Determining, by a remote system, applications provided on a device based on association with a common identifier

• US 10,693,862 B1
• Filed: 12/13/2017
• Issued: 06/23/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: de Boursetty, Benoit, Hunt, Nathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaw, Peter C
• Application Number:
  US15/841,251
• Time in Patent Office: 923 Days
• Field of Search: 726 8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0807 using tickets, e.g. Kerberos cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using tickets or tokens H04L9/3213
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3213 using tickets or tokens, e.g. Kerberos network architectures or network communication protocols for entities authentication using tickets in a packet data network H04L63/0807
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions

Abstract

A method is disclosed that includes receiving a notification about an activity pertaining to a user, the notification being directed to a first application and a second application, and identity of the user being associated with a token. The method also includes identifying a first instance of the first application and a first instance of the second application at a user device of the user, and determining the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application are associated with the token. The method further includes selecting one of the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application to provide the notification at the user device based on the token, and providing the notification to the selected one of the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application at the user device.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, to;

receive a notification about an activity pertaining to a user, the notification being directed to a first application and a second application, and identity of the user being associated with a token;

identify a first instance of the first application and a first instance of the second application at a user device of the user;

determine whether the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application are associated with the token;

responsive to determining that the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application are both associated with the token, select one of the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application to provide the notification at the user device based on the token and a fingerprint of the token; and

provide the notification to the selected one of the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application at the user device, while preventing duplicate notification to the non-selected application at the user device; and

select either the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application based on a predetermined priority order associated with the respective applications.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further to:

identify a second instance of the first application at a second user device of the user being associated with a second token;

select the second instance of the first application to provide the notification at the second user device based on the second token; and

provide the second notification to the selected second instance of the first application at the second user device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the token is generated via a single-sign-on user authentication mechanism used to sign into the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application at the user device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further to:

receive, from the first application, at least one of a first identifier associated with the user, a session token associated with the first application or a second identifier associated with the first application.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the processor is further to:

transmit, to a single-sign-on authentication service, a request to authenticate the at least one of the first identifier associated with the user, the session token associated with the first application or the second identifier associated with the first application; and

receive, from the single-sign-on authentication service, the token in response to the at least one of the first identifier associated with the user, the session token associated with the first application or the second identifier associated with the first application being authenticated.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor is further to:

in response to receiving the token, associate the at least one of the first identifier associated with the user, the session token associated with the first application or the second identifier associated with the first application and the token in a data store.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the processor is further to:

receive, from the first application, at least one of a first identifier associated with the user, a session token associated with the first application or a second identifier associated with the first application.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the processor is further to:

transmit, to a single-sign-on authentication service, a request to authenticate the at least one of the first identifier associated with the user, the session token associated with the first application or the second identifier associated with the first application; and

receive, from the single-sign-on authentication service, the token in response to the at least one of the first identifier associated with the user, the session token associated with the first application or the second identifier associated with the first application being authenticated.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the processor is further to:

in response to receiving the token, associate the at least one of the first identifier associated with the user, the session token associated with the first application or the second identifier associated with the first application and the token in a data store.

7. A method comprising:

receiving a notification about an activity pertaining to a user, the notification being directed to a first application and a second application, and identity of the user being associated with a token;

identifying a first instance of the first application and a first instance of the second application at a user device of the user;

determining whether the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application are associated with the token;

responsive to determining that the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application are both associated with the token, selecting, by a processor, one of the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application to provide the notification at the user device based on the token and a fingerprint of the token; and

providing the notification to the selected one of the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application at the user device, while preventing duplicate notification to the non-selected application at the user device; and

selecting either the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application based on a predetermined priority order associated with the respective applications.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

identifying a second instance of the first application at a second user device of the user being associated with a second token;

selecting the second instance of the first application to provide the notification at the second user device based on the second token; and

providing the second notification to the selected second instance of the first application at the second user device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the token is generated via a single-sign-on user authentication mechanism used to sign into the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application at the user device.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, from the first application, at least one of a first identifier associated with the user, a session token associated with the first application or a second identifier associated with the first application.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting, to a single-sign-on authentication service, a request to authenticate the at least one of the first identifier associated with the user, the session token associated with the first application or the second identifier associated with the first application; and

receiving, from the single-sign-on authentication service, the token in response to the at least one of the first identifier associated with the user, the session token associated with the first application or the second identifier associated with the first application being authenticated.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

in response to receiving the token, associating the at least one of the first identifier associated with the user, the session token associated with the first application or the second identifier associated with the first application and the token in a data store.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed, cause a processor to:

receive a notification about an activity pertaining to a user, the notification being directed to a first application and a second application, and identity of the user being associated with a token;

identify a first instance of the first application and a first instance of the second application at a user device of the user;

determine whether the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application are associated with the token;

responsive to determining that the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application are both associated with the token, select one of the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application to provide the notification at the user device based on the token and a fingerprint of the token;

provide the notification to the selected one of the first instance of the first application or the first instance of the second application at the user device, while preventing duplicate notification to the non-selected application at the user device; and

select either the first instance of the first application of the first instance of the second application based on a predetermined priority order associated with the respective applications.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the processor is further to:

identify a second instance of the first application at a second user device of the user being associated with a second token;

select the second instance of the first application to provide the notification at the second user device based on the second token; and

provide the second notification to the selected second instance of the first application at the second user device.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the token is generated via a single-sign-on user authentication mechanism used to sign into the first instance of the first application and the first instance of the second application at the user device.