How to Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling Using AI
This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling in Mobile apps.
What is Advertiser ID Cycling?
Device ID Cycling is a mobile fraud technique where attackers repeatedly change the device’s unique identifier to make it seem like each fraud attempt is coming from a different user or device.
Unique device identifiers are commonly used to track app installs, user behavior, and ad performance. Two widely used identifiers are GAID (Google Advertising ID) on Android and IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) on iOS—both of which can be reset by the user at any time. Attackers exploit this by cycling through fake identities to simulate large numbers of installs, new users, or fake ad impressions.
This tactic is hard to stop because it takes advantage of built-in operating system features and is often automated with spoofing tools. Preventing ID cycling is essential to blocking repeated fraud, protecting marketing metrics, and meeting anti-fraud and compliance requirements in mobile apps.
How Appdome Prevents Advertiser ID Cycling
Appdome’s dynamic Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling plugin detects when attackers attempt to reset or rotate device identifiers like GAID or IDFA to impersonate new devices. When cycling is detected, Appdome blocks the manipulation and keeps the device identity stable and consistent across app sessions.
Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling Plugins:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling , you’ll need:
- Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
- A license for Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling
- Mobile App (.ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android)
- Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
How to Implement Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling in Mobile Apps Using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these simple steps to create self-defending Mobile Apps that Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling without an SDK or gateway:
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Designate the Mobile App to be protected.
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Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.
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Mobile App Formats: .ipa for iOS, or .apk or .aab for Android
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Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, JS, C#, C++, Swift, Kotlin, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, and more.
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Select the defense: Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling.
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.
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When you enable Protect Advertising IDs you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling.
Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling protection
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory). -
Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):
Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary
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Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
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Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling feature as shown below:
Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling feature
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Add the Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling feature to your security template.
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Navigate to Build > IDAnchor tab > Android IDAnchor section in the Appdome Console.
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Toggle On Protect Advertising IDs > Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling.
Note: The checkmark feature Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling is enabled by default, as shown below.
Figure 4: Selecting Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling
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Congratulations! The Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling feature in Mobile Apps
After building Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:
Figure 5: Certified Secure™ certificate
Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling has been added to each Mobile app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.
Using Threat-Events™ for Advertiser ID Cycling Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps
Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Advertiser ID Cycling is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Advertiser ID Cycling in Mobile Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Advertiser ID Cycling shown below.
The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Advertiser ID Cycling are:
| Threat-Event™ Elements | Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling Method Detail |
|---|---|
| Appdome Feature Name | Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling |
| Threat-Event Mode | |
| OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE | Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging. |
| ON, IN-APP DETECTION | Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce). |
| ON, IN-APP DEFENSE | Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection). |
| Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check | x |
| Visible in ThreatScope™ | x |
| Developer Parameters for Preventing Advertiser ID Cycling Threat-Event™ | |
| Threat-Event NAME | |
| Threat-Event DATA | reasonData |
| Threat-Event CODE | reasonCode |
| Threat-Event SCORE | |
| currentThreatEventScore | Current Threat-Event score |
| threatEventsScore | Total Threat-events score |
| Threat-Event Context Keys | |
|---|---|
| Timestamp | The exact time the threat event was triggered, recorded in milliseconds since epoch |
| message | Message displayed for the user on event |
| externalID | The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events |
| osVersion | OS version of the current device |
| deviceModel | Current device model |
| deviceManufacturer | The manufacturer of the current device |
| fusedAppToken | The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app |
| kernelInfo | Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine. |
| carrierPlmn | PLMN of the device. Only available for Android devices. |
| deviceID | Current device ID |
| reasonCode | Reason code of the occurred event |
| deviceBrand | Brand of the device |
| deviceBoard | Board of the device |
| buildUser | Build user |
| buildHost | Build host |
| sdkVersion | Sdk version |
| threatCode | The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device. |
With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), Mobile developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in Mobile applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when Advertiser ID Cycling is detected.
The following is a code sample for native Mobile apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling:
Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.
xxxxxxxxxxIntentFilter intentFilter = new IntentFilter();intentFilter.addAction("");BroadcastReceiver threatEventReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() { public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) { String message = intent.getStringExtra("message"); // Message shown to the user String reasonData = intent.getStringExtra("reasonData"); // Threat detection cause String reasonCode = intent.getStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Event reason code // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = intent.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = intent.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // String variable = intent.getStringExtra("<Context Key>"); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }};if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED);} else { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter);}xxxxxxxxxxval intentFilter = IntentFilter()intentFilter.addAction("")val threatEventReceiver = object : BroadcastReceiver() { override fun onReceive(context: Context?, intent: Intent?) { var message = intent?.getStringExtra("message") // Message shown to the user var reasonData = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonData") // Threat detection cause var reasonCode = intent?.getStringExtra("reasonCode") // Event reason code // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = intent?.getStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore") // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = intent?.getStringExtra("threatEventsScore") // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = intent?.getStringExtra("<Context Key>") // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }}if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.TIRAMISU) { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter, Context.RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED)} else { registerReceiver(threatEventReceiver, intentFilter)}x
let center = NotificationCenter.defaultcenter.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name(""), object: nil, queue: nil) { (note) in guard let usrInf = note.userInfo else { return } let message = usrInf["message"]; // Message shown to the user let reasonData = usrInf["reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause let reasonCode = usrInf["reasonCode"]; // Event reason code // Current threat event score let currentThreatEventScore = usrInf["currentThreatEventScore"]; // Total threat events score let threatEventsScore = usrInf["threatEventsScore"]; // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // let variable = usrInf["<Context Key>"]; // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)}xxxxxxxxxx[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserverForName: @"" object:nil queue:nil usingBlock:^(NSNotification *org_note) { __block NSNotification *note = org_note; dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^(void) { // Message shown to the user NSString *message = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"message"]; // Threat detection cause NSString *reasonData = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonData"]; // Event reason code NSString *reasonCode = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"reasonCode"]; // Current threat event score NSString *currentThreatEventScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"currentThreatEventScore"]; // Total threat events score NSString *threatEventsScore = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"threatEventsScore"]; // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // NSString *variable = [[note userInfo] objectForKey:@"<Context Key>"]; // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) });}];xxxxxxxxxxconst { ADDevEvents } = NativeModules;const aDDevEvents = new NativeEventEmitter(ADDevEvents);function registerToDevEvent(action, callback) { NativeModules.ADDevEvents.registerForDevEvent(action); aDDevEvents.addListener(action, callback);}export function registerToAllEvents() { registerToDevEvent( "", (userinfo) => Alert.alert(JSON.stringify(userinfo)) var message = userinfo["message"] // Message shown to the user var reasonData = userinfo["reasonData"] // Threat detection cause var reasonCode = userinfo["reasonCode"] // Event reason code // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = userinfo["currentThreatEventScore"] // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = userinfo["threatEventsScore"] // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = userinfo["<Context Key>"] // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) );}x
RegisterReceiver(new ThreatEventReceiver(), new IntentFilter("")); class ThreatEventReceiver : BroadcastReceiver{ public override void OnReceive(Context context, Intent intent) { // Message shown to the user String message = intent.GetStringExtra("message"); // Threat detection cause String reasonData = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonData"); // Event reason code String reasonCode = intent.GetStringExtra("reasonCode"); // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = intent.GetStringExtra("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = intent.GetStringExtra("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // String variable = intent.GetStringExtra("<Context Key>"); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) }}x
NSNotificationCenter.DefaultCenter.AddObserver( (NSString)"", // Threat-Event Identifier delegate (NSNotification notification) { // Message shown to the user var message = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("message"); // Threat detection cause var reasonData = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonData"); // Event reason code var reasonCode = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("reasonCode"); // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("currentThreatEventScore"); // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("threatEventsScore"); // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = notification.UserInfo.ObjectForKey("<Context Keys>"); // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...) });xxxxxxxxxxwindow.broadcaster.addEventListener("", function(userInfo) { var message = userInfo.message // Message shown to the user var reasonData = userInfo.reasonData // Threat detection cause var reasonCode = userInfo.reasonCode // Event reason code // Current threat event score var currentThreatEventScore = userInfo.currentThreatEventScore // Total threat events score var threatEventsScore = userInfo.threatEventsScore // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // var variable = userInfo.<Context Keys> // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)});x
import 'dart:async';import 'package:flutter/material.dart';import 'package:flutter/services.dart';class PlatformChannel extends StatefulWidget { const PlatformChannel({super.key}); State<PlatformChannel> createState() => _PlatformChannelState();}class _PlatformChannelState extends State<PlatformChannel> { // Replace with your EventChannel name static const String _eventChannelName = ""; static const EventChannel _eventChannel = EventChannel(_eventChannelName); void initState() { super.initState(); _eventChannel.receiveBroadcastStream().listen(_onEvent, onError: _onError); } void _onEvent(Object? event) { setState(() { // Adapt this section based on your specific event data structure var eventData = event as Map; // Example: Accessing 'externalID' field from the event var externalID = eventData['externalID']; // Customize the rest of the fields based on your event structure String message = eventData['message']; // Message shown to the user String reasonData = eventData['reasonData']; // Threat detection cause String reasonCode = eventData['reasonCode']; // Event reason code // Current threat event score String currentThreatEventScore = eventData['currentThreatEventScore']; // Total threat events score String threatEventsScore = eventData['threatEventsScore']; // Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key // String variable = eventData['<Context Keys>']; }); } // Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)}Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured Mobile Apps by using Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.
Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Prevent Advertiser ID Cycling
After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:
- Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps.
- Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores.
- Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.
Related Articles:
- How to Protect iOS Apps With IDAnchor Using AI
- How to Protect Android Apps With IDAnchor Using AI
- How to Protect Mobile Apps With Mobile Device ID Using AI
How Do I Learn More?
If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.
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