CAID (technology)

CAID is a surveillance technology developed by the China Advertising Association to circumvent web tracking restrictions set by Apple. CAID was developed by the state-supported, 2,000-member association to identify users when Apple's Identifier for Advertisers ("IDFA") is unavailable.

Besides a free demo, the technology was unimplemented as of March 2021 and Apple was aware but had yet to address the effort.[1] Public release was unannounced but anticipated later in the month.[2]

CAID is believed to be an open framework based on device fingerprinting that uses a common API-based service, initially operated by the China Advertising Association. to coordinate activities by multiple actors.[3] Data that can be used to create the fingerprint includes model, IP address, language and device start-up time.[4]

Companies testing the system reportedly include ByteDance and Tencent.[1] Procter & Gamble is also reported to have played a part in the development of the technology. [4]

  1. ^ a b McGee, Patrick; Yang, Yuan (March 16, 2021). "TikTok wants to keep tracking iPhone users with state-backed workaround". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. ^ Sharma, Mayank (March 17, 2021). "Some of China's biggest technology companies are trying to bypass Apple's new privacy rules". TechRadar. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  3. ^ Bauer, Alex (2021-04-06). "Going Behind The Scenes On CAID, The Chinese IDFA Workaround Causing Such A Headache For Apple". AdExchanger. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  4. ^ a b Terlep, Sharon; Higgins, Tim; Haggin, Patience (2021-04-08). "P&G Worked With China Trade Group on Tech to Sidestep Apple Privacy Rules". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-05-01.