First-Party Cookie User ID Tracking for Ad Servers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern web browsers restrict third-party ad servers from modifying their own cookies, limiting their ability to track user browsing activities and target advertising effectively.
Innovation Solution
A third-party ad server provides computer code to an advertiser's web page, allowing access and writing to the advertiser's first-party cookie on the user's web browser, enabling the ad server to read and write a unique user identification (user ID) and log user web traffic, while maintaining a separate copy of the user ID on a remote server.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If third-party ad servers use traditional cookie mechanisms to track user browsing activities, then user tracking capability is improved, but browser security restrictions prevent third parties from modifying their own cookies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a first-party cookie as an intermediary mechanism. Instead of third-party cookies being directly blocked, the system uses first-party cookies (which browsers allow third parties to modify) as a mediator to store user identification information. The third-party ad server can write to and read from first-party cookies, thereby indirectly achieving user tracking without violating browser security policies.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If third-party ad servers cannot access first-party cookies, then user privacy and security are protected, but advertising targeting effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a copy of user identification information in the first-party cookie that can be accessed by third-party ad servers. Instead of directly accessing restricted third-party cookies, the system writes user ID data into first-party cookies, creating an accessible copy that maintains privacy protections while enabling advertising targeting functionality.
3Loss of information
If pixel tags are used to collect user statistics, then advertising data collection is improved, but the mechanism becomes complex and requires additional code snippets in web pages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the user tracking functionality into the existing first-party cookie mechanism that is already integrated into the web page loading process. Instead of requiring separate pixel tag code snippets, the system utilizes the cookie setting and retrieval processes that are already part of normal web page operations, thereby collecting user statistics without adding code complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Third party ad servers log a user's web browsing activities. On web pages where the ad server is a third party, the web page's code is configured to provide the ad server read and write access to an advertiser's first party cookie on a user's web browser. The ad server uses this access to read and write a unique user identification number to the cookie. The ad server also maintains a separate copy of the user identification number on a remote server. Correlating the user identification both within the ad server and within the cookies stored in the user's web browser allows the ad server to identify and log the web traffic associated with particular users. This information is useful in a number of contexts, including determining which ad inventory to purchase for which users, and how to value the corresponding ad inventory.