Balancing the costs of sharing private data with the utility of enhanced personalization of online services
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method comprising:
- providing a set of attributes to a search engine for use in connection with personalized searching, wherein the set of attributes comprises a plurality of subsets of attributes, and wherein each attribute is a user-specific variable or a query-specific variable;
determining, for each subset of attributes, a respective value to a user of sharing a respective subset of attributes for use in connection with personalized searching, the respective value being indicative of an improvement in search results when considering the respective subset of attributes relative to search results when failing to consider the respective subset of attributes;
determining, for the respective subset of attributes, a respective cost to the user of sharing the respective subset of attributes for use in connection with personalized searching, the respective cost based on a probability that the user is identifiable based upon the respective subset of attributes;
utilizing a processor to compute a respective net benefit to the user of sharing the respective subset of attributes, the respective net benefit to the user being computed by the processor based at least in part upon the respective value and the respective cost to the user of sharing the respective subset of attributes; and
selecting a subset of attributes from the plurality of subset of attributes for use by the search engine when performing the personalized searching based at least in part upon the respective net benefit computed for the subset of attributes.
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Abstract
Described herein is a method that includes determining a utility to a user of sharing a set of attributes for use in connection with personalized searching or other online services. The method further includes determining a cost to the user of sharing the set of attributes. The method also includes outputting an indication of a net benefit to the user of sharing the set of attributes based at least in part upon the determined utility and the determined cost.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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providing a set of attributes to a search engine for use in connection with personalized searching, wherein the set of attributes comprises a plurality of subsets of attributes, and wherein each attribute is a user-specific variable or a query-specific variable; determining, for each subset of attributes, a respective value to a user of sharing a respective subset of attributes for use in connection with personalized searching, the respective value being indicative of an improvement in search results when considering the respective subset of attributes relative to search results when failing to consider the respective subset of attributes; determining, for the respective subset of attributes, a respective cost to the user of sharing the respective subset of attributes for use in connection with personalized searching, the respective cost based on a probability that the user is identifiable based upon the respective subset of attributes; utilizing a processor to compute a respective net benefit to the user of sharing the respective subset of attributes, the respective net benefit to the user being computed by the processor based at least in part upon the respective value and the respective cost to the user of sharing the respective subset of attributes; and selecting a subset of attributes from the plurality of subset of attributes for use by the search engine when performing the personalized searching based at least in part upon the respective net benefit computed for the subset of attributes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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a processor; and a memory that comprises a plurality of components that are executed by the processor, the plurality of components comprising; a value of information determiner component configured to determine a value of information to a user of sharing one or more attributes that correspond to the user with a search engine that performs searches, the value of information based upon an expected reduction in click entropy from a base entropy achieved by using the one or more attributes when performing searches; a cost determiner component configured to determine a cost to the user of sharing the one or more attributes, the cost based upon a probability of identifying the user based on the one or more attributes and a sensitivity to the user of sharing the one or more attributes; and an analyzer component that is configured to; receive the value of information determined by the value of information determiner component and the cost determined by the cost determiner component; and output an indication of a net benefit to the user of sharing the one or more attributes in connection with personalized searching based at least in part upon the received value of information and the received cost. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
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receiving a set of attributes that are indicative of an identity of a user; selecting from the set of attributes a subset of attributes employable to perform a personalized search, the subset of attributes providing an optimal net benefit to the user for performing the personalized search, the optimal net benefit being based upon
1) a value of information to the user of sharing the subset of attributes; and
2) a cost to the user of sharing the subset of attributes, the value of information based upon a reduction in click entropy from a base entropy achieved when using the subset of attributes, and the cost based upon a probability that the user is identifiable based upon the subset of attributes;receiving a query from the user; and performing the personalized search responsive to receipt of the query from the user, the subset of attributes being used in connection with ranking search results that are presented to the user. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification