Anonymous information management
First Claim
1. A method for maintaining privacy in an anonymous information system (AIS), comprising:
- receiving, by a service provider network (SPN), a hashed user identifier from a website;
hashing, by the SPN, the hashed user identifier to produce a double hashed user identifier;
identifying a consumer file associated with the double hashed user identifier, wherein the consumer file is stored in a first database;
identifying an entity identifier associated with the consumer file;
hashing the entity identifier into an anonymous identifier;
identifying personally identifiable information (PII) in the consumer file;
identifying segment data in the consumer file;
loading the anonymous identifier and the segment data into a second database that is siloed from the first database wherein association of the anonymous identifier with the PII in the consumer file is prevented;
associating the anonymous identifier only with the segment data;
at the SPN, loading the anonymous identifier into a browser cookie;
sending the browser cookie from the SPN to a web browser associated with a computer operated by a user;
at some point after sending the browser cookie from the SPN to the web browser associated with the computer operated by the user, associating at the SPN the anonymous identifier with an advertisement chosen from a plurality of advertisements based on the segment data associated with the anonymous identifier to provide a targeted advertisement to the user;
at the SPN, receiving the browser cookie back from the web browser at the computer operated by the user;
extracting the anonymous identifier from the browser cookie at the SPN; and
sending the targeted advertisement associated with the anonymous identifier from the SPN to the web browser at the computer operated by the user in response to receiving the anonymous identifier.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An anonymous information system (AIS) maintains privacy for internet users by separating personally identifiable information (PII) and user browser history. The AIS may receive a hashed email address from a publisher website. The AIS system may double hash the email address and discard the hashed email address received from the publisher. The double hashed email address is decoupled from user PII and may be used for tracking the number of unique email addresses provided by the publisher website. The AIS system also may associate the hashed email address with a consumer file. The AIS may hash an entity identifier associated with the consumer file to create a non-reversible anonymous identifier (anonymous ID). The anonymous ID may be associated with segment information in the consumer file that does not contain PII about the user. The AIS may send customized information to users based on the segment information.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method for maintaining privacy in an anonymous information system (AIS), comprising:
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receiving, by a service provider network (SPN), a hashed user identifier from a website; hashing, by the SPN, the hashed user identifier to produce a double hashed user identifier; identifying a consumer file associated with the double hashed user identifier, wherein the consumer file is stored in a first database; identifying an entity identifier associated with the consumer file; hashing the entity identifier into an anonymous identifier; identifying personally identifiable information (PII) in the consumer file; identifying segment data in the consumer file; loading the anonymous identifier and the segment data into a second database that is siloed from the first database wherein association of the anonymous identifier with the PII in the consumer file is prevented; associating the anonymous identifier only with the segment data; at the SPN, loading the anonymous identifier into a browser cookie; sending the browser cookie from the SPN to a web browser associated with a computer operated by a user; at some point after sending the browser cookie from the SPN to the web browser associated with the computer operated by the user, associating at the SPN the anonymous identifier with an advertisement chosen from a plurality of advertisements based on the segment data associated with the anonymous identifier to provide a targeted advertisement to the user; at the SPN, receiving the browser cookie back from the web browser at the computer operated by the user; extracting the anonymous identifier from the browser cookie at the SPN; and sending the targeted advertisement associated with the anonymous identifier from the SPN to the web browser at the computer operated by the user in response to receiving the anonymous identifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification