ifa6 / openudid

Open source initiative for a universal and persistent UDID solution for iOS

##IMPORTANT NOTE

Please read this blog post before considering using OpenUDID:

http://blog.appsfire.com/udid-is-dead-openudid-is-deprecated-long-live-advertisingidentifier/

####OpenUDID project notes

IMPORTANT: IF YOU ARE GOING TO INTEGRATE OpenUDID INSIDE A (STATIC) LIBRARY,
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU REFACTOR THE OpenUDID CLASS WITH A PREFIX OF YOUR OWN,
E.G. ACME_OpenUDID. THIS WILL AVOID CONFUSION BY DEVELOPERS WHO ARE ALSO
USING OpenUDID IN THEIR OWN CODE. 

####Follow OpenUDID on Twitter http://twitter.com/OpenUDID

####Who is behind OpenUDID The project was initiated by Yann Lechelle (co-founder Appsfire) on 8/28/11

• https://github.com/ylechelle

Many have joined the effort since. Please browse this github projects to discover the many contributors (discussions, code, pull requests, alternative branches, etc…)

• https://github.com/ylechelle/OpenUDID/network
• https://github.com/ylechelle/OpenUDID/contributors
• https://github.com/ylechelle/OpenUDID/issues

####Master Branches & ports to other OSes

• iOS / MacOS code: https://github.com/ylechelle/OpenUDID
• Android code: https://github.com/vieux/OpenUDID
• CSharp.Net & SilverLight: https://github.com/jasonlamkk/OpenUDID.Net

####Usage

#include "OpenUDID.h"
NSString* openUDID = [OpenUDID value];

####Synopsis OpenUDID is a drop-in replacement for the deprecated uniqueIdentifier property of the UIDevice class on iOS (a.k.a. UDID) and otherwise is an industry-friendly equivalent for iOS and Android, and most recently Windows C# and Silverlight (see links above).

The agenda for this community driven project is to:

• Provide a reliable proxy and replacement for a universal unique device identifier. That is, persistent and sufficiently unique, on a per device basis.
• NOT use an obvious other sensitive unique identifier (like the MAC address) to avoid further deprecation and to protect device-level privacy concerns
• Enable the same OpenUDID to be accessed by any app on the same device
• Supply open-source code to generate and access the OpenUDID, for iOS and Android
• Incorporate, from the beginning, a system that will enable user opt-out to match Apple’s initial intent

####Context If you’re not already familiar with UDID’s, it’s a critical piece of information used for analytics or CRM purposes. A developer could use a UDID as a means to track how much time a user spent in his free app before upgrading to the paid version. UDIDs are also helpful for tracking the source of a download when advertising on an ad network. This is a fairly universal need in a thriving ecosystem: developers need the traceability from clicks to downloads to ensure that they pay the right price for their promotion. Proper tracking and funnel conversion is what has made the web a better place, with healthy competition and quantifiable metrics.

In the wake of Apple’s decision to deprecate UDID, some ad networks have already introduced their own proprietary solutions or worse adopted a low hanging fruit like the MAC address. The main motivation here was to find a UDID replacement not owned by any single provider, not bound to the device in the hardware sense. This open source initiative is to enable a better solution for thousands of other mobile app developers.

#####Version History

• August 2011: launch of the initiative
• Sept. 9 2011: v1.0 of the code meeting all requirements
• March 25 2012: removing all traces of the offending call on iOS
• June 7 2013: call for deprecation announced here: http://blog.appsfire.com/udid-is-dead-openudid-is-deprecated-long-live-advertisingidentifier/

####Contributions needed Equivalent OpenUDID systems on Blackberry, other platforms, etc...

####Seals to add on your sites if you use OpenUDID