Privacy-Preserving Proximity Targeting with Dynamic Countdown Timers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing location-based advertising systems lack the ability to efficiently target users within a specified distance from a provider's location while respecting user privacy and time constraints without requiring precise location data.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that determines user proximity to a destination using proximity measurements combined with a countdown timer, allowing for targeted communications without sharing exact location data, and dynamically adjusts the timer based on changing proximity to the destination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If precise location data is collected and transmitted to the server, then advertising targeting accuracy is improved, but user privacy is compromised and data transmission complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary proximity information (boolean indication of being within specified distance) from the complete location data, transmitting only this extracted element to the server while keeping detailed location information local to the user device, thus achieving targeted advertising without compromising privacy
Solution Approach 2:
The user device acts as an intermediary that receives the provider location and specified distance from the server, performs local proximity determination, and returns only the proximity result rather than raw location data, mediating between the server's need for targeting information and the user's privacy requirements
2Loss of time
If continuous location monitoring is performed to track user proximity changes, then advertising timeliness is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic proximity checks at predetermined time intervals rather than continuous monitoring, where the user device determines proximity to the provider location at specific intervals and updates the subset status accordingly, reducing energy consumption while maintaining timely advertising delivery
Solution Approach 2:
The proximity determination frequency and timer values are dynamically adjusted based on user behavior and proximity changes, with the server able to modify timer values and specified distances to optimize both response timeliness and energy consumption patterns
3Measurement precision
If the specified distance threshold is reduced to target closer users, then advertising relevance is improved, but the size of the target subset decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The server dynamically adjusts the specified distance threshold based on provider preferences, time of day, and observed user behavior patterns, allowing the system to expand or contract the target subset size while maintaining advertising relevance to appropriately proximate users
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices including transmitting, by a server, a first signal to a set of user equipment; receiving, by a user equipment, the transmitted first signal; transmitting a response indicating whether the user equipment is located within a first specified distance from the provider; determining a subset of user equipment that are within the first specified distance; transmitting a second signal to the determined subset of user equipment; transmitting a third signal to the subset of user equipment; receiving the transmitted third signal while a received countdown timer is still running; transmitting a response indicating whether the user equipment is located within a second specified distance from the provider; determining a second subset of user equipment that are within the second specified distance; and transmitting a fourth signal comprising a second specified amount of time to be added to the previously running countdown timer.