April 2014/iOS 7 - Is there a way to track conversions of iOS apps to attribute downloads to different campaign sources without using IDFA?

Question

With Apple's new crackdown on apps that use the IDFA (advertising identifier/IdentifierForAdvertisers) but don't serve ads, is there any way to track conversions of different ads or advertising providers?

For example, Admob's SDK download page states:

The iOS SDK utilizes Apple's advertising identifier (IDFA). The SDK uses IDFA under the guidelines laid out in the iOS developer program license agreement. You must ensure you are in compliance with the iOS developer program license agreement policies governing the use of this identifier.

I need the SDK if I want to track app installs from different sources, but my app will (probably) be rejected if I use it, given that it doesn't include ads.

Coming from an Adwords background where every campaign, ad text and targeting is meticulously cross-tested, the idea of spraying ad spend without having any idea what's converting is pretty horrible. That being said, I've not seen that much outcry, so I'm wondering if I'm missing something?

Potential solutions that I've thought of:

1. Game the system: Code ads into my app for "non-premium members". The account I create for the Apple reviewer will be a non-premium member. Once the app is approved, I make sure that all my user's accounts are switched to premium, so the ads are never actually shown.

   Downside: they may reject me anyway if the IDFA is pulled by the app in a place irrelevant to serving ads, and even if they don't it could lead to problems down the line.

2. Advertising providers who want to allow their users to track ad conversion implementing some sort of IP-and-GPS-location fingerprinting to link up the tap from the advertising app to the install of the advertised app.

   Downside: this isn't something I can do - it's up to Admob et al to sort it out.

3. Do high-level tracking/testing of campaigns by, for example, running one campaign for a week and measuring overall download stats, and then another for another week, and measuring again.

   Downside: This is a rubbish way of digital marketing and makes test iterations painfully slow.

Am I missing something here - and if not, is there a better way than 1, 2 or 3?

Answer 1

It now (22 April 2014) appears that Apple are specifically allowing the use of the IDFA for tracking installs.

When updating my app, I see this:

Selecting the second option ("Attribute this app installation to a previously served advertisement") gave no error, and the app was approved.