Time-Dependent Identifier for Mobile Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for tracking mobile devices face challenges due to privacy laws and restrictions on data collection, particularly when linking activities through third-party content suppliers, as they often prohibit the use of unique identifiers like MAC addresses or UDID, making it difficult to accurately track user interactions.
Innovation Solution
The system generates a time-dependent identifier based on device fingerprinting and time stamping, which allows for accurate tracking of mobile devices without violating privacy laws or third-party terms of service, by combining device, location, and time information to create a unique hash value that expires after a certain time, reducing false positives and missed identifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional unique identifiers (MAC address, UDID) are used for tracking mobile devices, then tracking accuracy is improved, but compliance with privacy laws and third-party terms of service deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the tracking identification process into multiple components: device characteristics (fingerprinting), location data, and time stamps. Instead of relying on a single unique identifier, the system divides the identification into these segments that can be collected and combined without violating privacy restrictions on any single data type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary identifier system that mediates between the need for accurate tracking and privacy requirements. This intermediary identifier is constructed from permissible data elements (device characteristics, location, time) rather than direct use of prohibited unique identifiers, serving as a bridge that satisfies both tracking accuracy and compliance needs.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If device fingerprinting and time stamping are combined to create time-dependent identifiers, then compliance with privacy laws is improved, but tracking reliability deteriorates due to potential false positives
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the identifier time-dependent rather than static. The identifier changes based on the time component, allowing the system to account for device reuse over time while maintaining compliance. This dynamic approach reduces false positives by considering temporal context in addition to device characteristics and location.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms to continuously refine tracking accuracy. By monitoring the effectiveness of time-dependent identifiers and adjusting the weighting of device characteristics, location, and time components, the system learns from past performance to improve reliability while maintaining privacy compliance.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for tracking mobile devices with increased accuracy include generating a first time-dependent identifier. Generating the first time-dependent identifier includes device information, location information, and time information identified for the device and for a request by the device to visit a third-party content supplier in association with a redirection instruction. One or more embodiments monitor additional activity by a plurality of client devices for a second time-dependent identifier. Because both identifiers are time dependent, if the identifiers match, one or more embodiments can determine that the client device has performed an action at the third-party content supplier in association with the redirection instruction with an improved probability of accuracy.