Systems and methods for providing anonymized user profile data

• US 8,966,649 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2014
• Issued: 02/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Experian Marketing Solutions, LLC (Experian plc)
• Original Assignee: Experian Marketing Solutions Incorporated (Experian plc)
• Inventors: Stack, Brian, Lientz, Andrew, Chamberlain, Simon, Abdous, Yacine, Kahn, Ray
• Primary Examiner(s): Pwu, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRUONG, THONG P
• Application Number:
  US14/162,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20140201007A1
• Time in Patent Office: 397 Days
• Field of Search: 726/17, 726/21, 726/26
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/10 Usage protection of distributed data files
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute

Abstract

Embodiments facilitate confidential and secure sharing of anonymous user profile data to improve the delivery of customized content. Embodiments of the invention provide a data appliance to an entity such as a business to convert profile data about the business'"'"'s customers into anonymous identifiers. A similar data appliance is provided to a content provider in one embodiment to generate identifiers for its user profile data. Because the anonymous identifiers are generated with the same anonymization method, identical identifiers are likely generated from profile data of the same users. Therefore, the identifiers can be used to anonymously match the customers of the business to the users of the content provider. Therefore, data can be shared to improve customized content such as advertisements that the business wishes to place with the content provider without requiring the business to disclose customer data in an unencrypted form, and any non-matched data can remain confidential.

Claims

1. A system for anonymously sharing user profile data among a plurality of entities, comprising:

one or more hardware computing devices configured to at least;

access first user profile data for each of a plurality of first users associated with a first entity;

encrypt, using a particular encryption technique, at least some of the first user profile data into a plurality of first encrypted identifiers representing anonymization of the first user profile data for each respective first user;

receive marketing data associated with a second entity, the marketing data comprising at least a plurality of second encrypted identifiers representing anonymization of second user profile data for each of a plurality of second users associated with the second entity,

wherein the plurality of second encrypted identifiers were encrypted using the same particular encryption technique, such that particular users included in both the plurality of first users and the plurality of second users are associated with identical encrypted identifiers;

identify a plurality of matching users based at least in part on locating identical encrypted identifiers from among the first encrypted identifiers and the second encrypted identifiers; and

generate supplemental market segment data including, for each of the plurality of matching users;

(1) a user identifier; and

(2) market segment data associated with each user, wherein the market segment data is from the received marketing data associated with the second entity.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware computing devices are further configured to:

provide the supplemental market segment data to an advertising computing system for use in targeted advertising.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware computing devices are further configured to:

purge the first encrypted identifiers and the second encrypted identifiers after the supplemental market segment data is generated.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the received marketing data associated with the second entity further comprises matching criteria, and wherein at least some of the plurality of matching users are identified based at least in part on the matching criteria.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first entity is a content publisher and the second entity is an advertiser.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more hardware computing devices are further configured to:

provide the plurality of first encrypted identifiers to a marketing bureau server configured to;

match the plurality of first encrypted identifiers with consolidated market segment data that comprises at least anonymized user profile data associated with respective encrypted identifiers received from the first entity and/or the second entity; and

periodically distribute the consolidated market segment data to the first entity and/or the second entity.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the marketing data associated with the second entity is received from the marketing bureau server.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the market segment data associated with the plurality of second users is encrypted using the particular encryption technique.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the particular encryption technique is a cryptographic hash function.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first user profile data comprises names and addresses associated with the plurality of first users.

11. A computer-implemented method for anonymously sharing user profile data among a plurality of entities, the method comprising:

under control of a computing device configured with specific computer-executable instructions;

accessing first user profile data for each of a plurality of first users associated with a first entity;

encrypting, using a particular encryption technique, at least some of the first user profile data into a plurality of first encrypted identifiers representing anonymization of the first user profile data for each respective first user;

receiving marketing data associated with a second entity, the marketing data comprising at least a plurality of second encrypted identifiers representing anonymization of second user profile data for each of a plurality of second users associated with the second entity,

wherein the plurality of second encrypted identifiers were encrypted using the same particular encryption technique, such that particular users included in both the plurality of first users and the plurality of second users are associated with identical encrypted identifiers;

identifying a plurality of matching users based at least in part on locating identical encrypted identifiers from among the first encrypted identifiers and the second encrypted identifiers; and

generating supplemental market segment data including, for each of the plurality of matching users;

(1) a user identifier; and

(2) market segment data associated with each user, wherein the market segment data is from the received marketing data associated with the second entity.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

providing the supplemental market segment data to an advertising computing system for use in targeted advertising.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

purging the first encrypted identifiers and the second encrypted identifiers after the supplemental market segment data is generated.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the received marketing data associated with the second entity further comprises matching criteria, and wherein at least some of the plurality of matching users are identified based at least in part on the matching criteria.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the first entity is a content publisher and the second entity is an advertiser.

16. Non-transitory computer storage having stored thereon a computer program, the computer program including executable instructions that instruct a computer system to at least:

access first user profile data for each of a plurality of first users associated with a first entity;

encrypt, using a particular encryption technique, at least some of the first user profile data into a plurality of first encrypted identifiers representing anonymization of the first user profile data for each respective first user;

receive marketing data associated with a second entity, the marketing data comprising at least a plurality of second encrypted identifiers representing anonymization of second user profile data for each of a plurality of second users associated with the second entity,

wherein the plurality of second encrypted identifiers were encrypted using the same particular encryption technique, such that particular users included in both the plurality of first users and the plurality of second users are associated with identical encrypted identifiers;

identify a plurality of matching users based at least in part on locating identical encrypted identifiers from among the first encrypted identifiers and the second encrypted identifiers; and

generate supplemental market segment data including, for each of the plurality of matching users;

(1) a user identifier; and

(2) market segment data associated with each user, wherein the market segment data is from the received marketing data associated with the second entity.

17. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 16, wherein the executable instructions further instruct the computer system to at least:

provide the plurality of first encrypted identifiers to a marketing bureau server configured to;

match the plurality of first encrypted identifiers with consolidated market segment data that comprises at least anonymized user profile data associated with respective encrypted identifiers received from the first entity and/or the second entity; and

periodically distribute the consolidated market segment data to the first entity and/or the second entity.

18. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 16, wherein the market segment data associated with the plurality of second users is encrypted using the particular encryption technique.

19. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 16, wherein the particular encryption technique is a cryptographic hash function.

20. The non-transitory computer storage of claim 16, wherein the first user profile data comprises names and addresses associated with the plurality of first users.