Apple has already released the highly anticipated iOS 6.1 which is the latest upgrade from the company’s previous release – iOS 6.
This new version of iOS has arrived with a host of new features like enhanced LTE support, but folks concerned with security will really appreciate the new ‘Reset Advertising Identifier’ button that brings a brand new option for iPhone and iPad users.
“iOS 6 is the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, and with nearly 300 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices on iOS 6 in just five months, it may be the most popular new version of an OS in history,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, via the official press release. “iOS 6.1 brings LTE support to more markets around the world, so even more users can enjoy ultrafast Safari browsing, FaceTime video calls, iCloud services, and iTunes and App Store downloads.”
While the company has revealed a host of security updates with the new iOS 6.1, perhaps the most important of them is the Reset Advertising Identifier button. This can be found in Settings – General – About – Advertising, and will make anyone accessing the button a new user in the eyes of any advertisers who are tracking the user. This, in the process, also increases the user’s online privacy.
The Universal Device Identifier (UDID), which is a 40 character string of letters and numbers, per a ZDNet report, “was commonly used for advertising and user tracking in iOS. But Apple dropped support for the UDID when it released iOS 6.0 in September 2012 and replaced it with a new feature called the Advertising Identifier.”
Unlike the previous UDID, which could be fixed to a specific iOS device's hardware (also the user by extension), the new Advertising Identifier for iOS 6.1 does not store any device information and isn't permanent.
Although Apple introduced the ability to Limit Ad Tracking in iOS 6.0, the Advertising Identifier usually remained static. However, this now has changed with Apple adding the ability to reset the Advertising Identifier with the brand new button.
Users will no longer have to worry about anyone or anything (advertisers and apps) tracking their personal information as they will now have the option to reset the identifier, making them a brand new user every time the button is hit.
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