Tracking Inhibitor Detection for Selective Privacy in Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tracking systems are vulnerable to abuse by malicious users who can track unwilling individuals by secreting tracking transmitters in their belongings, and existing solutions to prevent false positives leave users vulnerable for an extended period.
Innovation Solution
User equipment in the tracking system detects the presence of a tracking inhibitor, which prevents the reporting of tracking transmitter locations to the server, thereby protecting user privacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the threshold time period is set to a long duration (e.g., 5 hours) to prevent false positives, then the false positive rate is reduced, but the user remains vulnerable to tracking for an extended period
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection by checking for the presence of a tracking inhibitor before finalizing the tracking report. This preliminary action allows the system to identify and block potential tracking attempts early, protecting users immediately rather than waiting for a threshold time period to elapse, thus resolving the contradiction between reducing false positives and minimizing user vulnerability.
Solution Approach 2:
A tracking inhibitor device is introduced as an intermediary element that users can carry to block tracking reports. This intermediary physically or digitally prevents the transmission of location data without requiring complex threshold calculations, thereby protecting users from tracking while avoiding false positives in public environments.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the threshold time period is reduced to protect user privacy, then user vulnerability is reduced, but the false positive rate increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking inhibitor serves as a reliable intermediary that definitively indicates user intent to prevent tracking. Its presence eliminates ambiguity about whether a short threshold period would cause false positives, as the inhibitor explicitly signals that tracking should be blocked regardless of location or duration, thus reducing both user vulnerability and false positives simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
Users self-manage their tracking privacy by actively carrying or deploying a tracking inhibitor when they wish to prevent tracking. This self-service approach gives users direct control over their privacy settings without requiring the system to make complex decisions about threshold periods, thereby eliminating false positives while providing immediate protection.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If tracking inhibitor detection is implemented, then user privacy is protected immediately, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking inhibitor is designed as a simple intermediary device that either passively blocks signals or actively transmits a privacy indicator signal. This simple intermediary approach protects user privacy without requiring complex detection algorithms or system modifications, as the presence of the inhibitor itself (or its simple signal) is sufficient to trigger privacy protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The privacy protection function is extracted as a separate, optional component (the tracking inhibitor) rather than being integrated into the core tracking system. This extraction allows the main tracking system to remain simple while providing enhanced privacy protection through the addition of a standalone inhibitor device that users can carry when needed.
Data Source
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AI summary
A user equipment (20) for use in a tracking system (1) is disclosed, comprising: a receiver (220) configured to receive a first signal (s4) from a first tracking transmitter (2) and a second signal from a tracking inhibitor (s2); an interface configured to communicate with a server (10); a positioning module (234) configured to establish a first location of the first tracking transmitter; and a controller (224) configured to determine whether the second signal has been received at the receiver; wherein, in response to determining that the second signal has not been received, the controller is configured to report the location of the tracking transmitter by sending a first report including the first location and an identifier of the tracking transmitter; and wherein, in response to determining that the second signal has been received, the controller is configured to preserve user privacy by not sending the first report.