Heuristic User Origin Determination via Weighted IP and Browser Signals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Service providers face challenges in accurately determining the geographical location of users accessing network services, which is crucial for tailoring offerings and enforcing legal and revenue-related restrictions, as existing methods rely on user self-reporting without verification.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that gather multiple inputs about a user's location, weight them based on reliability, and compare them to user-specified locations to determine the true geographic origin, allowing for tailored service provision and verification of user honesty.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If user self-reporting is used to determine location, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces multiple intermediary indicators (IP address, browser language, time zone, referral URL) that indirectly reveal user location without requiring direct user input. These intermediaries serve as mediators between the user and the system, allowing automatic verification of location while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by comparing user-specified location with independently determined location from multiple indicators. This feedback mechanism allows the system to verify user honesty and adjust service provision accordingly, improving measurement precision while maintaining ease of operation through automatic verification.
2Measurement precision
If multiple location indicators are gathered and weighted, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the location determination process into multiple independent indicators (IP address, browser language, time zone, referral URL), each evaluated separately with assigned weights. This segmentation allows the system to improve measurement precision by considering multiple factors while managing complexity through modular evaluation of each indicator.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters by assigning different weights to different location indicators based on their reliability. This parameter change approach allows the system to improve measurement precision by emphasizing more reliable indicators while downweighting less reliable ones, managing complexity through flexible parameter adjustment rather than rigid structural changes.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for independently determining the geographical location of a user accessing a networked system. The method may include gathering a plurality of inputs about the user's geographic location; weighting each input based on whether said input identifies a likelihood of true geographic location; determining whether each input verifies a geographic location specified by the user; and summing weights of the input factors verifying the specified geographic location. A system for independently determining the geographical location of a user includes a user login routine, a heuristic user geographic location determination engine, and at least one data store including a user profile record having a user specified geographic location.