Telemetry Filename Hashing for Privacy Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The collection of telemetry data for operating systems and applications often inadvertently reveals user-identifiable information, particularly when personal files are included, raising privacy concerns.
Innovation Solution
The use of a one-way cryptographic hash function to replace original filenames with hash values in telemetry data, ensuring that user-identifiable information is protected by making it computationally impractical to invert the hash values and recreate the original filenames, and maintaining a white list of system files to identify and replace matching hash values with original filenames.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If telemetry data collection includes all files in selected folders, then comprehensive performance monitoring is achieved, but user privacy is compromised through exposure of personal information in filenames
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential identifying characteristics of files (hash values of filenames and paths) while removing the actual personal information contained in filenames. This allows telemetry data to maintain comprehensiveness for performance monitoring while eliminating user-identifiable information that compromises privacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces hash values as an intermediary representation of filenames. Instead of transmitting actual filenames that may contain personal information, the system uses cryptographic hash functions to transform filenames into unique identifiers that preserve file identification capability while removing personal information content.
2Measurement precision
If original filenames are transmitted in telemetry data, then file identification accuracy is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases and processor efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a simplified copy of filename information in the form of hash values. These hash copies retain the unique identification property of original filenames but occupy significantly less space and require less processing power to transmit and analyze, thereby improving network bandwidth utilization and processor efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
This disclosure describes systems and method for preventing the transfer of 'user-identifiable information' from a client device while collecting telemetry data that is relevant to features of an operating system or computing application. In various examples, telemetry data is gathered to monitor the performance or use of an operating system or computing application. The process of collecting telemetry data can involve capturing data associated with files that are not directly associated with the operating system or computing application that is being monitored. This disclosure presents techniques that use a cryptographic hash function to prevent user identifiable information from being revealed in file attributes during the process of collecting telemetry data. A user's privacy is protected by the computational impracticability of recreating the original filename from the hash value.