Limit Ad Tracking with Resetting Advertising IDs

Have you been told that every phone has a unique identifier that’s the holy grail for every advertiser out there? It’s called an advertising ID and its watching your mobile app activity for third parties, advertisers, and the big guys. No need to panic though – you can do something about it and protect your privacy.

Conspiracy

Jan 5, 2026

7 min read

Limit Ad Tracking with Reset Advertising ID

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What’s an Advertising ID?

An advertising ID is a number assigned to you by your operating system or mobile device – it’s similar to a cookie. So, iPhone users get their ID from iOS and Android owners get theirs from Google Play. These IDs are used for advertising, and are basically a way for developers to keep an eye on your mobile usage and share the data with other advertisers. And yes, you’re likely to see a bunch of targeted ads as a result. Advertising IDs also help tailor advertising to your interests across mobile apps – and websites do the same thing using cookies and other tracking technologies.

Advertising Identifiers & Tracking

Your mobile device has a unique identifier which is used to track your activity across different apps – it’s like a digital fingerprint. This lets advertisers and developers create a profile of your preferences and deliver super targeted ads. They collect data through your advertising ID to get this profile. So basically it means your id can be used to make digital advertising more relevant to you – but at what cost?

On Android phones, the android advertising ID does the job, while on Apple devices, it’s the Identifier for Advertisers. These identifiers are user resettable, which means you can control how they’re used. And you can reset them easily by going to your device settings. This lets you decide how much info advertisers can collect from you.

Taking control of your advertising identifier is a big step in protecting your privacy. By going into your devices settings – whether its the settings app on your phone, the Google settings or the ads menu – you can decide what info is shared and used by advertisers. And by doing so, you can stop tracking by advertisers across mobile apps – not to mention take control of the ads that are shown to you while using your phone. Its all about being informed and proactive with your devices privacy settings.

Reasons to Reset Your Advertising ID

Advertising IDs are a problem for your privacy – even if they don’t seem like a big deal on their own. So, lets take a look at why resetting is a step worth taking:

It knows all about your shopping habits. Your advertising ID knows all about you – so much so that it can tell advertisers how often you visited Starbucks last week or how much you spent on breakfast last Saturday.
It disrespects your privacy. Giants like Google have all your location and browsing data – so you have a right to ask do you really want them tracking your every move?
It helps spread malvertising. These IDs can be used to show you targeted ads that are actually malware in disguise.
It helps spread disinformation. Your ID can be used to target you with fake news or political advertising.

Resetting or deleting your Advertising ID breaks the tracking chain that companies have built on you – and in 2026, its a big deal for privacy. But you can reset your ID quickly and easily, and still have some level of protection. Note that it will only help with mobile apps and not with websites that you visit in a browser. And if you want to go completely anonymous, then a VPN server can hide your IP and stop advertisers from tracking your online actions.2. To reset your Advertising Identifier on your iPhone, do the following: toggle “Allow Apps to Request to Track” to off, tap “Ask Apps to Stop Tracking” if prompted, then toggle “Allow Apps to Request to Track” back on. When you do this, any app that was previously allowed to track you will be turned off – and you’ll have to go back in and give permission to each app you want to allow to track you again.

To disable Apple’s targeted ads, go to Settings then tap on Privacy & Security and then Apple Advertising – from there you can tap the screen to toggle off “Personalized Ads”.
For older iOS versions, tap on Settings then tap on Privacy and then Advertising. Here you can find the “Reset Advertising Identifier” option – tap on that to get rid of all the data they’ve collected on you. You can also try “Limit Ad Tracking” then slide the button over to turn it on.

By following these steps you can manage which apps request to track you, manage those requests, and reset your advertising ID on your iOS device – giving you a bit more control over your online experience.

How to Reset Advertising Ad: Android

Android users can manage their Android Advertising settings and limit ad tracking by doing the following:

First, on your android device, open up the Google settings. Scrolling down to the “Google” section under “Services” you’ll find the relevant options.
Tap on “Ads” to bring up a new page where you’ll find all the options for your android advertising device ID.
On that screen tap on “Reset Advertising ID” to generate a new advertising ID – you might get a confirmation prompt so go ahead and confirm to complete the reset.
You can also tap on “Delete Advertising ID” if you’re serious about cutting off any potential future tracking.
For more in depth control of your advertising ID, especially on Samsung devices – go to Security & Privacy in your android settings to see what else you can do.

Note that the exact steps to reset or manage your Advertising ID might vary depending on your device and the operating system version.

You’ll probably see a Google account displayed – tap on “Ads” to get to the options that control Google advertising and privacy.

How to Reset Advertising ID: Windows

Limiting ad tracking on a Windows device is a pretty simple process. Here’s what you need to do:

Get to the Privacy settings in your Windows settings by choosing “Privacy”.
Over in the General tab you’ll find all the options for changing settings – find “Let Apps Use Advertising ID” and slide that switch off.

Just keep in mind that many apps and devices use more than just the advertising ID to target ads and track your internet habits, so this won’t be 100%.

Other Options to Limit Tracking

It’s worth noting that resetting your advertising ID is only one part of keeping your online activity private. There’s plenty of other ways you can limit tracking.

Clear out cookies. Lots of web browsers save cookies to try and make your experience better, but in reality cookies can be used to track you.
Share less with social networks. The more data you give out on social media, the more likely you are to be targeted with annoying ads.
Use a VPN. A VeePN will help you stay safe online and no one will be able to track you or your location.
There are also a bunch of other apps and settings that can block ads and tracking – you might want to explore those as well.

All in all, resetting your advertising ID is a good idea, but it won’t be enough on its own to keep you completely safe – you’ll want to consider other options to keep your online activity private.