Ephemeral

Full Title or Meme

When an entity has a Ephemeral Identifier the assumption is that it cannot be resused for a different session or used to track the User from one session to another.

Context

• An Identifier's primary function is to create a label to which attributes can be attached.
• For an otherwise anonymous connection to enable attribute checking, like the User's that are over 13, 18, or 21 years of age, some ephemeral Identifier is needed to ensure that any verified attribute cannot be reused in some other context.
• Ephemeral Identifiers can be as simple as the User's IP address, HTTPS session number or the Session Identifier (sid) in an OpenID Connect session.
• The Apple Advertising Identifier is designed specifically to track users for the duration of a session, but not between sessions or advertisers.

Problem

The User is seldom given any Assurance of the actual characteristics of any Identifier.

References

1. The Persistent page shows the antonym of Ephemeral.
2. Apple, Here’s how to manage your privacy. https://www.apple.com/privacy/manage-your-privacy/