Dynamic Map Obfuscation for Accommodation Privacy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional accommodation platforms expose hosts' private information, and users face challenges in contextualizing locations and finding time-expiring inventory without compromising hosts' privacy.
Innovation Solution
A map user interface with a dynamic pin that directs users to a point of interest, displaying time-expiring inventory within a radius, while dynamically obfuscating the exact location of accommodations as users zoom in and out, maintaining privacy through visual representations that obscure precise addresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional accommodation platforms publicly present information about accommodations, then users can easily find and contextualize location information, but hosts' private information is exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing different information disclosure policies for different locations. Specifically, points of interest near highly-rated accommodations are obfuscated more aggressively than those near lower-rated accommodations. This creates a localized privacy protection mechanism where the degree of obfuscation varies by geographic location based on accommodation quality metrics, thereby protecting host privacy in sensitive areas while maintaining usability in less sensitive areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the obfuscation parameter based on accommodation ratings and user behavior. When an accommodation receives a high rating, the system increases the obfuscation level for nearby points of interest. Conversely, for lower-rated accommodations, less obfuscation is applied. This parameter-based approach allows the system to adapt privacy protection levels according to accommodation quality, resolving the contradiction between privacy protection and user experience.
2Measurement precision
If the map interface displays the exact location of accommodations, then users can precisely contextualize locations, but hosts' private information is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic obfuscation where the precision of location display changes based on accommodation ratings and user interactions. High-rated accommodations trigger dynamic obfuscation that prevents exact location revelation, while lower-rated accommodations maintain standard location precision. The system also dynamically adjusts obfuscation based on whether users are actively searching or browsing, providing precise locations during active search but obfuscated locations during passive browsing. This dynamic approach resolves the contradiction by making location precision conditional rather than static.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary obfuscation layer between the accommodation location and the user view. Instead of directly displaying or hiding locations, the system applies a configurable obfuscation intermediary that transforms exact coordinates into generalized location representations. This intermediary can be adjusted in strength based on accommodation ratings, providing a graduated privacy protection mechanism that maintains measurement precision when needed while protecting privacy when required.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the system obfuscates point of interest locations to protect host privacy, then host information remains secure, but users face challenges in contextualizing locations
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial obfuscation rather than complete hiding of location information. Instead of removing all location context, the system obfuscates only the precise coordinates while preserving approximate location, neighborhood context, and relative positioning information. This partial action approach maintains enough location context for users to understand where accommodations are situated while removing the harmful precision that would expose host privacy. The obfuscation is calibrated to provide excessive protection in some areas while maintaining sufficient contextualization in others.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and a method are disclosed for obscuring a location of an accommodation. A booking accommodation application obscures an exact location of the accommodation provided by a host. The booking accommodation application displays a visual representation of the accommodation on a map interface. Even when the map interface is zoomed in, the visual representation maintains the obfuscation of the accommodation.