Mobile Application Usage Tracking with Location and Time Association
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional location-based services face limitations in determining application usage relative to a specific location, as they lack efficient methods to collect and utilize information about application access and interaction data, especially in mobile devices, which hinders targeted advertising and service provision.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that enables mobile devices to collect application usage information, including URL access, local or remote application execution, and content retrieval, associating this data with location and time, and communicating it to external servers for storage and analysis, allowing for targeted advertising and service optimization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If location-based services collect application usage information from mobile devices, then service precision and targeting capability improve, but device complexity and user privacy concerns increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system comprising a mobile device with application information collector, location determiner, and information provider components that bridge between the application usage data and external servers. This intermediary architecture enables precise tracking while distributing system complexity across multiple standardized modules rather than requiring complex integrated solutions.
2Productivity
If mobile devices continuously report application usage and location data to external servers, then service optimization and targeted advertising improve, but network bandwidth consumption and energy usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic reporting where the mobile device collects application usage information and location data over time intervals, then transmits aggregated data to external servers at scheduled moments. This periodic action reduces continuous network communication and energy consumption while maintaining sufficient data freshness for service optimization and targeted advertising purposes.
3Measurement precision
If the system stores and analyzes detailed application usage information including URLs and content, then advertising targeting accuracy improves, but information storage requirements and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential application usage information elements needed for targeted advertising, such as application identifiers, URL access patterns, and location data, while excluding redundant or excessive details. This selective extraction maintains advertising targeting accuracy by capturing key behavioral patterns while reducing overall data storage requirements and processing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile device collects information about application usage and associates collected application information with a location of the mobile device and/or a time that the application is accessed. The application is stored on the mobile device or on an external device and accessed via a network. The application information, location of the mobile device and time the application is accessed are communicated to another device and stored in a storage device which may be operated or managed by a service provider or another entity. The application information may comprise identification of a website, a network device or URL, the application and/or data that is input and/or output from the application. The location of the mobile device and/or the time, are determined utilizing a GNSS receiver and/or utilizing information from a network device. The application information, the location of the mobile device and/or the time may be utilized for targeted advertizing.