Anonymous location service for wireless networks
View Patent ↗An anonymous location wireless network service for use in a wireless network. The service provides content providers with the location of network users without revealing their identities. The service includes a wireless network having a proxy server, a network communication link to a plurality of web sites, and a wireless communication link to a plurality of handheld devices. The proxy server blocks identity by reading the location and identity information of network devices, generating dummy identifications, relating the dummy identifications to the identity information, storing the relationships in a memory storage, and forwarding the location information and dummy identifications to the global computer network. Upon receiving messages from the global computer network, the proxy server reads the dummy identifications, looks up the related identification information in the memory storage, and forwards the data to the appropriate network devices.
1. A method comprising:
receiving, at a system comprising a processor, a request regarding a targeted area, the request being received from a requester;
receiving, by the system, a device identifier associated with a wireless device located within the targeted area;
determining, by the system, that a preference associated with the wireless device indicates that the device identifier is not to be shared; and
sending, by the system and to the requester, a dummy identification that is a substitute for the device identifier.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the system, location information that indicates a location of the wireless device; and
determining, by the system, that the wireless device is located within the targeted area based upon the location information.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
associating, by the system, the device identifier with the dummy identification to form a stored association between the device identifier and the dummy identification.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein receiving the request comprises receiving a plurality of requests associated with a plurality of wireless devices located within the targeted area.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein receiving the device identifier comprises receiving a plurality of device identifiers for the plurality of wireless devices.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein associating the device identifier with the dummy identification comprises associating the plurality of device identifiers with a single dummy identification.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless device comprises a first wireless device, wherein the dummy identification comprises a first dummy identification, and wherein the targeted area comprises a first targeted area.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
receiving, by the system, a second device identifier that corresponds to a second wireless device associated with a second targeted area; and
associating, by the system, the second device identifier with a second dummy identification in response to determining that the second wireless device is associated with the second targeted area.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the system, a further request from a further requester, the further request relating to the targeted area; and
sending, by the system, the dummy identification to the further requester in response to receiving the further request.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dummy identification is associated with the targeted area.
11. A method comprising:
receiving, at a proxy server comprising a processor, a request that relates to a targeted area, the request being received from a requester;
receiving, by the proxy server, a device identifier associated with a wireless device that is located within the targeted area;
determining, by the proxy server, that a preference associated with the wireless device indicates that the device identifier is not to be shared; and
sending, by the proxy server and to the requester, a dummy identification that is a substitute for the device identifier.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
associating, by the proxy server, the device identifier with the dummy identification to form a stored association between the device identifier and the dummy identification.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein receiving the request comprises receiving a plurality of requests associated with plurality of wireless devices located within the targeted area, wherein receiving the device identifier comprises receiving a plurality of device identifiers for the plurality of wireless devices, and wherein associating the device identifier with the dummy identification comprises associating the plurality of device identifiers with a single dummy identification.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the wireless device comprises a first wireless device, wherein the dummy identification comprises a first dummy identification, and wherein the targeted area comprises a first targeted area.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
receiving, by the proxy server, a second device identifier that corresponds to a second wireless device associated with a second targeted area; and
associating, by the proxy server, the second device identifier with a second dummy identification in response to determining that the second wireless device is associated with the second targeted area.
16. A method comprising:
receiving, at a system comprising a processor, a request regarding a pre-identified vicinity, the request being received from a requester;
receiving, by the system, identification information that corresponds to a wireless device associated with the pre-identified vicinity;
determining, by the system, location information that indicates a location of the wireless device;
determining, by the system, that a privacy setting associated with the wireless device is set to disallow communication of identification information associated with the wireless device;
in response to determining that the privacy setting is set to disallow the communication of the identification information, associating, by the system, the location information with a dummy identification that is a substitute for the identification information; and
sending, by the system and to the requester, the dummy identification.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein determining that the privacy setting is set to disallow communication further comprises determining that the privacy setting is set to allow communication of the location information.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the wireless device comprises a cellular telephone.
19. The method of claim 11 , wherein the dummy identification corresponds to a location of the wireless device.
20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the dummy identification corresponds to the location of the wireless device.