As if the confusion about whether Apple has or has not banned apps using UDIDs (or just some specific uses of UDIDs) wasn't enough, several companies have come together to form a new mobile advertising organisation.

Called the Mobile Acquisition Transparency Alliance (MATA), it's not directly driven by the UDID situation, but will likely play a part in helping the industry to overcome its current challenges around tracking and user privacy.

Simple data

Set up - or 'sponsored' as it puts it - by analytics outfit Kontagent, the first members are app cross promotion network Chartboost, user acquisition and monetisation platforms Playhaven and MdotM.

Gaming portal Gaia Online has also signed up.

According to Kontagent, MATA is described as "mobile industry's first-ever open API designed to bring transparency and efficiency to data collection, processing and reporting for mobile user acquisition campaigns".

Basically, it's a move to give developers and publishers a single information flow so they can easily combine all their various analytics into one dashboard, ensuring they can understand and optimise business metrics.

Track me nicely

As for UDIDs, Kontagent says MATA won't solve that issue, but clearly it will provide an opportunity - and momentum amongst its members - for an industry standard to emerge.

"The MATA Open API is agnostic to any mobile device unique identifier used by developers and ad providers and is designed to support any install detection standards the industry ultimately settles on," it states in a press release.

"MATA members are also involved in the on-going efforts to find a viable solution that resolves the ongoing privacy concerns associated with UDIDs."

Grease the cogs

"The ingestion of user acquisition data is an enormous pain point for the industry and it's growing even more problematic by the day as the mobile industry explodes," said Josh Williams, Kontagent's president and chief science officer.

"MATA solves this problem and provides high quality, reliable data to the studios, while offloading the data feed responsibility from the ad networks, exchanges and other providers onto a robust, scalable open API designed and maintained by MATA key advisory members."

More information about the alliance can be found via its website.

[source: Kontagent]