Accessibility Service Overlay for Deceptive Ad Obfuscation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional solutions for removing trick banners, spam messages, and deceptive advertisements often inadvertently disable essential features of webpages and applications, especially in touch-based interfaces, due to their blocking mechanisms, which can lead to user frustration and accidental interactions with misleading ads.
Innovation Solution
A system that overlays visual indicators on graphical objects to distinguish third-party content, allowing users to easily identify and interact with them safely, without blocking the functionality of webpages or applications, using a client system that interacts with a verification service to obfuscate or indicate third-party resources, and provides protective measures against mistaken taps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If ad blocking or filtering software is used to remove trick banners and spam messages, then deceptive advertisements are blocked, but essential features of webpages and applications are inadvertently disabled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer (accessibility service) that sits between the user and the graphical objects. This service analyzes graphical objects to identify third-party content and applies selective obfuscation only to deceptive elements while leaving legitimate functionality intact. The intermediary provides granular control, obfuscating specific harmful graphical objects based on their source and characteristics rather than blocking all external content universally.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If blocking mechanisms are used to remove trick banners and pop-up ads, then deceptive content is prevented from being displayed, but user accessibility and intended interactions are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by treating different graphical objects differently based on their specific characteristics. The accessibility service analyzes each graphical object's source, type, and properties to determine whether it should be obfuscated. Legitimate first-party content remains fully accessible, while third-party deceptive content is selectively obfuscated. This localized approach ensures that reliability is maintained for legitimate content while harmful content is neutralized.
3Productivity
If ad networks use tracking mechanisms and machine learning to serve high CTR ads, then advertising revenue is increased, but user trust and conversion rates decrease due to deceptive behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful deceptive advertising practice into a beneficial identification mechanism. By analyzing the characteristics of deceptive ads (such as imitation of system messages, bait-and-switch tactics), the system learns to recognize and obfuscate these patterns. This transforms the previously harmful high-CTR deceptive ads into identifiable targets for protection, ultimately improving user trust while maintaining the ability to distinguish legitimate advertising.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and storage media are provided for accessibility services to assist users with disabilities in using touch-based interfaces and graphical user interfaces (GUIs). A client system generates and renders a GUI of a client application that comprises one or more graphical objects. The client system operates a service to identify graphical objects that refer or link to advertisements or other third party resources. The service applies a protective measure to the identified graphical objects, which prevent user inputs (e.g., “taps”) from being accepted by the client system. The protective measure may include a distinguishing effect to visually distinguish the protective measure from other graphical objects in the GUI. The user may remove the protective measure by performing a predefined gesture. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.