Encrypted User ID Intermediary for Privacy Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in interacting with third parties on social networking sites while protecting their privacy, as personal data sometimes reaches third parties without permission, and there is a need for third parties to access user information for providing services and promotions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where user IDs are encrypted, allowing only the site to decrypt and process communications, ensuring that third parties never receive the clear user ID, thus maintaining user privacy while enabling interactions and services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If third parties receive clear user ID for providing services and promotions, then service delivery and user identification are improved, but user privacy is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary encryption system that mediates between the user and third parties. User IDs are encrypted using a public key system, allowing third parties to reference and interact with users through encrypted identifiers without accessing the clear text user ID. The site maintains the ability to decrypt and process communications while third parties operate with encrypted identifiers, thus enabling service delivery while protecting user privacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the user ID parameter from a clear text identifier to an encrypted form. By applying cryptographic encryption to the user ID, the system changes the state of the identifier so that it remains functional for service delivery and user identification purposes while becoming unreadable and unusable for privacy invasion. The encrypted user ID serves as a substitute parameter that maintains system functionality while eliminating the privacy risk associated with clear text identifiers.
2Productivity
If user personal data is shared with third parties for market research and targeting, then advertising effectiveness is improved, but user privacy protection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The encryption system acts as an intermediary layer between user data and third-party advertisers. Advertisers can perform market research and targeting using encrypted user identifiers, which allows them to analyze user behavior patterns and deliver targeted advertising without ever accessing the actual user identity. The site can decrypt and process the data for legitimate business purposes while preventing direct privacy exposure to advertisers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an encrypted copy or representation of the user identifier that serves the same functional purpose for advertising and market research but does not reveal the actual user identity. This encrypted copy allows third parties to conduct their business operations while the original sensitive information remains protected.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If user ID encryption is implemented to protect privacy, then user privacy is improved, but third party access to user information deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies cryptographic parameter transformation to the user ID, changing it from a readable identifier to an encrypted form. This parameter change maintains the functional properties needed for identification and service delivery while eliminating the ability of third parties to read or misuse the information. The encrypted user ID retains all necessary identification capabilities for the site to process communications while becoming inaccessible to unauthorized parties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the information access rights by separating the decryption capability (held by the site) from the encryption capability (used by third parties). This segmentation allows the system to maintain privacy protection while preserving necessary information accessibility for legitimate operations. The site holds the private key segment that enables decryption and processing, while third parties only have access to the public key segment for encryption and reference.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments are directed to computer-implemented methods and systems for a site to facilitate privacy protected interactions between users of a site and a third party utility. For example, a computer may receiving from a user selected from the users of the site, a request to interact with the third party utility. The computer may also encrypt an identification of the user to generate an encrypted user identification associated with the third party utility; and provide the encrypted user identification and the request to the third party utility.