Content selection with privacy features

1. A method of limiting the use of data associated with a cookie set within a web browser on a client device, the cookie being associated with a topic, the method comprising:

receiving, at a processor, a device identifier from an application on the client device that differs from the web browser;

associating, by the processor, the device identifier with the cookie;

analyzing, by the processor, one or more user actions performed in a social networking service accessed by the web browser to identify the topic;

including, by the processor, the topic in an interest category profile;

selecting, by the processor, content for presentation within the application using the interest category profile;

determining, by the processor, that a period of time from when the cookie was last used to visit a webpage has exceeded a threshold value;

removing, by the processor, the topic associated with the cookie from the interest category profile based on the determination that the period of time has exceeded the threshold value to create a reduced topic set; and

selecting, by the processor, content using the reduced interest category profile.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

deleting the cookie from a data storage device based on the determination that the period of time has exceeded the threshold value.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, at the processor, an indication that the cookie is being used by the web browser to visit a webpage; and

restoring the topic to the interest category profile based on the cookie being used to visit a webpage.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, by the processor, that the period of time from when the cookie was last used by the web browser to visit a webpage has exceed a second threshold value; and

deleting the cookie from a data storage device based on the determination that the period of time has exceeded the second threshold value.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

analyzing, by the processor, one or more webpages visited by the web browser to identify the topic; and

associating the topic with the interest category profile.

6. A system for limiting the use of data associated with a cookie set within a web browser on a client device, the cookie being associated with a topic, the system comprising a processor configured to:

receive a device identifier from an application on the client device that differs from the web browser;

associate the device identifier with the cookie;

analyze one or more user actions performed in a social networking service accessed by the web browser to identify the topic;

include the topic in an interest category profile;

select content for presentation within the second application using the interest category profile;

determine that a period of time from when the cookie was last used to visit a webpage has exceeded a threshold value;

remove the topic associated with the cookie from the interest category profile based on the determination that the period of time has exceeded the threshold value to create a reduced topic set; and

select content using the reduced interest category profile.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to delete the cookie from a data storage device based on the determination that the period of time has exceeded the threshold value.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive an indication that the cookie is being used by the web browser to visit a webpage; and

restore the topic to the interest category profile based on the cookie being used to visit a webpage.

9. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine that the period of time from when the cookie was last used by the web browser to visit a webpage has exceed a second threshold value; and

delete the cookie from a data storage device based on the determination that the period of time has exceeded the second threshold value.

10. The system of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

analyze one or more webpages visited by the web browser to identify the topic; and

associating the topic with the interest category profile.

11. The system of claim 6 , wherein the device identifier comprises a hashed value of a hardware-based identifier.

12. A method of limiting the use of data associated with a cookie set within a web browser on a first client device, the cookie being associated with a topic, the method comprising:

associating, by a processor, the cookie with a device identifier for a second client device based on the cookie and the device identifier being used to access an online account;

analyzing, by the processor, one or more user actions performed in a social networking service accessed by the web browser to identify the topic;

including, by the processor, the topic in an interest category profile;

selecting, by the processor, content for presentation by the second device based on the interest category profile;

determining, by the processor, that a period of time from when the cookie was last used to visit a webpage has exceeded a threshold value;

removing the topic from the interest category profile based on the determination that the period of time has exceeded the threshold value; and

selecting, by the processor, content using the reduced interest category profile.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

deleting the cookie from a data storage device based on the determination that the period of time has exceeded the threshold value.

14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

receiving, at the processor, an indication that the cookie is being used by the web browser to visit a webpage; and

restoring the topic to the interest category profile based on the cookie being used to visit a webpage.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining, by the processor, that the period of time from when the cookie was last used by the web browser to visit a webpage has exceed a second threshold value; and

deleting the cookie from a data storage device based on the determination that the period of time has exceeded the second threshold value.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

analyzing, by the processor, one or more webpages visited by the web browser to identify the topic; and

associating the topic with the interest category profile.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein the online account is associated with at least one of a social networking service, a document storage service, or an email service.

18. The method of claim 12 , wherein the device identifier comprises a hashed value of a hardware-based identifier.