Velti heads ODIN industry group in united approach for an alternative to UDIDs

The first signs of a coherent industry response to the UDID deprecation situation have been announced with the formal launch of the Open Device Identification Number (ODIN) working group.

Lead by Velti, it includes Jumptap, RadiumOne, MdotM, StrikeAd, Smaato, Adfonic and SAY Media.

Its stated goal is to develop an alternative secure anonymous device identifier for the mobile advertising industry.

Initially, the supporting companies will be rolling out with the cross platform ODIN1 standard, which works across iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices, creating an ID that's hashed to ensure privacy on a device-level.

In terms of iOS devices, it generating an ID derived from the MAC address, which is obfuscated to protect user privacy.

However, with the assumption that Apple will in time stop the use of MAC addresses, the working group is looking into other solutions.

It says it's technology agnostic.

Yet, it points out that ODIN1 is an important step from the industry in terms of creating a more secure and efficient approach to consumer privacy.

Aside from technical replacement to UDIDs, the working group also acknowledges that enabling consumers to opt-out of targeting advertising is a top priority.

Similarly, it affirms its commitment to help address privacy issues and to propose solutions to privacy concerns as the industry evolves.

In this matter, it's working with leading privacy organisations including the Digital Advertising Alliance, TrustE and Evidon.

"By creating industry standards and best practices through ODIN, leaders in the mobile advertising industry will have a better foundation for providing consumers with targeted and relevant content in a safe and secure manner," said Krishna Subramanian, Velti's CMO.