Security CMS Substitute Device Data for Online Privacy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing online content providing systems expose users' privacy by sharing actual IP addresses with content providers, which can lead to unauthorized data inference and security concerns.
Innovation Solution
A security content management system generates and provides substitute device data that maintains the same characteristics as actual device data, such as IP addresses, to content providers during bidding processes, ensuring user privacy while allowing bidders to infer relevant information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If actual IP address is provided to online content providers, then content providers can make informed bidding decisions based on user location and device characteristics, but user privacy and security are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a security content management system as an intermediary between the user device and online content providers. This mediator receives the actual IP address from the user device, extracts relevant characteristics (geolocation, ISP, connection type), and provides substitute IP address data to content providers. This intermediary structure enables privacy protection while maintaining bidding decision accuracy by decoupling the direct exposure of personal information from the functional needs of advertisers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a substitute IP address that copies only the necessary characteristic values (geolocation, ISP, connection type) from the actual IP address without revealing the real identifier. This copy contains sufficient information for content providers to make informed bidding decisions while being safe to share publicly, thus resolving the contradiction between information utility and privacy protection.
2Measurement precision
If actual device data is shared with content providers, then advertising targeting precision is improved, but security risks and unauthorized data inference increase
Solution Approach 1:
The security content management system extracts only the specific characteristic values needed for advertising targeting (geolocation, ISP, connection type) from the actual device data, separating these functional attributes from the identifying IP address itself. This extraction process maintains measurement precision for advertising while removing the security risks associated with sharing complete device identifiers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different quality levels to different data elements: the substitute IP address data contains precise local characteristics (geolocation, ISP, connection type) necessary for targeted advertising, while deliberately omitting or obscuring the global identifier (actual IP address). This local quality approach ensures advertising precision where needed while minimizing security risks where not needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for protecting user identity within online content providing environments uses a security content management system (CMS) including at least one processor and a memory. The method includes identifying a request for an online content item associated with an online device. The online device is associated with actual device data. The method also includes determining a first characteristic value associated with the actual device data of the online device. The method further includes generating, by the processor, substitute device data. The substitute device data represents at least the first characteristic value. The method also includes providing the substitute device data to an online content provider.