Event processing system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of processing user events of a platform to extract aggregate information about users of the platform, the method comprising, at an event processing system:
- initializing a privacy policy with an event processing system;
receiving, at the event processing system, a query relating to the user events;
determining, from the query, by the event processing system, at least one query parameter for each of a plurality of buckets;
for each of the buckets, computing with the event processing system, for a set of the user events satisfying the at least one query parameter for that bucket, an approximate unique user count with an error margin of at least two percent;
comparing, by the event processing system, the approximate unique user count for each bucket with a bucket redaction threshold;
applying, by the event processing system, quantization to the approximate unique user count for at least one of the buckets to generate a quantized unique user count for that bucket; and
responding to the query by releasing, from the event processing system, aggregate information comprising or derived from the quantized unique user count, wherein any of the buckets for which the approximate unique user count is below a minimum user count indicated by the bucket redaction threshold is redacted, wherein no unique user count is released for any redacted bucket.
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Abstract
User events of a platform are processed to extract aggregate information about users of the platform at an event processing system. A query relating to the user events is received at the system and at least one query parameter is determined from the query. Various privacy controls are disclosed for ensuring that any information released in response to the query cannot be used to identify users individually or to infer information about individual users.
23 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of processing user events of a platform to extract aggregate information about users of the platform, the method comprising, at an event processing system:
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initializing a privacy policy with an event processing system; receiving, at the event processing system, a query relating to the user events; determining, from the query, by the event processing system, at least one query parameter for each of a plurality of buckets; for each of the buckets, computing with the event processing system, for a set of the user events satisfying the at least one query parameter for that bucket, an approximate unique user count with an error margin of at least two percent; comparing, by the event processing system, the approximate unique user count for each bucket with a bucket redaction threshold; applying, by the event processing system, quantization to the approximate unique user count for at least one of the buckets to generate a quantized unique user count for that bucket; and responding to the query by releasing, from the event processing system, aggregate information comprising or derived from the quantized unique user count, wherein any of the buckets for which the approximate unique user count is below a minimum user count indicated by the bucket redaction threshold is redacted, wherein no unique user count is released for any redacted bucket. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An event processing system for processing user events of a platform to extract aggregate information about users of the platform, the event processing system comprising:
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an input configured to receive a query relating to the user events; an output configured to transmit a response to the query relating to the user events; computer storage holding computer-readable instructions; and one or more hardware-based processing units coupled to the computer storage and configured to implement a privacy policy by executing the computer-readable instructions to carry out the following steps; determining, from the query, by the one or more hardware-based processing units, at least one query parameter for each of a plurality of buckets; for each of the buckets, computing with the one or more hardware-based processing units, for a set of the user events satisfying the at least one query parameter for that bucket, an approximate unique user count with an error margin of at least two percent; comparing, by the one or more hardware-based processing units, the approximate unique user count for each bucket with a bucket redaction threshold; applying, by the one or more hardware-based processing units, quantization to the approximate unique user count for at least one of the buckets to generate a quantized unique user count for that bucket; and responding to the query by releasing, via the output, aggregate information comprising or derived from the quantized unique user count, wherein any of the buckets for which the approximate unique user count is below a minimum user count indicated by the bucket redaction threshold is redacted, wherein no unique user count is released for any redacted bucket. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A computer program product for processing user events of a platform to extract aggregate information about users of the platform, the computer program product comprising executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and configured, when executed on one or more processing units, to carry out the following steps:
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initializing a privacy policy with one or more processing units of the platform; receiving, at the platform, a query relating to the user events; determining, from the query, by the one or more processing units, at least one query parameter for each of a plurality of buckets; for each of the buckets, computing, with the one or more processing units, for a set of the user events satisfying the at least one query parameter for that bucket, an approximate unique user count with an error margin of at least two percent; comparing, by the one or more processing units, the approximate unique user count for each bucket with a bucket redaction threshold; applying, by the one or more processing units, quantization to the approximate unique user count for at least one of the buckets to generate a quantized unique user count for that bucket; and responding to the query by releasing, from the platform, aggregate information comprising or derived from the quantized unique user count, wherein any of the buckets for which the approximate unique user count is below a minimum user count indicated by the bucket redaction threshold is redacted, wherein no unique user count is released for any redacted bucket.
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Specification