Disaster Notification Server Privacy Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing disaster notification services face challenges in selectively transmitting information to users at a disaster location without collecting their location information, leading to inconvenience and privacy concerns due to the need for consent and potential noise-like information being sent to unrelated users.
Innovation Solution
A method where a disaster notification server specifies location information sets corresponding to disaster locations and allows user terminals to determine if they are within these areas, enabling them to request and receive relevant disaster notification information without sharing their actual location, using stepwise location information or false location information to maintain privacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If location information is collected periodically to transmit disaster notification information selectively, then disaster notification accuracy is improved, but user privacy is compromised and consent is required
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of the server collecting user location information to determine notification targets, the invention inverts the approach: users send their location information to the server, which then determines whether to send notifications. This reverses the data collection direction, placing control in users' hands and eliminating privacy infringement while maintaining notification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
Users actively send their location information to the server themselves rather than having it collected passively. This self-service mechanism allows users to control when and how their location data is shared, eliminating the need for continuous consent while enabling accurate disaster notification delivery.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If all disaster information is transmitted to all users without location collection, then user privacy is protected, but noise-like information is transferred to unrelated users increasing inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The invention reverses the traditional notification model by having users initiate communication with their location data rather than the server pushing notifications based on collected location data. This inversion enables selective notification delivery without compromising user privacy, as users control the information they share.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of active location collection and tracking with an information-theoretic approach where users send location information as part of their disaster information requests. This substitution eliminates continuous location monitoring while enabling precise notification targeting through user-provided location data.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If location information is not collected, then privacy concerns are reduced, but selective transmission of disaster notification information cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The invention fundamentally inverts the data flow: instead of the server collecting location information to enable selective notification, users send location information to the server when requesting disaster information. This reversal maintains selective notification capability while eliminating privacy concerns associated with active location collection.
Solution Approach 2:
The server acts as an intermediary that receives both disaster information requests and location information from users, processes this information together, and determines notification delivery. This intermediary role enables selective transmission without the server actively collecting or tracking user locations, thus maintaining privacy while achieving notification accuracy.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If stepwise location information or false location information is used, then privacy is maintained, but accurate location-based notification delivery becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of location information from requiring high precision to accepting approximate or stepwise location data. Users can send location information at different levels of detail (e.g., city, district, or approximate area), and the server processes these varied precision levels to determine notification delivery, maintaining privacy while reducing system complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed are a method for a disaster notification service not requiring collecting of location information, and systems therefor. The method comprises the steps of: receiving, by a disaster notification server, from at least one registration system, disaster information including a disaster location and disaster notification information; specifying, by the disaster notification server, a set of location information, each including location information which corresponds to the disaster location of each of at least one item of disaster information; transmitting, by the disaster notification server, the specified set of location information to a plurality of user terminals; if any one of the plurality of user terminals determines that the location of the user terminal is included in matching location information included in the set of location information, receiving, from the user terminal, a content transmission request including identification information of the matching location information; and transmitting, by the disaster notification server to the user terminal, content including the matching disaster notification information corresponding to the matching location information in response to reception of the content transmission request.