Centralized dispatching of application analytics

• US 9,606,895 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2015
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Cotugno, James Joseph, Rhodes, Neil Campbell
• Primary Examiner(s): Daftuar, Saket K
• Application Number:
  US14/935,614
• Publication Number:
  US 20160062873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2268 Logging of test results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3604 Software analysis for verifying properties of programs byte-code verification G06F9/44589
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3612 by runtime analysis performance monitoring G06F11/3466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/173 using an interconnection network, e.g. matrix, shuffle, pyramid, star, snowflake
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44 Arrangements for executing specific programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44594 Unloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/183 Processing at user equipment or user record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

A method may include, in a computing device comprising at least one processor and a memory, generating at least one information beacon from each of a plurality of applications installed on the computing device. Each information beacon may include application analytics data associated with a corresponding application while the corresponding application is running on the computing device. The at least one information beacon from each of the plurality of applications may be stored in a common location in the computing device. The stored at least one information beacon may be dispatched from each of the plurality of applications to a network device communicatively coupled to the computing device. The generating may be triggered by beacon generation code implemented in each of the plurality of applications installed on the computing device.

Claims

1. A mobile computing device, comprising:

a memory configured to store applications and beacon service code;

a beacon database configured to store, according to a beacon collection policy, information beacons;

a communication subsystem configured to provide at least one of a wired or wireless connection to an analysis server; and

a processor configured to operate, concurrently, the applications and the beacon service code, the applications configured to generate, concurrently, the information beacons, the information beacons configured to provide analytics data about the applications while the applications are operating, the beacon service code configured to implement a beacon dispatch policy to dispatch, in a single transmission, the information beacons to the analysis server.

2. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is a main processor.

3. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is at least one application processor.

4. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the beacon service code is a part of an operating system.

5. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the beacon service code is a service application separate from an operating system.

6. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the analytics data comprises at least one of data that identifies a corresponding application, data that identifies a date and time that the corresponding application was accessed, data that identifies at least one application segment, of the corresponding application, that was accessed, data that identifies at least one characteristic of the mobile computing device, data that identifies at least one characteristic of an operating system of the mobile computing device, or data that identifies at least one button activated by a user while the corresponding application is running on the mobile computing device.

7. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the beacon database is implemented in the memory.

8. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the beacon database is implemented in a module separate from the memory.

9. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device is configured to implement beacon collection in response to a signal received from the analysis server.

10. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device is configured to implement beacon dispatch in response to a signal received from the analysis server.

11. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the beacon dispatch policy is configured to control at least one of a frequency of the single transmission, a number of the information beacons included in the single transmission, a compression of the single transmission, or an encryption of the single transmission.

12. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the applications include software development kits, the software development kits configured to generate the information beacons.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer code for controlling a processor to cause the processor to dispatch information beacons, the computer code including instructions to cause the processor to:

generate, by a first application, a first information beacon that provides application analytics data describing use of the first application installed on a mobile computing device while the first application is running on the mobile computing device;

generate, concurrently with the first information beacon and by a second application that is running concurrently with the first application, a second information beacon that provides application analytics data describing use of the second application running on the mobile computing device while the first application is running on the mobile computing device;

collect the first information beacon and second information beacon according to a beacon collection policy that stores the first information beacon and second information beacon in a common location in the mobile computing device; and

dispatch the first information beacon and the second information beacon, according to a beacon dispatch policy maintained by the mobile computing device, to a network device communicatively coupled to the mobile computing device in a single transmission.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the analytics data describing use of the first application or the second application comprises one or more of:

an indication of an application accessed on the mobile computing device;

an indication of date and time an application was accessed on the mobile computing device;

an indication of characteristics of one or both of the mobile computing device and the operating system used by the mobile computing device;

an indication of one or more buttons pushed by a user while the first application or the second application is running on the mobile computing device;

or

an indication of one or more user interactions with the first application or the second application running on the mobile computing device.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the computer code including the instructions to cause the processor to generate the first information beacon and to generate the second information beacon is configured to be triggered by beacon generation code implemented in each of the first application and the second application installed on the mobile computing device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the computer code including the instructions to cause the processor to dispatch the first information beacon and second information beacon is based on a pre-determined schedule maintained by one or both of the mobile computing device and the network device according to the beacon collection policy.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the first information beacon and the second information beacon are collected simultaneously.