Anonymous Location Service for Wireless Networks
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving, at a system comprising a processor, a request regarding a targeted area, the request being received from a requester;
receiving, by the system, identification information corresponding to a wireless device located within the targeted area;
determining, by the system, that a preference associated with the wireless device indicates that the identification information associated with the wireless device is not to be shared; and
sending, by the system and to the requester, a dummy identification corresponding to the wireless device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An anonymous location wireless network service for use in a wireless network. The service provides content providers with the location of network users without revealing their identities. The service includes a wireless network having a proxy server, a network communication link to a plurality of web sites, and a wireless communication link to a plurality of handheld devices. The proxy server blocks identity by reading the location and identity information of network devices, generating dummy identifications, relating the dummy identifications to the identity information, storing the relationships in a memory storage, and forwarding the location information and dummy identifications to the global computer network. Upon receiving messages from the global computer network, the proxy server reads the dummy identifications, looks up the related identification information in the memory storage, and forwards the data to the appropriate network devices.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving, at a system comprising a processor, a request regarding a targeted area, the request being received from a requester; receiving, by the system, identification information corresponding to a wireless device located within the targeted area; determining, by the system, that a preference associated with the wireless device indicates that the identification information associated with the wireless device is not to be shared; and sending, by the system and to the requester, a dummy identification corresponding to the wireless device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method comprising:
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receiving, at a proxy server comprising a processor, a request for information relating to a targeted area, the request being received from a requester; receiving, by the proxy server, identification information corresponding to a wireless device located within the targeted area; determining, by the proxy server, that a preference associated with the wireless device indicates that the identification information associated with the wireless device is not to be shared; and sending, by the proxy server and to the requester, a dummy identification corresponding to the wireless device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method comprising:
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receiving, at a system comprising a processor, a request regarding a pre-identified vicinity, the request being received from a requester; receiving, by the system, identification information corresponding to a wireless device associated with the pre-identified vicinity; determining, by the system, location information indicating a location of the wireless device; determining, by the system, that a privacy setting associated with the wireless device is set to disallow communication of identification information associated with the wireless device; in response to determining that the privacy setting is set to disallow the communication of the identification information, associating, by the system, the location information with a dummy identification; and sending, by the system and to the requester, the dummy identification corresponding to the wireless device. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification