Personal Data Distribution Control via Device Scanning and Server Mediation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing dispersion and management of personally identifiable information (PII) online, making it difficult for individuals to control and manage their data across various devices and entities, including social media platforms, browsers, and apps, without transparency or control.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that identifies and controls User Identifiable Information (UII) by scanning devices, generating requests to accessed servers to delete or modify UII, and creating a catalog of data traffic to enable users to manage their personal data, including URLs, IP addresses, and associated entities, with the ability to request data modification or deletion from entities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users provide personally identifiable information (PII) for online activity, then online functionality and services are enabled, but users lose control and transparency over their data distribution across multiple entities
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring data requests from third parties and providing users with real-time notifications and visibility into which entities are accessing their PII. This allows users to see the distribution of their data across multiple entities and make informed decisions about data sharing preferences.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that sits between users and third-party entities, acting as a mediator that controls and regulates data access. This intermediary mechanism enables users to maintain online functionality while gaining control over data distribution by filtering and managing requests from multiple entities.
2Loss of information
If the system catalogs and monitors all data traffic to provide transparency, then data control capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the complex task of data monitoring by creating separate functional modules: one for cataloging data requests, another for analyzing traffic patterns, and a third for generating user notifications. This segmentation allows the system to handle data transparency requirements without overwhelming complexity by dividing functionality into manageable components.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary system acts as a simplified interface between complex data traffic analysis and user-facing transparency features. It processes and filters information from multiple sources, presenting simplified views to users while managing the underlying complexity of monitoring all data requests across the network.
3Loss of information
If the system scans all devices and generates requests to multiple accessed servers, then data management capability is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-cataloging data requests and pre-identifying accessed servers before actual data processing occurs. This allows the system to have a ready-made inventory of data distribution points, reducing the time needed to scan and generate requests when data management operations are initiated.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements partial scanning by focusing on the most relevant accessed servers and data types based on user profiles and activity patterns. Instead of exhaustively scanning every possible device and server, it prioritizes high-risk or high-frequency data access points, achieving effective data management with reduced processing time and computational resources.
Data Source
AI summary
A computerized system and method identifies user identifiable information by receiving a request to identify user identifiable information pertaining to one or more identified users. For a selected one of the one or more identified users, one or more devices, in a group of devices, is scanned to identify a set of accessed servers, located remotely from the one or more processors, that have been accessed by way of the one or more devices. An accessed server identifier is generated to uniquely identify each of the accessed servers. A request is generated for each accessed server of the set of accessed servers to perform one or more of, identifying user identifiable information collected by the accessed server, and deleting user identifiable information collected by the accessed server. The request is transmitted to each accessed server of the set of accessed servers together with an identifier to identify the selected one of the one or more identified users. One or more responses to the request and is received and the response is provided to the one or more identified users.