Method, computer program product and electronic device for hyper-local geo-targeting
First Claim
1. A method for providing hyper-local geo-targeting information, the method comprising:
- receiving, by a computer (geo-intelligence server) over a network from a network server, a user Internet Protocol (IP) address, wherein the user IP address is associated with a user device associated with a user, wherein the user IP address is received while maintaining the anonymity of the user;
receiving, by the computer from the network server, anonymous user-supplied geographic information associated with the user IP address, wherein the user supplies the anonymous user-supplied geographic information to the network server via the user device;
associating at least one stored IP address with the user IP address, wherein the at least one stored IP address is not the same as the user IP address;
retrieving, by the computer from a database, stored geographic data corresponding to the at least one stored IP address;
validating, by the computer, the anonymous user-supplied geographic information, the user-supplied geographic information associated with the user IP address, based at least in part on the stored geographic data associated with the at least one stored IP address; and
providing the anonymous user-supplied geographic information as the hyper-local geo-targeted information once the user-supplied geographic information is validated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method, computer program product and electronic device are provided for providing hyper-local geo-targeting based on validated, user-supplied geographic information, wherein the user'"'"'s anonymity may be maintained. In particular, user-supplied geographic information may be collected in association with a truncated IP address. Once collected, the user-supplied information may be validated using geographic data previously derived from one or more complete IP addresses corresponding to the received truncated IP address. The derived geographic data may have been derived using a system that maps the routing infrastructure of the Internet in order to determine where endpoints on the Internet are located. The validated, user-supplied geographic information, which may be more specific than the derived geographic data, may then be used to provide more granular and accurate geo-targeting, all the while maintaining the privacy of the individual users.
197 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for providing hyper-local geo-targeting information, the method comprising:
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receiving, by a computer (geo-intelligence server) over a network from a network server, a user Internet Protocol (IP) address, wherein the user IP address is associated with a user device associated with a user, wherein the user IP address is received while maintaining the anonymity of the user; receiving, by the computer from the network server, anonymous user-supplied geographic information associated with the user IP address, wherein the user supplies the anonymous user-supplied geographic information to the network server via the user device; associating at least one stored IP address with the user IP address, wherein the at least one stored IP address is not the same as the user IP address; retrieving, by the computer from a database, stored geographic data corresponding to the at least one stored IP address; validating, by the computer, the anonymous user-supplied geographic information, the user-supplied geographic information associated with the user IP address, based at least in part on the stored geographic data associated with the at least one stored IP address; and providing the anonymous user-supplied geographic information as the hyper-local geo-targeted information once the user-supplied geographic information is validated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computer program product for providing hyper-local geo-targeting information, the computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, said non-transitory computer-readable program code portions comprising:
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a first executable portion for receiving a user Internet Protocol (IP) address from a network server, wherein the user IP address is associated with a user, wherein the user IP address is received while maintaining the anonymity of the user; a second executable portion for receiving anonymous user-supplied geographic information associated with the user IP address; a third executable portion for associating at least one stored IP address associated with the user IP address, wherein the at least one stored IP address is not the same as the user IP address; a fourth executable portion for retrieving, from a database, stored geographic data corresponding to the stored IP address; and a fifth executable portion for validating the anonymous user-supplied geographic information, the user-supplied geographic information associated with the user IP address, based at least in part on the stored geographic data associated with the at least one stored IP address, and providing the anonymous user-supplied geographic information as the hyper-local geo-targeted information once the user-supplied geographic information is validated. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An electronic device for providing hyper-local geo-targeting information, comprising:
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a processor configured to; receive a user Internet Protocol (IP) address from a network server, wherein the user IP address is associated with a user device associated with a user, wherein the user IP address is received while maintaining the anonymity of the user; receive anonymous user-supplied geographic information associated with the user IP address, wherein the anonymous user-supplied geographic information is supplied to the network server by the user via the user device; associating at least one stored IP address with the user IP address, wherein the at least one stored IP address is not the same as the user IP address; retrieve, from a database, stored geographic data corresponding to the stored IP address; validate the user-supplied geographic information, the user-supplied geographic information associated with the user IP address, based at least in part on the stored geographic data associated with the at least one stored IP address; and providing the anonymous user-supplied geographic information as the hyper-local geo-targeted information once the user-supplied geographic information is validated. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification