Predicting locations and movements of users based on historical locations for users of an online system
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving location information from a plurality of user devices used by users of an online system, the location information identifying a plurality of different locations at which each of the user devices was located;
extracting from the location information a plurality of chains of locations visited by each of plurality of users of the online system, each chain of locations including two or more locations visited by a respective user, wherein extracting the plurality of chains of locations comprises;
identifying two or more locations wherein (1) the user was located at both of the two or more locations within a first maximum threshold length of time, and (2) the user was located at each of the two or more locations for at least a second minimum threshold amount of time, and extracting the two or more locations as a chain of locations visited by the user;
generating one or More location pairs using the chains of locations, each location pair including a first location and a second location, wherein generating the one or more location pairs comprises;
determining an association between two location in the chains of locations based on a number of occurrences of the first location and the second location in common chains of the extracted plurality of chains of locations, and pairing the two locations responsive to the association being greater than a third threshold;
determining that a viewing user previously visited one of the locations in a location pair; and
responsive to the determination, selecting a content item for the other location in the location for presentation to the user.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An online system receives location information from a plurality of user devices used by users of the online system. The location information identifies a plurality of different locations at which each of the user devices was located. From the location information, a plurality of chains of locations visited by each of a plurality of users are extracted. The online system generates one or more location pairs based on the chain of locations, where each location pair includes a first location and a second location to which there is a high probability a user will travel if the user is located at the first location. The location pairs are used for a variety of applications, such as for advertising to users based on locations and for providing insights into the movements of users.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving location information from a plurality of user devices used by users of an online system, the location information identifying a plurality of different locations at which each of the user devices was located; extracting from the location information a plurality of chains of locations visited by each of plurality of users of the online system, each chain of locations including two or more locations visited by a respective user, wherein extracting the plurality of chains of locations comprises;
identifying two or more locations wherein (1) the user was located at both of the two or more locations within a first maximum threshold length of time, and (2) the user was located at each of the two or more locations for at least a second minimum threshold amount of time, and extracting the two or more locations as a chain of locations visited by the user;generating one or More location pairs using the chains of locations, each location pair including a first location and a second location, wherein generating the one or more location pairs comprises;
determining an association between two location in the chains of locations based on a number of occurrences of the first location and the second location in common chains of the extracted plurality of chains of locations, and pairing the two locations responsive to the association being greater than a third threshold;determining that a viewing user previously visited one of the locations in a location pair; and responsive to the determination, selecting a content item for the other location in the location for presentation to the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
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receive location information from a plurality of user devices used by users of an online system, the location information identifying a plurality of different locations at which each of the user devices was located; extract from the location information a plurality of chains of locations visited by each of plurality of users of the online system, each chain of locations including two or more locations visited by a respective user, wherein extracting the plurality of chains of locations comprises;
identifying two or more locations wherein (1) the user was located at both of the two or more locations within a first maximum threshold length of time, and (2) the user was located. at each of the two or more locations for at least a second minimum threshold amount of time, and extracting the two or more locations as a chain of locations visited by the user;generate one or more location pairs using the chains of locations, each location pair including a first location and a second location, wherein generating the one or more location pairs comprises;
determining an association between two location in the chains of locations based on a number of occurrences of the first location and the second location in common chains of the extracted plurality of chains of locations, and pairing the two locations responsive to the association being greater than a third threshold;determining that a viewing user previously visited one of the locations in a location pair; and responsive to the determination, selecting a content item for the other location in the location for presentation to the user. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification