METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MATCHING SEGMENT PROFILES TO A DEVICE IDENTIFIED BY A PRIVACY-COMPLIANT IDENTIFIER

1 . A method for matching segment profiles to a device identified by a privacy-compliant identifier, the method comprising:

recording at a profile generator at least one segment profile consisting of at least one criterion;

allocating a unique segment identifier to the at least one segment profile;

generating in real time at the profile generator a correlation between each specific segment profile and devices matching the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile;

querying the profile generator with a privacy-compliant identifier corresponding to a specific device, and receiving in response at least one matching segment identifier corresponding to at least one matching segment profile; wherein for each of the at least one matching segment profile, the specific device identified by the privacy-compliant identifier matches the at least one criterion of the matching segment profile.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the privacy-compliant identifier of a device is an IP (Internet Protocol) address currently allocated to the device.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a criterion consists of at least one of: an URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a web site accessed by a device, a referrer URL of a web site accessed by a device, a key word of a search performed by a device, a frequency of occurrence of a specific criterion; or a combination thereof.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein upon receiving in response the at least one matching segment identifier corresponding to at least one matching segment profile, a targeted content associated to the at least one matching segment identifier is delivered to the specific device.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the targeted content includes one of: a text, an image, a video content, an audio content; or a combination thereof.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the targeted content consists of one of: a targeted advertising content, a dynamic web page of a web portal, a Video On Demand (VOD) content, an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) content, or a combination thereof.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the profile generator generates a relevance score for each correlation between a specific segment profile and a specific device matching the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein upon receiving in response several matching segment identifiers, the targeted content is selected based on the relevance scores of the several matching segment profiles corresponding to the several matching segment identifiers.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the profile generator is queried with a privacy-compliant identifier corresponding to a specific device and a segment identifier corresponding to a specific segment profile; and responds with an indication that the specific device identified by the privacy-compliant identifier matches the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile identified by the segment identifier.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating in real time at the profile generator a correlation between each specific segment profile and the devices matching the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile consists in:

receiving IP data records representative of an IP data traffic generated by a specific device, the IP data records including the privacy-compliant identifier of the specific device;

processing the IP data records to extract information representative of the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile;

analyzing the extracted information to evaluate the matching by the specific device of the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile;

memorizing a correlation between the specific segment profile and the specific device when the matching of the at least one criterion is satisfied; the correlation consisting in mapping the privacy-compliant identifier of the specific device to the segment identifier of the specific segment profile.

11 . A profile generator system for matching segment profiles to a device identified by a privacy-compliant identifier, the system comprising:

a segment profiles unit for:

recording at least one segment profile consisting of at least one criterion,

allocating a unique segment identifier to the at least one segment profile;

an analytic engine for:

generating in real time a correlation between each specific segment profile and devices matching the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile; and

a correlations unit for:

receiving a query with a privacy-compliant identifier corresponding to a specific device, sending a response with at least one matching segment

identifier corresponding to at least one matching segment profile; wherein for each of the at least one matching segment profile, the specific device identified by the privacy-compliant identifier matches the at least one criterion of the matching segment profile.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the privacy-compliant identifier of a device is an IP (Internet Protocol) address currently allocated to the device.

13 . The system of claim 11 , wherein a criterion consists of at least one of: an URL of a web site accessed by a device, a referrer URL of a web site accessed by a device, a key word of a search performed by a device, a frequency of occurrence of a specific criterion; or a combination thereof.

14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein upon receiving a response form the correlations unit with the at least one matching segment identifier corresponding to at least one matching segment profile, a targeted content associated to the at least one matching segment identifier is delivered to the specific device.

15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the targeted content includes one of: a text, an image, a video content, an audio content; or a combination thereof.

16 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the targeted content consists of one of: a targeted advertising content, a dynamic web page of a web portal, a VOD content, an IPTV content, or a combination thereof.

17 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the analytic engine generates a relevance score for each correlation between a specific segment profile and a specific device matching the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile.

18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein upon receiving a response form the correlations unit with several matching segment identifiers, the targeted content is selected based on the relevance scores of the several matching segment profiles corresponding to the several matching segment identifiers.

19 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the correlations unit receives a query with a privacy-compliant identifier corresponding to a specific device and a segment identifier corresponding to a specific segment profile; and sends a response with an indication that the specific device identified by the privacy-compliant identifier matches the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile identified by the segment identifier.

20 . The system of claim 11 , wherein a processing unit:

receives IP data records representative of an IP data traffic generated by a specific device, the IP data records including the privacy-compliant identifier of the specific device,

processes the IP data records to extract information representative of the at least one criterion of a specific segment profile,

memorizes the extracted information representative of the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile;

the analytic engine:

analyzes the memorized information to evaluate the matching by the specific device of the at least one criterion of the specific segment profile; and

the correlation units:

memorizes a correlation between the specific segment profile and the specific device when the matching of the at least one criterion is satisfied; the correlation consisting in mapping the privacy-compliant identifier of the specific device to the segment identifier of the specific segment profile.