Local Store Visit Detection for Privacy-Preserving Content Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Store owners face challenges in providing targeted content to visitors while maintaining privacy, as existing methods often require manual data collection and device configuration, raising privacy concerns and necessitating data storage and transmission.
Innovation Solution
A method where a user device receives a signal from an in-store device with a store identifier, stores it, and compares it with content items from a third-party provider to determine if the user has visited the store, displaying relevant content without sharing presence information with the in-store or third-party devices, ensuring privacy by maintaining store visit data locally.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual data collection methods are used to provide targeted content to visitors, then content targeting capability is improved, but privacy protection deteriorates and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The user device autonomously performs store visit detection by comparing received signals with stored identifiers and independently determines content delivery eligibility. The system eliminates the need for manual data collection and complex device configuration by enabling the user device to self-manage the entire process of visit detection and content selection, thereby improving content targeting while maintaining privacy and reducing complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If store visit data is transmitted to remote servers for content delivery decisions, then content personalization is improved, but data privacy protection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the content delivery decision-making function from remote servers and relocates it to the user device. By storing store identifiers locally on the user device and performing all comparisons and determinations locally, the system eliminates the need to transmit sensitive store visit data to remote servers. This extraction of the decision function to the client side enables content personalization while protecting user privacy, as no personal data leaves the user's device.
3Measurement precision
If in-store devices are configured to communicate with user devices for content delivery, then content delivery accuracy is improved, but system complexity and setup requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of configuring in-store devices to actively detect and communicate with user devices, the patent inverts the approach: user devices actively receive signals from in-store devices and autonomously perform the detection and comparison. This inversion eliminates the need for complex bidirectional communication configuration and setup, while maintaining accurate store visit detection through unidirectional signal reception and local processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving, at a user device including one or more processors, a signal pushed to the user device from an in-store device physically located in a store. The signal includes a first store identifier. The method further includes storing the first store identifier in memory. The method further includes receiving a content item from a third-party content provider device, the content item including a second store identifier. The third-party content provider device transmits the content item to a plurality of user devices within a geographic area around a location associated with the second store identifier. The method further includes providing the content item for display in response to determining the first store identifier matches the second store identifier. The content item is displayed without providing an indication of the presence of the user device at the store to the in-store device or to the third-party content provider device.