Glossary
What is the IDFV?
The IDFV is an Apple-assigned device identifier shared among all apps from the same developer on a single device, usable for analytics without requiring tracking consent.
What makes it different
The IDFA identifies a device to anyone. The IDFV identifies a device only to one developer, across that developer's own apps.
That scoping is why it does not require ATT permission: it enables no cross-company tracking. A developer with several apps can recognise the same device across them and cannot use the value to coordinate with anyone else, because every other developer sees a different one for the same device.
What it is legitimately used for
- Cross-app analytics within one portfolio, so a user of two of your apps is one user.
- Session and device continuity without an account.
- Fraud signals inside your own products.
- Deduplicating installs across your own apps.
Its limits
The IDFV resets when the last app from that developer is deleted from the device, which makes it unreliable for long-term identity. A user who removes all your apps and reinstalls appears as a new device.
It also cannot be used for attribution against third-party advertising, because the ad network sees a different value. Using it to reconstruct cross-company tracking indirectly would breach Apple's rules regardless of the technical route.
It is a useful first-party tool with a narrow, well-defined scope, and it is not a workaround for what ATT removed.
Common questions
Does using the IDFV require ATT permission?
No, provided it is used only within your own apps for purposes that are not cross-company tracking. Combining it with third-party data to identify users across companies would.
Is the IDFV stable?
Only while at least one of your apps remains installed. Deleting all of them resets it, so it is not suitable as a permanent user key.
More in privacy and compliance
The identifiers, consent signals and rules that bound targeting.