Mapping user identifiers between different device ecosystems

• US 10,348,567 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2015
• Issued: 07/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Zhou, Shaoyu, Di, Tao, He, Shaojian, Zhu, Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Georgandellis, Andrew C
• Application Number:
  US14/884,464
• Publication Number:
  US 20170111226A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• 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 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/088 using filters or firewalls

Abstract

Techniques and technologies for mapping user identifiers between different device ecosystems are described. In at least some embodiments, a system includes a processing component, a memory, and a mapping engine configured to map a first identifier associated with a user with a second identifier, at least one of the first or second identifiers being associated with a first device ecosystem; and map a third identifier associated with a second device ecosystem with at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier, the second device ecosystem different from the first device ecosystem, based at least partially on (i) a plurality of first co-location occurrences of the third identifier with the first identifier, and (ii) a plurality of second co-location occurrences of the third identifier with the second identifier. The mapping engine may provide an indication of an association of the third identifier with the user.

Claims

1. An identifier mapping system for mapping at least one of a first identifier associated with a first device or a second identifier associated with a second device with a third identifier associated with a third device, the system comprising:

a processing device operatively coupled to a memory;

a mapping engine stored in the memory and, when executed by the processing device, configured to;

detect that the first device associated with the first identifier has operatively communicated with a first location;

detect that the second device associated with the second identifier has operatively communicated with a second location;

detect that one or more other devices associated with one or more other device identifiers have operatively communicated with at least one of the first location or the second location;

detect a plurality of first co-location occurrences of the third identifier with the first identifier at the first location;

detect a plurality of second co-location occurrences of the third identifier with the second identifier at the second location;

map the third identifier with at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier, the mapping being based at least partially on (i) filtering out any of the one or more other device identifiers that did not have at least one co-location occurrence with the third identifier at both the first location and the second location, (ii) determining from among all remaining co-location occurrences that the third identifier has a highest number of co-location occurrences with the first identifier at the first location, (iii) determining from among all remaining co-location occurrences that the third identifier has a highest number of co-location occurrences with the second identifier at the second location, and (iv) determining that the first identifier and the second identifier are associated with a user; and

provide an indication of an association of the third identifier with the user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second identifiers are associated with a first device ecosystem, and the third identifier is associated with a second device ecosystem different from the first device ecosystem.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first co-location occurrences of the third identifier with the first identifier at the first location comprises a plurality of instances of the third identifier and the first identifier accessing a first network access within a first time period, and

wherein the plurality of second co-location occurrences of the third identifier with the second identifier at the second location comprises a plurality of instances of the third identifier and the second identifier accessing a second network access within a second time period.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first co-location occurrences of the third identifier with the first identifier at the first location comprises a plurality of instances of the third identifier and the first identifier contemporaneously accessing a first network access, and

wherein the plurality of second co-location occurrences of the third identifier with the second identifier at the second location comprises a plurality of instances of the third identifier and the second identifier contemporaneously accessing a second network access.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the first device ecosystem comprises an ecosystem associated with at least one of a personal computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a server, a data store, a communication device, a tablet computer, or a mainframe computer, and

wherein the second device ecosystem comprises an ecosystem associated with a mobile device.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the first device ecosystem comprises an ecosystem associated with a first operating system associated with a first manufacturer, and

wherein the second device ecosystem comprises an ecosystem associated with a second operating system associated with a second manufacturer.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the mapping engine configured to map the third identifier with at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier comprises:

a mapping engine configured to;

access activity log information indicative of one or more unmapped identifiers having accessed first and second network accesses, the one or more unmapped identifiers including the third identifier, the activity log information further including information indicative of the first and second identifiers having accessed at least one of the first network access or the second network access;

for each identifier pair including the third identifier and the first identifier, assign or increment a first co-location occurrence score for each time the third identifier and the first identifier have contemporaneously accessed the first network access;

for each identifier pair including the third identifier and the second identifier, assign or increment a first co-location occurrence score for each time the third identifier and the second identifier have contemporaneously accessed the first network access;

for each identifier pair including the third identifier and the first identifier, assign or increment a second co-location occurrence score for each time the third identifier and the first identifier have contemporaneously accessed the second network access;

for each identifier pair including the third identifier and the second identifier, assign or increment a second co-location occurrence score for each time the third identifier and the second identifier have contemporaneously accessed the second network access;

for any unmapped identifiers only seen in identifier pairs only associated with one of the first co-location occurrence score or the second co-location occurrence score, filter out such unmapped identifiers associated with such identifier pairs;

for each identifier pair, add the first co-location occurrence scores and the second co-location occurrence scores across all activity log information; and

if either the identifier pair having the highest first co-location occurrence score or the identifier pair having the highest second co-location occurrence score includes at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier, then map the third identifier to the corresponding at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the mapping engine configured to map the third identifier with at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier comprises:

a mapping engine configured to;

access activity log information indicative of one or more unmapped identifiers having accessed first and second network accesses, the one or more unmapped identifiers including the third identifier, the activity log information further including information indicative of the first and second identifiers having accessed at least one of the first network access or the second network access;

generate one or more identifier pairs, each identifier pair including at least one of the one or more unmapped identifiers and one of the first identifier or the second identifier;

for each identifier pair, assign or increment a first co-location occurrence score for each time both identifiers of the identifier pair have accessed the first network access within a first specified period of time;

for each identifier pair, assign or increment a second co-location occurrence score for each time both identifiers of the identifier pair have accessed the second network access within a second specified period of time;

for each identifier pair, add the first co-location occurrence scores and the second co-location occurrence scores across all activity log information;

for any unmapped identifiers having only one of the first co-location occurrence score or the second co-location occurrence score, filter out such unmapped identifier;

for each remaining unmapped identifier, determine the identifier pair having a highest first co-location occurrence score and the identifier pair having a highest second co-location score; and

if either the identifier pair having the highest first co-location occurrence score or the identifier pair having the highest second co-location occurrence score includes at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier, then map the third identifier to the corresponding at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a personalized services or products component configured to receive the indication of the association of the third identifier with the user and to provide at least one of a personalized service or personalized product based at least partially on the indication of the association of the third identifier with the user.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a personalized services or products component configured to receive the indication of the association of the third identifier with the user, to select or generate a targeted advertisement tailored to the user based at least partially on the indication of the association of the third identifier with the user, and to provide the targeted advertisement customized to a device associated with the third identifier.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the mapping engine is further configured to:

map the first identifier with the second identifier.

12. A method for mapping at least one of a first identifier associated with a first device or a second identifier associated with a second device with a third identifier associated with a third device, the method comprising:

mapping the third identifier with at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier using one or more processing devices, the mapping-including;

(i) determining a plurality of first co-location occurrences indicative of the third identifier and the first identifier accessing a first network access at a first location;

(ii) determining a plurality of second co-location occurrences indicative of the third identifier and one or more other identifiers accessing a second network access at a second location;

(iii) processing the plurality of first co-location occurrences and the plurality of second co-location occurrences, the processing including;

(a) filtering out one or more other device identifiers that did not have at least one co-location occurrence with the third identifier at both the first location and the second location,

(b) determining from among all remaining co-location occurrences that the third identifier has a highest number of co-location occurrences with the first identifier at the first location, and

(c) determining from among all remaining co-location occurrences that the third identifier has a highest number of co-location occurrences with the second identifier at the second location; and

(iv) if the first identifier and the second identifier are associated with a user, then mapping the third identifier to at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier, and providing an indication of an association of the third identifier with the user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining a plurality of first co-location occurrences indicative of the third identifier and one or more other identifiers accessing a first network access at a first location comprises determining a plurality of first co-location occurrences indicative of the third identifier and one or more other identifiers accessing a first network access at a first location within a first time period.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of first co-location occurrences indicative of the third identifier and one or more other identifiers accessing a first network access at a first location are determined during an assumed working-hours time period, and wherein the plurality of second co-location occurrences indicative of the third identifier and one or more other identifiers accessing a second network access at a second location are determined during an assumed home-hours time period.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the first device and the second device are associated with a first device ecosystem, the first device ecosystem including at least one of an ecosystem associated with at least one of a personal computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a server, a data store, a communication device, a tablet computer, or a mainframe computer, and

wherein the third device is associated with a second device ecosystem, the first second ecosystem including at least one of an ecosystem associated with a mobile device.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein mapping a third identifier with at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier comprises:

accessing activity log information indicative of one or more unmapped identifiers having accessed first and second network accesses, the one or more unmapped identifiers including the third identifier, the activity log information further including information indicative of the first and second identifiers having accessed at least one of the first network access or the second network access;

for each identifier pair including the third identifier and the first identifier, assigning or incrementing the first co-location occurrence score for each time the third identifier and the first identifier have contemporaneously accessed the first network access;

for each identifier pair including the third identifier and the second identifier, assigning or incrementing the first co-location occurrence score for each time the third identifier and the second identifier have contemporaneously accessed the first network access;

for each identifier pair including the third identifier and the first identifier, assigning or incrementing the second co-location occurrence score for each time the third identifier and the first identifier have contemporaneously accessed the second network access;

for each identifier pair including the third identifier and the second identifier, assigning or incrementing the second co-location occurrence score for each time the third identifier and the second identifier have contemporaneously accessed the second network access;

for any unmapped identifier having only one of the first co-location occurrence score or the second co-location occurrence score, filtering out such unmapped identifiers associated with such identifier pairs; and

for each identifier pair, adding the first co-location occurrence scores and the second co-location occurrence scores across all activity log information.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

providing at least one of a personalized service or personalized product to a device associated with the third identifier based at least partially on the indication of the association of the third identifier with the user.

18. A system, comprising:

one or more processing devices;

one or more computer-readable media bearing one or more instructions that, when executed by the one or more processing devices, perform operations for mapping at least one of a first identifier associated with a first device or a second identifier associated with a second device with a third identifier associated with a third device, the operations comprising;

determining a plurality of first co-location occurrences indicative of the third identifier and the first identifier accessing a first network access at a first location during an assumed work-hours period;

determining a plurality of second co-location occurrences indicative of the third identifier and the second identifier accessing a second network access at a second location during an assumed non-working-hours period;

processing the plurality of first co-location occurrences and the plurality of second co-location occurrences, the processing including;

filtering out one or more other device identifiers that did not have at least one co-location occurrence with the third identifier at both the first location and the second location,

determining from among all remaining co-location occurrences that the third identifier has a highest number of co-location occurrences with the first identifier at the first location, and

determining from among all remaining co-location occurrences that the third identifier has a highest number of co-location occurrences with the second identifier at the second location; and

if the first identifier and the second identifier are associated with a user, then mapping the third identifier to at least one of the first identifier or the second identifier, and providing an indication of an association of the third identifier with the user.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein at least some of the plurality of first co-location occurrences, and the plurality of second co-location occurrences are determined based on activity log information.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein at least one of the first device or the second device is a desktop computer that is configured to be operatively coupled to a corresponding one of the first network access or the second network access.