Apple is Stopping Developer Access to UDIDs

[Maura]

Tech Crunch reports that they have discovered via an update to the iOS 5 documentation that is only available to authorised Apple developers, that Apple has plans to prevent developers from accessing the unique device identifier (UDID) on iPhones and iPads. Tech Crunch says that this is a “big deal”, in particular for ad networks, game networks, or any specific app that uses the UDID as a means of identifying the user. According to Tech Crunch, large numbers of apps and ad networks use the UDID to identify who is using their app or ad, and what they are doing with it. Apparently, these new plans by Apple mean that app developers will now have to develop their own identifiers, meaning that they may well have to start from scratch and chuck out all their old user data. Tech Crunch notes that this move by Apple could be due to privacy issues. One industry CEO told Tech Crunch that they think Apple will continue to use UDIDs itself, despite preventing developers from using them, saying that this will be very advantageous for Game Center and iAds.

Source: Apple Sneaks A Big Change Into iOS 5: Phasing Out Developer Access To The UDID | TechCrunch
Apple removing developer access to UDIDs in iOS 5? | TiPb

Thanks to iCrank for the heads up.