Client-Side Content Provider Identifiers for Privacy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional browser cookies lack user transparency and control over privacy, as third-party content providers can track users without explicit consent, and resource-intensive cookie matching processes slow down web page rendering and consume bandwidth.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a secure, user-transparent content provider-specific identifier (CPSID) generated by the client device and encrypted with the content provider's public key, which eliminates the need for provider-side cookie matching tables and reduces resource consumption, allowing users to control data exchanges and maintain an audit log.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If traditional browser cookies are used for content provider identification, then user tracking capability is improved, but user privacy control and transparency deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetracking capabilityVSAvoiduser privacy control

Core Design Contradiction:

Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of the content provider generating and controlling the cookie identifier, the client device generates the identifier locally. This inverts the traditional cookie model where the server creates the tracking mechanism, and now the client creates it, giving users control over their own identification data while still enabling content provider recognition.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The content provider-specific identifier acts as an intermediary mechanism that enables tracking functionality without requiring direct server-generated cookies. It mediates between the need for content provider identification and user privacy control by being generated locally on the client device.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If cookie matching is implemented to enable cross-content provider tracking, then tracking accuracy is improved, but system resource consumption and page rendering speed deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetracking accuracyVSAvoidpage rendering speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The content provider-specific identifier is generated in advance by the client device before any tracking or matching operations are needed. This preliminary generation eliminates the need for resource-intensive real-time cookie matching operations, as the identification data is already prepared and available locally.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The identifier generation function is extracted from the server-side cookie matching process and moved to the client device. This removes the computational burden of server-side matching operations and eliminates the need for multiple round-trip communications, directly improving page rendering speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Reliability

If multiple round-trip communications are used for tracking pixel rendering, then cookie matching completeness is improved, but network bandwidth consumption and battery life deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvematching completenessVSAvoidbattery life

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The client device performs self-service by generating its own content provider-specific identifiers locally without requiring server-side cookie matching operations. This eliminates the need for multiple round-trip communications for tracking pixel rendering, as the identification data is created independently on the client device, reducing network bandwidth consumption and battery usage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

4Measurement precision

If server-side cookie matching tables are maintained, then tracking accuracy is improved, but device complexity and storage requirements deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetracking accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of maintaining complex server-side cookie matching tables, the system inverts the approach by having each client device generate its own identifiers locally. This eliminates the need for centralized matching infrastructure and reduces system complexity while maintaining tracking accuracy through client-side identifier generation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS12107839B2Domain specific browser identifiers as replacement of browser cookies

Publication Date: 2024.10.01 GOOGLE LLC

AI summary

The present disclosure provides a secure, user-transparent, and highly efficient content provider-specific identifier (“CPSID”), sometimes referred to as a “read-only cookie” (“ROC”). These content provider-specific identifiers may be generated by the client device and encrypted with a public key of the content provider, preventing third parties from indirectly identifying matches, and obviating the need for provider-side cookie matching tables and resource-intensive tracking communications. The generation of content provider-specific identifiers may be controlled by user policies, such that identifiers are only created for content providers with compliant terms of service (ToS), e.g., retrievable from a predetermined address within the domain; content providers that are on a whitelist (e.g. for which the user has explicitly provided consent); and/or content providers that are not on a blacklist (e.g. for which the user has explicitly refused consent).