Maintaining a historical record of anonymized user profile data by location for users in a mobile environment
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- obtaining current locations of a plurality of users of a plurality of mobile devices, each of the plurality of users being a user of a corresponding one of the plurality of mobile devices;
obtaining user profiles of the plurality of users of the plurality of mobile devices; and
processing the current locations and the user profiles of the plurality of users for each of a plurality of successive time intervals to maintain a historical record of anonymized user profile data by location, wherein processing the current locations and the user profiles of the plurality of users for each of the plurality of successive time intervals to maintain the historical record of the anonymized user profile data by location comprises;
sorting the plurality of users into location buckets based on their current locations; and
for each time interval of the plurality of successive time intervals;
for each location bucket, anonymizing the user profiles of ones of the plurality of users in the location bucket for the time interval to provide anonymized user profile data for the location bucket for the time interval; and
storing the anonymized user profile data for the location buckets for the time interval.
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Abstract
A system and method are provided for maintaining a historical record of anonymized user profile data for mobile device users. In one embodiment, a central system, which includes one or more servers, operates to obtain current locations and user profiles for users of mobile devices. The central system processes the current locations and the user profiles of the users over time to maintain a historical record of anonymized user profile data by location. By anonymizing the user data, privacy of the users of the mobile devices is maintained. The central system may then use the historical record of anonymized user profile data to respond to historical requests. The historical requests may be made by users of the mobile devices, subscribers, and/or third-party services.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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obtaining current locations of a plurality of users of a plurality of mobile devices, each of the plurality of users being a user of a corresponding one of the plurality of mobile devices; obtaining user profiles of the plurality of users of the plurality of mobile devices; and processing the current locations and the user profiles of the plurality of users for each of a plurality of successive time intervals to maintain a historical record of anonymized user profile data by location, wherein processing the current locations and the user profiles of the plurality of users for each of the plurality of successive time intervals to maintain the historical record of the anonymized user profile data by location comprises; sorting the plurality of users into location buckets based on their current locations; and for each time interval of the plurality of successive time intervals; for each location bucket, anonymizing the user profiles of ones of the plurality of users in the location bucket for the time interval to provide anonymized user profile data for the location bucket for the time interval; and storing the anonymized user profile data for the location buckets for the time interval. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A server comprising:
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a communication interface communicatively coupling the server to a plurality of mobile devices of a plurality of users via a network, each of the plurality of users being a user of a corresponding one of the plurality of mobile devices; and a control system associated with the communication interface and adapted to; obtain current locations of the plurality of users of the plurality of mobile devices; obtain user profiles of the plurality of users of the plurality of mobile devices; process the current locations and the user profiles of the plurality of users for each of a plurality of successive time intervals to maintain a historical record of anonymized user profile data by location;
wherein to process the current locations and the user profiles of the plurality of users for each of the plurality of successive time intervals to maintain the historical record of the anonymized user profile data by location the control system is adapted to;sort the plurality of users into location buckets based on their current locations; and for each time interval of the plurality of successive time intervals; for each location bucket, anonymize the user profiles of ones of the plurality of users in the location bucket for the time interval to provide anonymized user profile data for the location bucket for the time interval; and store the anonymized user profile data for the location buckets for the time interval.
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13. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a server to:
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obtain current locations of a plurality of users of a plurality of mobile devices, each of the plurality of users being a user of a corresponding one of the plurality of mobile devices; obtain user profiles of the plurality of users of the plurality of mobile devices; process the current locations and the user profiles of the plurality of users for each of a plurality of successive time intervals to maintain a historical record of anonymized user profile data by location;
wherein instructing the controller to process the current locations and the user profiles of the plurality of users for each of the plurality of successive time intervals to maintain the historical record of the anonymized user profile data by location comprises instructing the controller to;sort the plurality of users into location buckets based on their current locations; and for each time interval of the plurality of successive time intervals; for each location bucket, anonymize the user profiles of ones of the plurality of users in the location bucket for the time interval to provide anonymized user profile data for the location bucket for the time interval; and store the anonymized user profile data for the location buckets for the time interval.
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Specification