Privacy Scout

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020202037-A1
Application number	US-201816229312-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 21, 2018
Priority date	Dec 21, 2018
Publication date	Jun 25, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

Methods, computer-readable media, software, and apparatuses may assist a consumer in keeping to their preferred privacy preferences when making a purchase online. Differences between the privacy policy of a vender and the privacy preferences of the consumer may be output for display to the consumer, along with alternative vendor recommendations, including vendors having privacy policies more closely match with the privacy preferences of the consumer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus, comprising:
a processor; a memory unit storing computer-executable instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to:
receive a content request comprising a request, by a user, for content provided by an entity;
compare a privacy preference of the user and a privacy policy of the entity;
based on a determination that the privacy policy is not compatible with the privacy preference, determine one or more alternate entities for providing the content and send a response indicating the one or more alternate entities; and
based on a determination that the privacy policy is compatible with the privacy preference, send the content request to the entity.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the content request comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and wherein the entity comprises a website.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the apparatus to:
after sending the response indicating the one or more alternate entities for providing the content, receive a second request comprising a request for content provided by an alternate entity of the one or more alternate entities; and send the second request to the alternate entity.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to determine the one or more alternate entities for providing the content, by causing the apparatus to:
retrieve, from storage, indications of the one or more alternate entities, wherein the storage comprises an association between the entity and the one or more alternate entities.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the response comprises, for each of the one or more alternate entities, an indication of a relative compatibility of a corresponding privacy policy with the privacy preference.

6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the indication of the relative compatibility comprises an indication associated with each of a plurality of privacy categories.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of privacy categories comprises a data collected category, a data sharing category, an opt in/out category, and a data deletion category.

8 . A method comprising:
receiving a content request comprising a request, by a user, for content provided by an entity; comparing a privacy preference of the user and a privacy policy of the entity; based on a determination that the privacy policy is not compatible with the privacy preference, determining one or more alternate entities for providing the content and sending a response indicating the one or more alternate entities; and based on a determination that the privacy policy is compatible with the privacy preference, sending the content request to the entity.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the content request comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and wherein the entity comprises a website.

10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
after sending the response indicating the one or more alternate entities for providing the content, receiving a second request comprising a request for content provided by an alternate entity of the one or more alternate entities; and sending the second request to the alternate entity.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the determining the one or more alternate entities for providing the content further comprises:
retrieving, from storage, indications of the one or more alternate entities, wherein the storage comprises an association between the entity and the one or more alternate entities.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the response comprises, for each of the one or more alternate entities, an indication of a relative compatibility of a corresponding privacy policy with the privacy preference.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the indication of the relative compatibility comprises an indication associated with each of a plurality of privacy categories.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the plurality of privacy categories comprises a data collected category, a data sharing category, an opt in/out category, and a data deletion category.

15 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:
receive a content request comprising a request, by a user, for content provided by an entity; compare a privacy preference of the user and a privacy policy of the entity; based on a determination that the privacy policy is not compatible with the privacy preference, determine one or more alternate entities for providing the content and send a response indicating the one or more alternate entities; and based on a determination that the privacy policy is compatible with the privacy preference, send the content request to the entity.

16 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the content request comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), and wherein the entity comprises a web site.

17 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , storing further instructions that, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to:
after sending the response indicating the one or more alternate entities for providing the content, receive a second request comprising a request for content provided by an alternate entity of the one or more alternate entities; and send the second request to the alternate entity.

18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , storing further instructions that, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to determine the one or more alternate entities for providing the content, by causing the computing device to:
retrieve, from storage, indications of the one or more alternate entities, wherein the storage comprises an association between the entity and the one or more alternate entities.

19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15 , wherein the response comprises, for each of the one or more alternate entities, an indication of a relative compatibility of a corresponding privacy policy with the privacy preference.

20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 19 , wherein the indication of the relative compatibility comprises an indication associated with each of a plurality of privacy categories.

Assignees

• Allstate Insurance Co

Inventors

• Parkinson John
• De Guia Nicolette
• Striebich Margaret K

Classifications

• H04W12/02

  Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII] · CPC title

• G06F9/5072

  Grid computing · CPC title

• G06F9/5055

  considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine · CPC title

• G06F21/6245 Primary

  Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes · CPC title