If you’re a business owner or individual who uses Apple’s iPhone to run your business, then you need to reset your advertising ID. This is a process that needs to be completed every time you update your phone, and it’s something that should be done at least once a year. To do this, open the Settings app and scroll down until you find “Advertising ID.” Underneath the “Advertising ID” heading, you’ll find a list of options. Scroll down until you find “Reset Advertising ID.” Tap on it and follow the prompts. Once complete, your advertising ID will be reset and will work as it did before.
Advertising IDs are used by companies to send you targeted ads based on your activity. Each iPhone has its own unique advertising ID—at least, they used to. Can you still reset the ID on your iPhone or iPad?
The idea behind an advertising ID is similar to the one behind browser cookies. Companies use things like your location, shopping habits, and app usage to show you ads that you’re more likely to interact with. If you care about privacy, it’s something to think about.
There’s good news for iPhone users, though. Starting in iOS 14, apps are forced to ask before they can track your activity. You no longer have to worry about “resetting” your advertising ID. In fact, you can even stop all apps from requesting to track you.
RELATED: How to Stop iPhone Apps From Asking to Track Your Activity
What you can still do is turn off personalized ads. This will limit the number of targeted ads that you see, but not the number of total ads.
First, open the “Settings” app from your iPhone or iPad home screen.
Select “Privacy” from the Settings.
Tap “Apple Advertising” at the bottom.
Simply toggle off the switch for “Personalized Ads.”
That’s all there is to it! Apple has done a lot to limit how apps can track you, which makes things like advertising IDs less scary on iPhones.
