What is the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA)?

The Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) is a random device identifier assigned by Apple to a user’s device. Advertisers use this to track data so they can deliver customized advertising. The IDFA is used for tracking and identifying a user (without revealing personal information), allowing advertisers to access aggregated data. The aggregated data can then be used to discover information such as which in-app events a user triggers. The IDFA can also identify when users interact with a mobile advertising campaign, provided the channel offers IDFA tracking and the advertiser tracks users who interact with as successfully. If this occurs, the IDFA can identify whether specific users click an advert for payment and attribution purposes.

Why is the Identifier for Advertiser (IDFA) important?

IDFAs are important because they are an accurate means to track iOS users. By assigning a device to a single IDFA, advertisers who are able to track IDFAs within a campaign have greater certainty about the defining qualities of that user and whether they installed due to an advertising campaign. IDFAs also offer a welcome level of privacy for users. This can have additional effects for advertisers, while the IDFA’s depersonalization of user data ensures that it is on the right side of data protection efforts. The Android equivalent to the Identifier for Advertisers is called a GPS ADID (or Google Play Services ID for Android). A user has access to their GPS ADID in their settings menu under ‘Google - Ads.’ They can also reset the ID and opt-out of ad personalization. To learn more about these terms, take a look at our introduction to app tracking .

What is the identifier for vendors (IDFV)?

The identifier for vendors (IDFV) is a unique, alphanumeric identifier assigned by Apple to all apps on a single device that are from the same publisher/vendor. This means if a user has downloaded, for example, three apps from the same vendor onto one device, the IDFV will be shared across all three and available to the developer.

Glossary What is the identifier for vendors (IDFV...

The definition of IDFV: What is identifier for vendors?

The identifier for vendors (IDFV) is a code assigned to all apps by one developer and is shared across all apps by that developer on your device. The value of the IDFV is the same for apps from the same developer running on the same device. A different value is returned for apps on the same device that come from different developers and for apps on different devices, regardless of the developer.

Apple’s IDFV is a universally unique identifier or code that is assigned to all iOS apps by one developer on a specific device. This means that the alphanumeric value of the IDFV is the same for all apps on a single device provided the app publisher (vendor) is the same.

The IDFV is predominantly used in cross-promotion as it allows developers to accrue first-party data that can be leveraged within their own advertising and publishing ecosystem, attribute cross-promotional installs, and track reinstalls. Because the IDFV is an anonymized data source, it falls within Apple’s privacy requirements and is therefore a powerful way to measure and attribute users within a first-party capacity.

So, if a gaming studio has three games that have all been downloaded on a single device, the IDFV can be used to measure activity across all games within the publishing suite on that device. With a unique identifier for one device across multiple apps, it’s possible to create highly targeted audience advertising. It also enables frequency capping, or the measurement (and control) of how many times a user has seen a specific ad.

The IDFV remains until all apps from that developer on the given device have been deleted.

An identifier for vendors is 32 characters long with four dashes breaking it into sets of eight numbers.

An IDFV will look something like this: T563P9YS-856G-473X-H1J2-FC94L0T37IC6

IDFV vs. IDFA: What is the difference between the identifier for vendors and the identifier for advertisers?

The identifier for advertisers (IDFA) is a random device identifier assigned by Apple to a user’s device. Advertisers can use this to track data so they can deliver customized advertising. The IDFA is used for tracking and identifying a user (without revealing personal information), allowing advertisers to access data on installs, sessions, and post-install activity. It also allows for cross-app and cross-device advertising, because the data can be used to identify when a user interacts with an advertising campaign. Since the release of iOS 14.5, advertisers have been required to request permission to access the IDFA and track the device via the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) opt-in prompt.

The IDFA can be reset at device level at any time by the user. Note that the IDFA is specific to the device and will persist until it is reset by the user.

Since the rollout of iOS 14.5, apps have been required to request consent from users in the form of the ATT opt-in to be able to access the IDFA. If a user does not opt-in, the IDFA will not be available. This means that it cannot be used for attribution purposes and that advertisers must instead use SKAdNetwork (SKAN) for attribution on iOS campaigns.

The IDFV is specific to the apps on a device from the same publisher/developer and is not specific to the device itself, like the IDFA. The IDFV cannot be reset by the user and is provided by the App Store to the developer. and will persist until all apps from the given vendor are uninstalled on the device, the IDFV will disappear. If they download an app (or more) from that same vendor again, a new IDFV will be generated.

For more information about the identifier for vendors (IDFV) or measurement on iOS in general, see our iOS & SKAN Solutions, get in touch with your Adjust contact person today, or request a demo.