Mobile Advertising ID

Full Title or Meme

The MAID is used to track user's smartphones.

Context

Tracking user's smartphones is now routine in the US. Here is what an ad agency has to say.

MAIDs were built for the advertising community. Like cookies, mobile advertising IDs connect activity back to a real person. Because MAIDs are tied to an individual mobile device, they offer a precise way to identify specific people.

MAID Type Description Example IDFA Identifier for Advertising (iOS) BCDE4299-01DT-98TC-D3F4-P57263876209 AAID Google Advertising ID for Android 28757bwa-bd67-6d1c74bb-ae4d19ab5d34

Problems

FTC sues data broker that tracks locations of 125M phones per month. Agency says data shows users visits to clinics and homeless shelters