Multi-identifier User Profiling System for Linking Discrete Data
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional user profiling systems in online and mobile payment systems create discrete user profiles that are not accurately linked, limiting the ability to compile comprehensive user activity records and target users effectively with advertising and offers, due to issues like cookie blocking and lack of data integration across different user activities.
Innovation Solution
A multi-identifier user profiling system that collects and links various user identifiers and data sets from different sources, such as payment accounts, mobile devices, and web browsers, to create a more complete user profile, allowing for the association of data from multiple activities and third-party sources, even for unknown users, and enabling the creation of user and group profiles for targeted marketing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If discrete user profiles are created from different user activities (purchases, browsing), then user data can be collected from multiple sources, but the profiles remain separate and cannot be accurately linked to the same user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple discrete user identifiers (payment account ID, device ID, browser cookie ID) into a single unified user profile. The system detects when these different identifiers belong to the same user and merges their associated data, transforming separate data silos into an integrated view of user behavior across purchases, browsing, and mobile activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary matching mechanisms that act as mediators between different identifier systems. These intermediaries (such as hashed identifier comparisons, device fingerprinting, or probabilistic matching algorithms) enable the system to detect relationships between discrete identifiers without requiring direct user input, thus bridging the gap between separate data sources.
2Measurement precision
If cookies are used to track user activity across websites, then user browsing behavior can be monitored, but mobile device web browsers block cookies preventing accurate tracking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential tracking function from cookie-based mechanisms and implements it through alternative means. Instead of relying on browser cookies that can be blocked, the system uses device identifiers, installation IDs, and other platform-specific identifiers that are inherently available on mobile devices and cannot be easily blocked by user settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates copies of user identification data in multiple formats and locations. Rather than depending on a single cookie mechanism, the system generates and stores multiple identifier types (device IDs, advertising identifiers, hashed profiles) that serve as backups and alternatives, ensuring tracking continuity even when one method is blocked.
3Reliability
If multiple discrete user profiles are maintained separately, then data security and privacy can be maintained for each activity type, but comprehensive user profiling for marketing purposes becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments user data into different categories (purchase behavior, browsing preferences, mobile app usage) while maintaining a unified user profile structure. Each segment can be managed with appropriate privacy controls and access permissions, allowing the system to protect sensitive information while still enabling comprehensive analysis for marketing purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different privacy and security characteristics to different portions of user data based on sensitivity and usage requirements. Sensitive financial information from payment accounts receives higher privacy protection than browsing preferences, allowing the system to balance privacy protection with marketing effectiveness by tailoring data handling to local requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for profiling a user include providing a user account to a user and, in response, storing a user account identifier in association with the user account in a database. First user data is then received that is associated with the user account identifier and that includes activity associated with the user account, and the first user data is association with the user account in the database. Subsequent user data is then received that includes information about the user and that is associated with additional user identifiers and the user account identifier and, in response, the additional user identifiers are association with the user account identifier and each other in the database, and the additional user data is associated with the user account in the database. A user profile may then be creating using the first user data, the second user data, and the third user data.