Mobile private assisted location tracking
First Claim
1. A method of operation of a mobile device, comprising:
- by the mobile device;
generating a plurality of route fragments, each route fragment of the plurality of route fragments defining a location of a user of the mobile device over a corresponding period of time;
obfuscating the plurality of route fragments to provide a plurality of obfuscated route fragments;
sending the plurality of obfuscated route fragments to a remote server for storage by the remote server;
receiving a location tracking request from a remote requestor via a network;
processing the location tracking request such that one or more obfuscated route fragments of the plurality of obfuscated route fragments that are relevant to the location tracking request are obtained from the remote server and de-obfuscated to recover one or more route fragments of the plurality of route fragments corresponding to the one or more obfuscated route fragments; and
sending the one or more recovered route fragments to the remote requestor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed for providing private location tracking. In general, a location-aware mobile device includes a location broker. Over time, as a location of the mobile device changes, the location broker generates a number of route fragments each defining the location of the mobile device over a corresponding period of time. The location broker obfuscates the route fragments and sends the obfuscated route fragments to a remote server for storage. At some point, the location broker receives a location tracking request from a requestor. In response, the location broker processes the location tracking request such that one or more obfuscated route fragments that are relevant to the location tracking request are obtained from the remote server and de-obfuscated to recover the corresponding route fragments. The recovered route fragments may then be utilized by the requestor.
91 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of operation of a mobile device, comprising:
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by the mobile device; generating a plurality of route fragments, each route fragment of the plurality of route fragments defining a location of a user of the mobile device over a corresponding period of time; obfuscating the plurality of route fragments to provide a plurality of obfuscated route fragments; sending the plurality of obfuscated route fragments to a remote server for storage by the remote server; receiving a location tracking request from a remote requestor via a network; processing the location tracking request such that one or more obfuscated route fragments of the plurality of obfuscated route fragments that are relevant to the location tracking request are obtained from the remote server and de-obfuscated to recover one or more route fragments of the plurality of route fragments corresponding to the one or more obfuscated route fragments; and sending the one or more recovered route fragments to the remote requestor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A mobile device comprising:
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a communication interface communicatively coupling the mobile device to a remote server via a network; and a controller associated with the communication interface and adapted to; generate a plurality of route fragments, each route fragment of the plurality of route fragments defining a location of a user of the mobile device over a corresponding period of time; obfuscate the plurality of route fragments to provide a plurality of obfuscated route fragments; send the plurality of obfuscated route fragments to the remote server for storage by the remote server; receiving a location tracking request from a remote requestor via a network; processing the location tracking request such that one or more obfuscated route fragments of the plurality of obfuscated route fragments that are relevant to the location tracking request are obtained from the remote server and de-obfuscated to recover one or more route fragments of the plurality of route fragments corresponding to the one or more obfuscated route fragments; and sending the one or more recovered route fragments to the remote requestor.
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16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing software for instructing a controller of a mobile device to:
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generate a plurality of route fragments, each route fragment of the plurality of route fragments defining a location of a user of the mobile device over a corresponding period of time; obfuscate the plurality of route fragments to provide a plurality of obfuscated route fragments; send the plurality of obfuscated route fragments to a remote server for storage by the remote server; receiving a location tracking request from a remote requestor via a network; processing the location tracking request such that one or more obfuscated route fragments of the plurality of obfuscated route fragments that are relevant to the location tracking request are obtained from the remote server and de-obfuscated to recover one or more route fragments of the plurality of route fragments corresponding to the one or more obfuscated route fragments; and sending the one or more recovered route fragments to the remote requestor.
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Specification