Systems and methods for inferring matches and logging-in of online users across devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11704694-B2
Application number	US-202017030499-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 24, 2020
Priority date	Feb 18, 2015
Publication date	Jul 18, 2023
Grant date	Jul 18, 2023

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for associating a plurality of Internet-enabled devices with a common user profile for targeting Internet content or advertising. One method includes: receiving, from a plurality of Internet-enabled devices, a plurality of requests for electronic content or advertising; extracting, from each of the plurality of requests, a source IP address and a unique identifier associated with the respective Internet-enabled device; identifying each possible pair of devices from which requests were received; calculating for each possible pair of devices a probability that the pair of devices are owned or operated by a common user; and prompting a user to either confirm a characteristic of a prior browsing session or to log-in to an account associated with the common user based on a comparison of the calculated probability to one or more thresholds.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for associating a plurality of devices with a common user profile, the method comprising:
receiving, from a plurality of devices, a plurality of requests for content;
extracting, from each of the plurality of requests, an address and a unique identifier associated with the respective device;
determining a first address for which requests were received over a predetermined time period;
identifying at least one pair of devices linked to the determined first address;
determining whether the pair of devices are linked to a second address over the predetermined time period;
calculating a probability that the pair of devices are associated with a common user based at least in part on whether the pair of devices are linked to the second address;
comparing the calculated probability to one or more thresholds; and
prompting a user to either confirm a characteristic of a prior browsing session or to log-in to an account associated with the common user based on the comparison of the calculated probability to the one or more thresholds.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
if the calculated probability exceeds a first threshold, prompting a user to confirm a characteristic of a prior browsing session; and if the calculated probability exceeds a second threshold, prompting the user to log-in to an account associated with the common user.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
for each additional address with which the pair of devices are linked to, increasing the probability that the pair of devices are associated with a common user.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
normalizing the probability and the second probability;
combining the probability and the second probability to create an combined probability; and
calculating an overall probability that the pair of devices are associated with a common user based at least in part on the combined probability.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating a probability that the pair of devices are owned or operated by a common user comprises:
determining, for each pair of devices, whether the pair of devices initiated a web event at the address at a time period when users are statistically likely to be at home; and
weighting web events that occur when users are statistically expected to be at home less heavily, when calculating the probability, than web events that occur at time periods when users are statistically likely to be away from home.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating a probability that the pair of devices are owned or operated by a common user comprises:
determining, for each pair of devices, whether the pair of devices initiated a web event at the address at a time period when users are statistically likely to be at home; and
weighting web events that occur when users are statistically expected to be at home at least as heavily, when calculating the probability, as web events that occur at time periods when users are statistically likely to be away from home.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
inferring, from each of the plurality of requests, a device type and local time associated with each request; and
further calculating a probability that the pair of devices are owned or operated by a common user based on inferred device type and local time associated with the request of each device.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
accessing, in a database, demographic or browsing history information generated from the common user's use of a first device of the pair of devices, the demographic or browsing history information being stored in the database in relation to the unique identifier; and
identifying, based on the demographic or browsing history information, content to display at a second device of the pair of devices, wherein the demographic or browsing history information is synchronized and associated with the common user's first device and the common user's second device.

9. A system for associating a plurality of devices with a common user profile for targeting content, the system including:
a data storage device storing instructions for associating a plurality of Internet-enabled devices with a common user profile for targeting Internet content; and
a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform a method including:
receiving, from a plurality of devices, a plurality of requests for content;
extracting, from each of the plurality of requests, an address and a unique identifier associated with the respective device;
determining a first address for which requests were received over a predetermined time period;
identifying at least one pair of devices linked to the determined first address;
determining whether the pair of devices are linked to a second address over the predetermined time period;
calculating a probability that the pair of devices are associated with a common user based at least in part on whether the pair of devices are linked to the second address;
comparing the calculated probability to one or more thresholds; and
prompting a user to either confirm a characteristic of a prior browsing session or to log-in to an account associated with the common user based on the comparison of the calculated probability to the one or more thresholds.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured for:
if the calculated probability exceeds a first threshold, prompting a user to confirm a characteristic of a prior browsing session; and if the calculated probability exceeds a second threshold, prompting the user to log-in to an account associated with the common user.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the probability is determined at least in part by incorporating at least one second probability that the pair of devices are associated with a common user calculated over a second predetermined time period.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the processor is further configured for:
normalizing the probability and the second probability;
combining the probability and the second probability to create an combined probability; and
calculating an overall probability that the pair of devices are associated with a common user based at least in part on the combined probability.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein calculating a probability that the pair of devices are owned or operated by a common user comprises:
determining, for each pair of devices, whether the pair of devices initiated a web event at the address at a time period when users are statistically likely to be at home; and
weighting web events that occur when users are statistically expected to be at home less heavily, when calculating the probability, than web events that occur at time periods when users are statistically likely to be away from home.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein calculating a probability that the pair of devices are owned or operated by a common user comprises:
determining, for each pair of devices, whether the pair of devices initiated a web event at the address at a time period when users are statistically likely to be at home; and
weighting web events that occur when users are statistically expected to be at home at least as heavily, when calculating the probability, as web events that occur at time periods when users are statistically likely to be away from home.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured for:
accessing, in a database, demographic or browsing history information generated from the common user's use of a first device of the pair of devices, the demogra

Assignees

• Verizon Media Inc
• Yahoo Ad Tech LIC

Inventors

• Demsey Seth Mitchell
• Patton Matthew

Classifications

• G06Q30/0255 Primary

  based on user history · CPC title

• G06Q30/0261

  based on user location · CPC title

• G06Q30/0264

  based upon schedule · CPC title

• G06Q30/0269

  based on user profile or attribute · CPC title

• G06Q30/0277

  Online advertisement · CPC title