Secure Identifier Abstraction for LBS User Anonymity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional location-based services (LBS) systems fail to ensure user and device anonymity, as they often share identifiable information with external entities, compromising user privacy.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize secure identifiers, generated through encryption and hashing of user and device identification information, to abstract and protect this information from location servers, ensuring anonymity by using Location-Based Service (LBS) identifiers that are unique and reversible only to service providers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional LBS systems share identifiable information with external entities, then location services can be provided, but user and device anonymity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces secure identifiers as an intermediary between the mobile device and external entities. These identifiers act as a mediator that allows location services to function while preventing direct exposure of real device identifiers (IMEI) and user information to external servers, thus maintaining anonymity while enabling service functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the identifying information from the communication between mobile devices and external entities. By removing the real IMEI and user identifiers from the data transmitted to external servers, the system enables location services to operate without exposing sensitive personal information, effectively separating the service functionality from personal identification
2Object-affected harmful factors
If secure identifiers are used to protect anonymity, then user privacy is maintained, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device itself generates the secure identifier using its own IMEI through a hashing algorithm. This self-service approach eliminates the need for complex external key management infrastructure, as each device autonomously creates its own anonymous identifier, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining strong privacy protection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the device identifier (IMEI) into a different form (secure identifier) through a hashing function. This parameter transformation changes the identifying characteristics while preserving the ability to uniquely identify the device for service purposes, achieving privacy protection through mathematical transformation rather than complex cryptographic protocols
3Object-affected harmful factors
If external entities cannot access device identifiers, then anonymity is ensured, but service providers cannot authenticate devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the identification system into two distinct parts: secure identifiers for external communication (anonymity) and IMEI for internal authentication (service provider access). This segmentation allows different parts of the system to use different identifier types appropriate to their needs, enabling both anonymity and authentication to coexist without conflict
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile device may communicate with a location server during location based services (LBS) operations using a secure identifier. The secure identifier abstracts identification information of the mobile device and/or identification information of a user of the mobile device in instances that the mobile device and/or user identification information are deemed protectable from the location server. The location server may be operable to store location data corresponding to the mobile device and/or the user in a location reference database based on the secure identifier. The secure identifier may comprise a unique value, which may be randomly generated. The secure identifier may also be generated based on the mobile device and/or user identification information, by applying, for example, encryption algorithms to the mobile device and/or user identification information. Service providers for the mobile device may retrieve the abstracted mobile device and/or user identification information from the secure identifier.