Synchronized User Identifiers for Privacy-Preserving Attribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Content providers face challenges in consolidating user activity data across online systems and third-party attribution systems without compromising user privacy, as existing methods lack synchronized tracking and effective prediction of user attribution trends and consumer purchase patterns.
Innovation Solution
An online system filters user impression data by removing online system identifiers and sends it to third-party attribution systems, allowing for synchronized user activity tracking and prediction of user attribution trends and consumer purchase patterns while protecting user identity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If user impression data is shared between online systems and third-party attribution systems, then user activity tracking accuracy is improved, but user privacy is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces synchronized user identifiers as an intermediary mechanism that enables data sharing between online systems and third-party attribution systems without direct exposure of personal information. The synchronized identifiers act as a mediator that links user activities across platforms while maintaining privacy boundaries, allowing attribution tracking without compromising user identity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates copies of user identification data in synchronized format that can be shared across systems without exposing the original personal identifiers. By using copied and transformed identifier representations, the system enables tracking functionality while preventing direct access to sensitive user information.
2Loss of information
If synchronized user identifiers are used across multiple platforms, then user activity consolidation is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements synchronized user identifiers with universal format and structure that can be used across multiple platforms and systems. This universal identifier system serves multiple functions including user identification, activity tracking, and data consolidation simultaneously, reducing the need for separate identification mechanisms for each platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms user identification parameters into a standardized synchronized format that maintains essential identifying characteristics while removing sensitive information. By changing the parameter representation from detailed personal identifiers to synchronized anonymized identifiers, the system achieves consolidation without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If online system identifiers are removed from impression data, then user privacy protection is improved, but data attribution capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes sensitive online system identifiers from impression data while retaining the essential attribution information through synchronized user identifiers. This extraction process separates the harmful personal identification elements from the useful tracking elements, allowing privacy protection without complete loss of attribution capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The synchronized user identifier serves as an intermediary that preserves attribution capability without requiring direct exposure of online system identifiers. This mediator enables the third-party attribution system to perform its function while the original sensitive identifiers remain protected within the online system.
Data Source
AI summary
An online system receives a list of third party user identifiers from a third party attribution system, each associated with one or more user action events by each of a set of users across multiple content providers. The online system determining if it has its own user identifiers that match to at least a subset of the received third party user identifiers. The online system determines relevant impressions corresponding to the matching online system user identifiers, and sends them to the third party attribution system along with an associated subset of the third party user identifiers.