Google Axes UDID Support

Google released an AdMob SDK for iOS developers today that completes its transition away from allowing apps access to Unique Device Identifiers, weeks before Apple's official deadline for retiring the system. UDIDs are the unique string of numbers that individually identifies each cellular device. Typically, they have been used by developers to track app installations across Apple's user base. Tracking users lets companies tailor advertising to each individual, but it also raises a host of privacy concerns.

In response to those concerns, Apple announced last month that, as of May 1, it would no longer accept new apps or app updates that access UDIDs, but the announcement wasn't a total surprise. The company announced in March 2012 that it was beginning to roll out a rejection process for apps that access UDIDs.