Methods and apparatus to collect distributed user information for media impressions and search terms

• US 10,063,378 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2017
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Burbank, John R., Alla, Madhusudhan Reddy
• Primary Examiner(s): McNally, Michael S
• Application Number:
  US15/449,331
• Publication Number:
  US 20170180127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 543 Days
• Field of Search: 713168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2107 File encryption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0256 User search
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/00 Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism healthcare informatics G16H
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0414 during transmission, i.e. party's identity is protected against eavesdropping, e.g. by using temporary identifiers, but is known to the other party or parties involved in the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/72 Subscriber identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/75 Temporary identity

Abstract

Disclosed examples involve sending an encrypted identifier to a corresponding database proprietor via a network communication from a server of an audience measurement entity, the encrypted identifier identifying at least one of a device or a user of the device; receiving user information corresponding to the encrypted identifier from the corresponding database proprietor; and associating the user information with at least one of a search term collected at the device or a media impression logged for media accessed via the device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

sending, by executing an instruction with a processor, an encrypted identifier to a corresponding database proprietor via a network communication from a server of an audience measurement entity, the encrypted identifier identifying at least one of a device or a user of the device;

receiving, by executing an instruction with the processor, user information corresponding to the encrypted identifier from the corresponding database proprietor; and

associating, by executing an instruction with the processor, the user information with at least one of a search term collected at the device or a media impression logged for media accessed via the device.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the encrypted identifier is collected at the audience measurement entity based on use at the device of an application that does not employ cookies.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the encrypted identifier is received at the audience measurement entity via a second network communication from at least one of an application publisher, a media publisher, or a search provider in communication with the device.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the sending of the encrypted identifier, the receiving of the user information, and the associating of the user information with the at least one of the search term or the media impression are performed at the server, the server being separate from the device and in communication with the device.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, further including decoding information from the device to obtain the encrypted identifier.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the user information includes demographic information of the user stored by the database proprietor.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the database proprietor is a social network service, the encrypted identifier including a username of the user registered with the social network service, and the user information including demographic information of the user stored by the social network service.

8. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the database proprietor is a wireless service provider, the encrypted identifier including a device identifier used by the wireless service provider to identify the device, and the user information including demographic information of the user stored by the wireless service provider.

9. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the media is an advertisement, and the search term corresponds to a search performed at the device to at least one of search information on the Internet, search for a product, search for a website, or search a website.

10. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the sending of the encrypted identifier to the corresponding database proprietor is based on a database proprietor identifier received in association with the encrypted identifier, the database proprietor identifier identifying the database proprietor.

11. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the device is a mobile device.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a communication interface circuit to;

send an encrypted identifier to a corresponding database proprietor via a network communication from a server of an audience measurement entity, the encrypted identifier identifying at least one of a device or a user of the device; and

receive user information corresponding to the encrypted identifier from the corresponding database proprietor; and

a processor to associate the user information with at least one of a search term collected at the device or a media impression logged for media accessed via the device.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the encrypted identifier is collected at the audience measurement entity based on use at the device of an application that does not employ cookies.

14. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the encrypted identifier is received at the audience measurement entity via a second network communication from at least one of an application publisher, a media publisher, or a search provider in communication with the device.

15. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the communication interface circuit and the processor are located at the server, the server to be separate from the device and in communication with the device.

16. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, further including a decoder to decode information from the device to obtain the encrypted identifier.

17. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the user information includes demographic information of the user stored by the database proprietor.

18. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the database proprietor is a social network service, the encrypted identifier including a username of the user registered with the social network service, and the user information including demographic information of the user stored by the social network service.

19. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the database proprietor is a wireless service provider, the encrypted identifier including a device identifier used by the wireless service provider to identify the device, and the user information including demographic information of the user stored by the wireless service provider.

20. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the media is an advertisement, and the search term corresponds to a search performed at the device to at least one of search information on the Internet, search for a product, search for a website, or search a website.

21. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the communication interface circuit is to send the encrypted identifier to the corresponding database proprietor based on a database proprietor identifier received in association with the encrypted identifier, the database proprietor identifier identifying the database proprietor.

22. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the device is a mobile device.

23. A tangible machine readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to at least:

send an encrypted identifier to a corresponding database proprietor via a network communication from a server of an audience measurement entity, the encrypted identifier identifying at least one of a device or a user of the device;

receive user information corresponding to the encrypted identifier from the corresponding database proprietor; and

associate the user information with at least one of a search term collected at the device or a media impression logged for media accessed via the device.

24. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the encrypted identifier is collected at the audience measurement entity based on use at the device of an application that does not employ cookies.

25. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the encrypted identifier is received at the audience measurement entity via a second network communication from at least one of an application publisher, a media publisher, or a search provider in communication with the device.

26. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the processor is located at the server, the server being separate from the device and in communication with the device.

27. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the instructions are further to cause the processor to decode information from the device to obtain the encrypted identifier.

28. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the user information includes demographic information of the user stored by the database proprietor.

29. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the database proprietor is a social network service, the encrypted identifier including a username of the user registered with the social network service, and the user information including demographic information of the user stored by the social network service.

30. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the database proprietor is a wireless service provider, the encrypted identifier including a device identifier used by the wireless service provider to identify the device, and the user information including demographic information of the user stored by the wireless service provider.

31. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the media is an advertisement, and the search term corresponds to a search performed at the device to at least one of search information on the Internet, search for a product, search for a website, or search a website.

32. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the instructions are to cause the processor to send the encrypted identifier to the corresponding database proprietor based on a database proprietor identifier received in association with the encrypted identifier, the database proprietor identifier identifying the database proprietor.

33. The tangible machine readable storage medium as defined in claim 23, wherein the device is a mobile device.