Method and system for non-repeating user identification in a communication system

• US 7,900,245 B1
• Filed: 10/15/2002
• Issued: 03/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Spectrum LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Anderson, David J., Maza-Deblauwe, Tania, Vacanti, Daniel S., Geddes, Martin, Conley, Todd M., Chan, Wone-Hoe, Madhavarapu, Ganga, Jethwa, Piyush
• Primary Examiner(s): Moazzami; Nasser G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Reza; Mohammad W
• Application Number:
  US10/272,222
• Time in Patent Office: 3,059 Days
• Field of Search: 713172-185, 713/189, 713/159, 726/8, 726/10, 726/9, 726/20
• US Class Current: 726/9
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00

Abstract

A method and system operative to preclude content providers from tracking users, while still allowing content providers to communicate to users. An intermediary, such as an access channel provider for instance, gives content providers non-repeating user-identification-tokens, each of which a content provider can use as a key to access an intermediary resource that facilitates a communication to the user, without revealing the user'"'"'s identity to the content provider.

Claims

1. In a communication system comprising at least one content provider and a user, a method comprising:

conveying to the at least one content provider from an intermediary a plurality of user-identification tokens during a corresponding plurality of communications between the user and the at least one content provider,

wherein, each user-identification token contains an embedded value indicative of the user but does not reveal the embedded value to the at least one content provider,

wherein, each user-identification token is different, so that the plurality of user-identification tokens do not appear to the at least one content provider to identify a common user, and

wherein, each user-identification token is usable by the at least one content provider as a key to access a user-specific resource so as to facilitate a respective communication from the at least one content provider to the user.

2. In a communication system in which an intermediary maintains a user-specific resource that facilitates communications between at least one content provider and a user, a method comprising:

during each of a plurality of communications from the user to the at least one content provider, the intermediary sending to the at least one content provider a respective user-token that contains an embedded value indicative of the user but that does not reveal the value to the at least one content provider, wherein each respective user token is different so that multiple respective user-tokens do not appear to the at least one content provider to indicate a common user; and

to facilitate each of a plurality of communications from the at least one content provider to the user, the intermediary thereafter receiving from the at least one content provider one of the respective user-tokens as a key to access the user-specific resource.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein sending a respective user-token to the at least one content provider during a given communication from the user to the at least one content provider comprises:

inserting the respective user-token into the given communication from the user to the at least one content provider.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one of the communications from the at least one content provider to the user is responsive to at least one of the communications from the user to the at least one content provider.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one communication from the user to the at least one content provider comprises an HTTP request message, and the at least one communication from the at least one content provider to the user comprises an HTTP response message.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the user-specific resource comprises information about the user, and wherein the information is usable by the content provider to customize at least one of the communications from the at least one content provider to the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the information comprises a location of the user, and wherein the information is usable by the content provider as a basis to provide location-based information to the user in at least one of the communications from the at least one content provider to the user.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the user-specific resource comprises a communication link to the user, and wherein the intermediary carries at least one of the communications from the at least one content provider to the user via the communication link.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein each respective user-token is derived from a combination of values including (i) the value indicative of the user and (ii) a value that is different for each respective user-token.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the value that is different for each respective user-token comprises a randomly generated value.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the user has a User ID, and wherein the value indicative of the user comprises the User ID.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

during each communication from the user to the at least one content provider, the intermediary applying a predetermined function to the combination of values, to produce the respective user-token that the intermediary sends to the at least one content provider.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

after receiving from the at least one content provider a respective user-token as a key to access the user-specific resource, the intermediary applying an inverse of the predetermined function so as to uncover from the received user-token the value indicative of the user; and

the intermediary then using the value indicative of the user to provide access to the user-specific resource.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the value that is different for each respective user-token comprises a timestamp indicative of a time when the intermediary generates the respective user-token.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

after receiving from the at least one content provider a respective user-token as a key to access the user-specific resource, the intermediary applying an inverse of the predetermined function so as to uncover from the received user-token (i) the value indicative of the user and (ii) the timestamp; and

the intermediary then using the timestamp as a basis to determine whether to provide access to the user-specific resource.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein using the timestamp as a basis to determine whether to provide access to the user-specific resource comprises:

denying access to the user-specific resource, in response to a determination that a predefined time period has passed from the time indicated by the timestamp.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the user has a User ID, and wherein the method further comprises, during each communication from the user to the at least one content provider:

the intermediary mapping the User ID to the value indicative of the user; and

the intermediary applying a predetermined function to the combination of values, to produce the respective user-token that the intermediary sends to the at least one content provider.

18. The method of claim 2, wherein a given one of the communications from the user to the at least one content provider is a communication from the user to a given content provider, and wherein the respective user-token that the intermediary sends to the at least one content provider during the given communication is derived as a functional combination of at least (i) a value indicative of the user and (ii) a value indicative of the given content provider.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving from the at least one content provider one of the respective user-tokens as a key to access the user-specific resource comprises receiving from a particular content server the respective user-token that the intermediary sent to the at least one content provider during the given communication from the user to the given content provider, and wherein the method further comprises:

the intermediary uncovering from the received token the value indicative of the given content provider;

the intermediary granting access to the user-specific resource if the particular content server is the given content server; and

the intermediary denying access to the user-specific resource if the particular content server is not the given content server.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the value indicative of the given content provider comprises a network domain hosted by the content provider.

21. The method of claim 2, wherein the intermediary is a wireless carrier that provides a wireless access link for the user.

22. In a communication system in which an access provider provides a communication link through which a user can communicate with one or more content providers over a network, a method for preventing tracking of the user by said content providers during repeated communications between said user and said one or more content providers, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) in a first communication between said user and said one or more content providers, sending a first token from said access provider to said one or more content providers, said first token being used as a key to facilitate the first communication, and said first token containing an embedded value indicative of said user but said first token not revealing said value to said one or more content providers; and

(b) in a second communication between said user and said one or more content providers, sending a second token from said access provider to said one or more content providers, said second token being used as a key to facilitate the second communication, and said second token also containing said embedded value indicative of said user but said second token also not revealing said value to said one or more content providers,

wherein said second token is different from said first token.

23. In a communication system comprising at least one content provider and a user, an intermediation system comprising:

a processor;

data storage; and

machine language instructions stored in the data storage and executable by the processor to generate a plurality of user-identification tokens and to send the plurality of user-identification tokens to the at least one content provider,

wherein, each user-identification token contains an embedded value indicative of the user but does not reveal the embedded value to the at least one content provider,

wherein, each user-identification token is different, so that the plurality of user-identification tokens do not appear to the at least one content provider to identify a common user, and

wherein, each user-identification token is usable by the at least one content provider as a key to access a user-specific resource so as to facilitate a respective communication from the at least one content provider to the user.

24. An intermediation system for passing communications between at least one content provider and a user, the intermediation system comprising:

a processor;

data storage;

machine language instructions stored in the data storage and executable by the processor, during each of a plurality of communications from the user to the at least one content provider, to send to the at least one content provider a respective user-token that contains an embedded value indicative of the user but that does not reveal the value to the at least one content provider, wherein each respective user-token is (i) used by the at least one content provider as a key to access a user-specific resource so as to facilitate a respective communication from the at least one content provider to the user, and (ii) different, so that multiple respective user-tokens do not appear to the at least one content provider to indicate a common user.

25. The intermediation system of claim 24, wherein the machine language instructions are executable to generate each respective user-token based on a random number.

26. In a communication system in which an access provider provides a communication link through which a user can communicate with one or more content providers over a network, a system for preventing tracking of the user by said content providers during repeated communications between said user and said one or more content providers, the improvement comprising:

a processor;

data storage; and

machine language instructions stored in the data storage and executable by the processor to carry out functions including;

(a) in a first communication between said user and said one or more content providers, sending a first token from said access provider to said one or more content providers, said first token being used as a key to facilitate the first communication, and said first token containing an embedded value indicative of said user but said first token not revealing said value to said one or more content providers; and

(b) in a second communication between said user and said one or more content providers, sending a second token from said access provider to said one or more content providers, said second token being used as a key to facilitate the second communication, and said second token also containing said embedded value indicative of said user but said second token also not revealing said value to said one or more content providers,

wherein said second token is different from said first token.