Data processing systems and methods for automatically blocking the use of tracking tools

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12277191-B2
Application number	US-202418603876-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 13, 2024
Priority date	Jun 10, 2016
Publication date	Apr 15, 2025
Grant date	Apr 15, 2025

Abstract

Data processing systems and methods, according to various embodiments, are adapted for determining a categorization for each tracking tool that executes on a particular webpage based on a variety of criteria, such as the purpose of the tracking tool and its source script. The system may compare the characteristics of tracking tools on a webpage to a database of known tracking tools to determine the appropriate categorization. When a user visits the webpage, the system analyzes these categories and determines whether the tracking tool should be permitted to run based on the categories and/or other criteria, such as whether the user has consented to the use of that type of tracking tool.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
scanning, by computing hardware, a webpage to identify a tracking tool that is associated with the webpage;
identifying, by the computing hardware, a source script configured to execute during loading of the webpage, wherein the source script invokes the tracking tool;
determining, by the computing hardware, a category for the tracking tool by comparing data associated with at least one of the tracking tool or the source script to known tracking tool data;
generating, by the computing hardware, a data set, wherein the data set associates the category with at least one of the source script or the tracking tool; and
generating, by the computing hardware, program code, wherein the program code is configured to, during a loading of the webpage to be viewed by a user via a browser and prior to execution of the source script:
detect the source script;
identify, based on the source script, the category from the data set;
determine that the category has not been authorized by the user; and
responsive to determining that the category has not been authorized by the user, block the source script from executing to invoke the tracking tool.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the program code is further configured to determine a location of the user; and
determining that the category has not been authorized by the user comprises determining whether to allow the source script to execute to invoke the tracking tool based on the location of the user.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the program code is further configured to, responsive to determining that the category has not been authorized by the user:
generate a prompt requesting consent from the user to authorize at least one of the source script or the category,
receive the consent from the user, and
responsive to receiving the consent, allow the source script to execute to invoke the tracking tool.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein:
the consent comprises authorization for the category; and
the method further comprises modifying, by the computing hardware responsive to receiving the consent, the data set to include an indication of the consent for the category.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein:
the category is a first category;
the method further comprises:
identifying, by the computing hardware, a second tracking tool associated with the webpage;
identifying, by the computing hardware, a second source script executed during the loading of the webpage, where the second source script invokes the second tracking tool;
determining, by the computing hardware, a second category for the second tracking tool by comparing second data associated with at least one of the second tracking tool or the second source script to the known tracking tool data; and
modifying, by the computing hardware, the data set, wherein the data set associates the second category with at least one of the second source script or the second tracking tool; and

the program code is further configured to:
determine that the second category is the first category; and
responsive to determining that the second category is the first category, allowing the second source script to execute to invoke the second tracking tool.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tracking tool comprises at least one of a cookie, a web beacon, tracking code, or a script.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data associated with the tracking tool comprises at least one of a source of the tracking tool, a type of data collected or accessed by the tracking tool, or a host identifier for the tracking tool.

8. A system comprising:
a first server configured to perform operations comprising:
receiving a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request to render a webpage; and
responsive to receiving the HTTP request, sending, to a computing device associated with a user, a HTTP response comprising a command to invoke a script; and

a second server configured to execute, within a browser and responsive to an invocation of the script at the computing device during a loading of the webpage, the script to perform additional operations comprising:
determine that a source script is configured to invoke a tracking tool based on information on the tracking tool found in a data set embedded in the script;
identifying a category associated with the tracking tool based on the information on the tracking tool found in the data set;
determining that the category has not been authorized by the user; and
responsive to determining that the category has not been authorized by the user, blocking an execution of the source script during the loading of the web-page, wherein blocking the execution comprises executing program code configured to prevents an invocation of the tracking tool prior to execution of the source script.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the second server is configured to execute the script to perform additional operations comprising:
responsive to determining that the category has not been authorized by the user, configuring a consent prompt for display within the browser, the consent prompt being configured to solicit consent, from the user, for at least one of the category the source script, or the tracking tool;
causing the computing device to display the consent prompt within the browser;
receiving, via the consent prompt, the consent; and
responsive to receiving the consent, lifting a block on the execution of the source script, lifting the block allows invocation of the tracking tool.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein:
the consent comprises consent for the category; and
the script is configured to perform additional operations comprising modifying, responsive to receiving the consent, the data set to include an indication of the consent for the category.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the second server is configured to execute the script to perform additional operations comprising:
determine that a second source script is configured to invoke a second tracking tool based on information on the second tracking tool found in the data set embedded in the script;
identifying a second category associated with the second tracking tool based on the information on the second tracking tool found in the data set;
determining that the second category has been authorized by the user; and
responsive to determining that the second category has been authorized by the user, allowing an execution of the second source script during the loading of the web-page to invoke the second tracking tool.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the second category is the category.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the second server is configured to execute the script such that the script is a first script to run on the webpage when the webpage is loaded by the browser.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code that is stored thereon, the program code executable by one or more processing devices for performing operations comprising:
loading a webpage; and
during the loading of the webpage:
identifying a tracking tool associated with the webpage;
identifying a source script executed, wherein the source script invokes the tracking tool during the loading of the webpage;
determining a category for the tracking tool by comparing data associated with at least one of the tracking tool or the source script to known tracking tool data;
generating a data set, wherein the data set associates the source script with the tracking tool and the category;
generating program code, wherein the program code is configured to, during the loading of the webp

Assignees

• Onetrust Llc

Inventors

• Whitney Patrick
• Jones Kevin
• Kelly Brian
• Viswanathan Subramanian
• Hill Casey
• Baucom Jeffrey
• Kunhambu Madhusudhan
• Babu Mithun
• Kesavan Rajneesh
• Koti Santosh Kumar
• Gopalakrishnan Sathish
• Balasubramanian Anand
• Kabad Mohamed
• Puthenveetil Jayamohan
• Brannon Jonathan Blake

Classifications

• G06F16/9577

  Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents · CPC title

• G06F16/986 Primary

  Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions · CPC title

• G06F21/6218

  to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database · CPC title

• G06F21/604 Primary

  Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems · CPC title