CROSS DEVICE VISITOR CORRELATION

• US 20150058393A1
• Filed: 08/20/2013
• Published: 02/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: George, William Brandon, Smith, Kevin Gary
• Granted Patent: US 9,270,740 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

In embodiments of cross device visitor correlation, application data is generated by an application executing on a computing device, and a visitor identifier is included in the application data. The visitor identifier is associated with the computing device for a user who is not identified at the computing device from a user-provided log-in credential or email address. The application data can be communicated to a cloud data storage that maintains the application data to update instances of the application on one or more additional computing devices when the application data is requested. An additional computing device can receive the application data along with the visitor identifier, and then return the visitor identifier back to the cloud storage along with updated application data. A user of the computing device and the additional computing device is correlated as the same visitor by a visitor profile server based on the visitor identifier.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

generating application data by an application executing on a computing device;

including a visitor identifier in the application data by a data transfer module of the application, the visitor identifier associated with the computing device for a user who is not identified at the computing device from a user-provided log-in credential; and

communicating the application data with the visitor identifier to a cloud data storage that maintains the application data to update instances of the application on one or more additional computing devices that request the application data from the cloud data storage.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein an additional computing device receives the application data along with the visitor identifier from the cloud data storage to update an instance of the application on the additional computing device, the visitor identifier returned to the cloud data storage with updated application data from the additional computing device.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the computing device from which the application data is generated is correlated with the additional computing device that requests the application data based on the visitor identifier.

4. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the user of the computing device and the additional computing device is correlated as a same visitor based on the visitor identifier that is included in the application data received from the computing device and included in the updated application data received from the additional computing device.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the visitor identifier identifies a unique aspect of the user who is otherwise an unidentified user of the computing device and the one or more additional computing devices.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the user is correlated with multiple computing devices based on the visitor identifier that is associated with the user who is not identified from the log-in credential or an email address at the multiple computing devices.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising receiving a message that is communicated to the computing device for viewing by the user, the message having relevance to the application executing on the computing device;

wherein;

the visitor identifier is a tracking code received in the message; and

a request for the application data from an additional computing device includes the tracking code that is also received in the message at the additional computing device.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising receiving a message that is communicated to the computing device;

wherein;

the visitor identifier is a tracking pixel included in the message; and

a request for the application data from an additional computing device includes the tracking pixel that is also included in the message received at the additional computing device.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving application data from a computing device for an application that is executing on the computing device, the application data including a visitor identifier that is associated with the computing device for a user who is not identified at the computing device from a user-provided log-in credential;

receiving a request from an additional computing device for the application data to update an instance of the application on the additional computing device;

communicating the application data along with the visitor identifier that is associated with the computing device to the additional computing device to update the instance of the application at the additional computing device;

receiving updated application data from the additional computing device, the updated application data including the visitor identifier; and

correlating the computing device with the additional computing device based on the visitor identifier.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, further comprising correlating the user of the computing device and the additional computing device as a same visitor based on the visitor identifier that is included in the application data received from the computing device and included in the updated application data received from the additional computing device.

11. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the visitor identifier identifies a unique aspect of the user who is otherwise an unidentified user of the computing device and the additional computing device.

12. A method as recited in claim 9, further comprising correlating the user with multiple computing devices based on the visitor identifier that is associated with the user who is not identified from the log-in credential or an email address at the multiple computing devices.

13. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein:

the visitor identifier is a user identifier that is associated with cloud data storage allocated to the user of the computing devices; and

the method further comprising correlating the computing device and the additional computing device with the user based on the user identifier.

14. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein:

the visitor identifier is a tracking code included in a message that is received at the computing device for viewing by the user, the message having relevance to the application executing on the computing device;

said receiving the application data that includes the tracking code from the computing device; and

said receiving the updated application data from the additional computing device includes the tracking code that is also received in the message at the additional computing device.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

identifying the user based on a message address of the message; and

correlating the computing device and the additional computing device with the identified user based on the tracking code.

16. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein:

the visitor identifier is a tracking pixel included in a message that is received at the computing device;

said receiving the application data that includes the tracking pixel from the computing device;

said receiving the updated application data from the additional computing device includes the tracking pixel that is also received in the message at the additional computing device; and

the method further comprising correlating the computing device and the additional computing device with the identified user based on the tracking pixel.

17. A method, comprising:

communicating a message for viewing by a user of a computing device, the message including an incentive related to an application that is executable on the computing device, and the message including a tracking identifier associated with the user;

receiving a first visitor identifier from the computing device along with the tracking identifier when the incentive is initiated by the user at the computing device;

receiving a second visitor identifier from an additional computing device along with the tracking identifier when the incentive is initiated by the user at the additional computing device; and

correlating the first visitor identifier and the second visitor identifier with the user based on the tracking identifier received back from the computing device and the additional computing device.

18. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein:

the first visitor identifier identifies the computing device;

the second visitor identifier identifies the additional computing device; and

the method further comprising correlating the user with the computing device and the additional computing device based on the tracking identifier received back from the computing device and the additional computing device.

19. A method as recited in claim 17, wherein the tracking identifier is one of:

a tracking code included in the message;

or

a tracking pixel included in the message.

20. A method as recited in claim 17, further comprising:

identifying the user based on a message address of the message; and

correlating the computing device and the additional computing device with the identified user based on the tracking identifier received back from the computing device and the additional computing device.

21. Computer-readable storage media comprising one or more applications stored as instructions that are executable and, responsive to execution of the instructions by a computing device, the computing device performs operations comprising to:

receive application data from a computing device for an application that is executing on the computing device, the application data including a visitor identifier that is associated with the computing device for a user who is not identified at the computing device;

receiving a request from an additional computing device for the application data to update an instance of the application on the additional computing device;

communicating the application data along with the visitor identifier that is associated with the computing device to the additional computing device to update the instance of the application at the additional computing device;

receiving updated application data from the additional computing device, the updated application data including the visitor identifier; and

correlating the computing device with the additional computing device based on the visitor identifier.

22. Computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 21, wherein the computing device performs the operations further comprising to:

correlate the user with multiple computing devices based on the visitor identifier that is associated with the user who is not identified from a log-in credential or an email address at the multiple computing devices.

23. Computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 21, wherein:

the visitor identifier is a user identifier that is associated with cloud data storage allocated to the user of the computing devices; and

the computing device performs the operations further comprising to correlate the computing device and the additional computing device with the user based on the user identifier.

24. Computer-readable storage media comprising one or more applications stored as instructions that are executable and, responsive to execution of the instructions by a computing device, the computing device performs operations comprising to:

communicate a message for viewing by a user of a computing device, the message including an incentive related to an application that is executable on the computing device, and the message including a tracking identifier associated with the user;

receive a first visitor identifier from the computing device along with the tracking identifier when the incentive is initiated by the user at the computing device;

receive a second visitor identifier from an additional computing device along with the tracking identifier when the incentive is initiated by the user at the additional computing device; and

correlate the first visitor identifier and the second visitor identifier with the user based on the tracking identifier received back from the computing device and the additional computing device.

25. Computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 24, wherein:

the first visitor identifier identifies the computing device;

the second visitor identifier identifies the additional computing device; and

the computing device performs the operations further comprising to correlate the user with the computing device and the additional computing device based on the tracking identifier received back from the computing device and the additional computing device.