Mobile App Redirects Using VPN Scanning and Push Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often continue using a mobile app with limited functionality for a specific function even after initiating it, despite better alternatives being available.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device is configured to route network traffic through a VPN or proxy server, where a scanning server parses IP addresses and URLs, and sends push notifications to redirect the user to a more suitable app for accessing certain URLs or IP addresses, enhancing functionality or user experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a user initiates access to an application server through a first mobile application, then the user can access the server using that application, but the user continues to use the first application even when a second application would provide better functionality or user experience
Solution Approach 1:
The system monitors network traffic from the first application, detects when it is accessing the application server, and provides feedback through a push notification to the user. This feedback informs the user that a second application with better functionality is available, enabling them to switch to the more suitable application.
Solution Approach 2:
A scanning server acts as an intermediary between the first application and the application server. The scanning server parses network traffic, identifies when the first application is accessing the server, and triggers a push notification to redirect the user to the second application with better functionality.
2Speed
If the mobile device scans all network traffic locally to detect URLs and redirect to appropriate apps, then redirection can be performed in real-time, but device resources such as battery and processing power are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The scanning function is extracted from the mobile device and relocated to a separate scanning server. The mobile device only needs to route traffic through the VPN/proxy, while the scanning server performs the computationally intensive URL detection and app identification, significantly reducing device energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The scanning server serves as an intermediary that handles the resource-intensive traffic scanning and analysis. It receives encrypted traffic from the VPN/proxy, parses headers to detect URLs, identifies appropriate applications, and triggers push notifications, thereby protecting the mobile device from high computational loads.
3Measurement precision
If the scanning server parses all network traffic headers to detect URLs and IP addresses, then accurate app redirection can be achieved, but network processing time and server resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The scanning server performs partial scanning by focusing only on parsing headers of network traffic rather than analyzing the entire traffic content. This approach achieves sufficient URL and IP address detection accuracy while significantly reducing processing time and server resource consumption compared to full traffic analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
An example embodiment may involve receiving, by a first mobile application executing on a mobile device, a selection of a uniform resource locator (URL) related to an application server device; transmitting, by the first mobile application, a first request to the application server device, wherein the first request is directed to the application server device by way a virtual private network (VPN) or proxy session between the mobile device and a VPN server device or proxy server device, and wherein the first request contains the URL; receiving, by the mobile device, a push notification from a scanning server device associated with the VPN server device or proxy server device, wherein the push notification contains the URL or a different URL; providing, by the mobile device, the URL from the push notification to a second mobile application executing on the mobile device; and transmitting, by the second mobile application, a second request to the application server device, wherein the second request contains the URL from the push notification.