Cross-Device Content Delivery via Anonymous User Tag Mapping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing technologies face challenges in providing content to users across multiple devices without storing personally identifiable information, which is essential for maintaining user privacy and ensuring relevant content delivery.

Innovation Solution

The method involves determining a user tag that does not include personally identifiable information and mapping it to anonymous identifiers associated with multiple devices, allowing content to be provided based on user behavior and preferences across all devices, using a one-way function to create a random or pseudo-random number for user identification and storing associations between user tags and anonymous identifiers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If personally identifiable information is stored to track users across multiple devices, then content delivery accuracy is improved, but user privacy is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent delivery accuracyVSAvoiduser privacy compromise

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (anonymous identifier mapping system) that bridges the gap between device identification and user privacy protection. The system maps anonymous identifiers from multiple devices to a unified user profile without storing personally identifiable information, enabling accurate content delivery while maintaining privacy through the intermediary layer of anonymized data mapping

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a copy of user identification that preserves functionality without the harmful original. Instead of storing actual personally identifiable information, the system uses anonymized user profiles that are copies containing only necessary identification data, stripped of PII, allowing cross-device tracking without privacy compromise

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Object-affected harmful factors

If anonymous identifiers are used to maintain privacy, then user anonymity is preserved, but device recognition capability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser anonymity protectionVSAvoiddevice recognition capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the identification process into distinct components: device-level anonymous identifiers (cookies, device IDs) and user-level anonymized profiles. This segmentation allows each component to serve its specific function - device identifiers for initial recognition and user profiles for privacy-preserving tracking - resolving the contradiction between anonymity and recognition capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent adds a dimensional layer of abstraction by mapping from device identifiers to anonymized user profiles. This extra dimension enables the system to recognize users across devices without direct device-to-device recognition, maintaining anonymity while preserving identification capability through the intermediate mapping layer

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Measurement precision

If user profiles are stored across multiple devices, then content relevance is improved, but data storage requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent relevanceVSAvoiddata storage requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a universal user profile structure that serves multiple functions: tracking user behavior across devices, storing preferences, and enabling personalized content delivery. By using a unified anonymized profile format that can be accessed from any device, the system eliminates redundant storage while maintaining comprehensive user data for relevant content delivery

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUSRE49262E1Providing content to a user across multiple devices

Publication Date: 2022.10.25 GOOGLE LLC

AI summary

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer-readable storage medium, and including a method for providing content. The method comprises receiving a first login request from a first device used by a user, the request being associated with a first anonymous identifier associated with the first device, and determining a user tag for the user, that does not include any personally identifiable information associated with the user. The method further comprises receiving a second login request from a second different device used by the user, the request being associated with a second different anonymous identifier associated with the second different device, and storing an association between the user tag, the first anonymous identifier and the second different anonymous identifier. The method further comprises receiving a request for content from either the first or second different device and providing content in response to the request using the association.