improve CX, brand loyalty

What's ahead for ad tech?

More consolidation

Events

Join us at SMX Advanced!

  • MarTech
  • CMO
  • Social
  • SEM
  • SEO
  • Mobile
  • Analytics
  • Display
  • Email
  • Retail
  • Video
  • Newsletters
  • Home
Mobile Marketing

Get the most important digital marketing news each day.

Note: By submitting this form, you agree to Third Door Media's terms. We respect your privacy.


Google Replacing “Android ID” With “Advertising ID” Similar To Apple’s IDFA

Greg Sterling on October 31, 2013 at 2:18 pm
  • More

This morning, as part of a cluster of other announcements including the Android OS update, KitKat and Nexus 5, Google is replacing the unique Android ID (similar to Apple’s old UDID) with a new “Advertising ID.” The latter largely duplicates the approach of Apple’s Identifier For Advertising (IDFA).

Google’s new Advertising ID (for apps but not the mobile browser) is a long, anonymous string of digits that will allow tracking and ad targeting without relying on an identifier uniquely married to the device. It abstracts targeting up a level and introduces additional user control.

It will be immediately available (for devices running android 2.3 or later) but “enforced” over time. Google Play terms are being changed to require use of Advertising ID next year.

As indicated, Google is announcing new user privacy controls, similar to Apple’s “limit ad tracking.” Users will be able to reset the Advertising ID (as you can reset the IDFA in iOS 7) and opt out of “interest based ads.”

Google Advertising ID

In Google settings users will be able to click “Ads” (see above) and be taken to a screen where they will see the Advertising ID and be able to reset it, essentially like clearing their cookies in a browser. The screen will also let them opt out of “interest based ads.” This is comparable to “ad choices” online, where users can opt out of behaviorally targeted ads.

Following Apple’s lead, Google is trying to provide a balance between advertiser desires to track and identify users and consumer privacy interests. Apple’s IDFA has been well received and so should this be.

Google issued the following formal statement about the change:

To give users better controls and to provide developers with a simple, standard system to continue to monetize their apps, we are replacing Android ID with an anonymous identifier for advertising purposes. This enables users to reset their identifier, or opt out of interest-based ads for Google Play apps.

The Google Play terms are being updated to require advertisers to use it after August 1, 2014: “Beginning August 1st 2014, all updates and new apps uploaded to the Play Store must use the advertising ID (when available on a device) in lieu of any other device identifiers for any advertising purposes.”

As mentioned, the new Advertising ID doesn’t in any way implicate the browser (mobile or online). It’s only for advertising in apps. Google’s effort to get users to sign in to Google Chrome (across platforms) is a parallel Google-only way to identify users and target them accordingly. While that identifies particular individuals it’s opt-in and is just like being signed in to Facebook or Twitter.

Consumer interests and mobile advertising need not be in opposition. To some degree I believe reconciling that apparent “conflict” goes to the quality of mobile ads and the ad creative itself.

Hopefully Advertising ID (and IDFA) will make those in the mobile advertising ecosystem think more carefully about mobile ads and improve their overall quality.



About The Author

Greg Sterling
Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.

Popular Stories

The Secret Meanings Behind 40 Brand Logos
Google Display ads have evolved: What's next for display?
6 of the best social listening tools for 2019
What I've learned from growing and unfollowing over 250,000 followers on Twitter

Related Topics

Channel: Mobile MarketingGoogleGoogle: AndroidGoogle: Mobile

Get the most important digital marketing news each day.

Note: By submitting this form, you agree to Third Door Media's terms. We respect your privacy.


We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Attend Our Conferences

Gain new strategies and insights at the intersection of marketing, technology, and management. Our next conference will be held:

April 3-5, 2019: San Jose

September 16-18, 2019: Boston

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

April 2-3, 2019: SMX Munich

May 21-22, 2019: SMX London

June 3-5, 2019: SMX Advanced

June 12-13, 2019: SMX Paris

Sept 30 - Oct 1, 2019: SMX Advanced Europe

November 13-14, 2019: SMX East

×

Attend SMX - Click Here


Learn More About Our SMX Events

White Papers

  • The Ultimate Guide to Site Search User Experience
  • The Marketing Analytics Buyer’s Guide 2019
  • Mission Possible: Quality Content Marketing
  • 2019 Marketing Trends: Nine factors reshaping marketing and how you can stay ahead of them
  • The Dummies Guide to Enterprise Customer Data Platforms
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • 2019 Martech Trends You Need To Know
  • How to Prepare for a Successful Marketing Analytics Implementation
  • Get More From Your Customer Data With Open Marketing Cloud: A Demo of Mautic’s Marketing Automation Platform
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Account-Based Marketing Tools
  • Enterprise SEO Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
  • Paid Media Campaign Management Platforms
  • Local Marketing Automation Tools
See More Research
Digital Agency e-Book
Sign up for our daily newsletter
Marketing Land
Download the Marketing Land app on iTunes Download the Marketing Land App on Google Play

Follow Us

© 2019 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.