Consumption history privacy
An audience selection system for the selection of an entity, based on an entity's consumption history without requiring the storage of a content descriptor for identifying content previously accessed by the entity. By directly and/or indirectly observing the usage of words used to locate content through a search engine over time for a population, a list of depersonalized keywords can be discovered, creating the ability to characterize content based on depersonalized keywords. A protected consumption history can be recorded for an entity using depersonalized keywords instead of recording a content descriptor for identifying the content. Depersonalized keywords do not uniquely identify content. Associating depersonalized keywords with an entity does not mean that the entity has used those depersonalized keywords; it only means that the entity has accessed content which has been accessed in the past by other entities in a population using the depersonalized keywords.
1. A computer-implemented method comprising:
characterizing multiple items of content accessed over a network, each item of content associated with a content descriptor and characterized with a set of multiple depersonalized keywords, the set comprising words submitted to an online search engine by a population comprising multiple entities in the past to locate the content;
recording, at a keyword mapping system, a consumption history of a specified entity, the consumption history comprising at least two different content descriptors, each content descriptor associated with a respective item of content accessed over the network by the specified entity;
selecting, from the recorded consumption history, at least two content descriptors which have been stored for longer than a specified timeframe;
converting the recorded consumption history to a protected consumption history by representing each selected content descriptor with the set of multiple depersonalized keywords which characterize the respective selected content descriptor's item of content;
removing the selected content descriptors from the protected consumption history;
receiving a bid request from an advertising exchange, the bid request comprising an identifier of the specified entity;
determining a frequency of each specified keyword from a list of specified keywords in the depersonalized keywords of the protected consumption history;
configuring a bid response by assessing the suitability of the specified entity to receive advertising content based at least in part on the frequencies; and
sending the bid response to the advertising exchange.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring the bid response comprises:
customizing the advertising content.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring the bid response comprises:
selecting the advertising content.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring the bid response comprises:
selecting an advertising campaign which is suitable for the specified entity.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein configuring the bid response comprises:
selecting a bid price.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein:
content comprises aggregate content and aggregate content is characterized by aggregating depersonalized keywords associated with multiple items of content.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the specified timeframe is configured based on a jurisdiction of the specified entity.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the specified timeframe is configured based on a jurisdiction of a location of the keyword mapping system.
9. A system comprising:
a processor;
a computer readable storage medium storing processor-executable computer program instructions, the computer program instructions comprising instructions for:
characterizing multiple items of content accessed over a network, each item of content associated with a content descriptor and characterized with a set of multiple depersonalized keywords, the set comprising words submitted to an online search engine by a population comprising multiple entities in the past to locate the content;
recording, at a keyword mapping system, a consumption history of a specified entity, the consumption history comprising at least two different content descriptors, each content descriptor associated with a respective item of content accessed over the network by the specified entity;
selecting, from the recorded consumption history, at least two content descriptors which have been stored for longer than a specified timeframe;
converting the recorded consumption history to a protected consumption history by representing each selected content descriptor with the set of multiple depersonalized keywords which characterize the respective selected content descriptor's item of content;
removing the selected content descriptors from the protected consumption history;
receiving a bid request from an advertising exchange, the bid request comprising an identifier of the specified entity;
determining a frequency of each specified keyword from a list of specified keywords in the depersonalized keywords of the protected consumption history;
configuring a bid response by assessing the suitability of the specified entity to receive advertising content based at least in part on the frequencies; and
sending the bid response to the advertising exchange.
10. The system of claim 9 wherein configuring the bid response comprises:
customizing the advertising content.
11. The system of claim 9 wherein configuring the bid response comprises:
selecting the advertising content.
12. The system of claim 9 wherein configuring the bid response comprises:
selecting an advertising campaign which is suitable for the specified entity.
13. The system of claim 9 wherein configuring the bid response comprises:
selecting a bid price.
14. The system of claim 9 wherein:
content comprises aggregate content and aggregate content is characterized by aggregating depersonalized keywords associated with multiple items of content.
15. The system of claim 9 wherein:
the specified timeframe is configured based on a jurisdiction of the specified entity.
16. The system of claim 9 wherein:
the specified timeframe is configured based on a jurisdiction of a location of the keyword mapping system.
17. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer program instructions, the computer program instructions comprising instructions for:
characterizing multiple items of content accessed over a network, each item of content associated with a content descriptor and characterized with a set of multiple depersonalized keywords, the set comprising words submitted to an online search engine by a population comprising multiple entities in the past to locate the content;
recording, at a keyword mapping system, a consumption history of a specified entity, the consumption history comprising at least two different content descriptors, each content descriptor associated with a respective item of content accessed over the network by the specified entity;
selecting, from the recorded consumption history, at least two content descriptors which have been stored for longer than a specified timeframe;
converting the recorded consumption history to a protected consumption history by representing each selected content descriptor with the set of multiple depersonalized keywords which characterize the respective selected content descriptor's item of content;
removing the selected content descriptors from the protected consumption history;
receiving a bid request from an advertising exchange, the bid request comprising an identifier of the specified entity;
determining a frequency of each specified keyword from a list of specified keywords in the depersonalized keywords of the protected consumption history;
configuring a bid response by assessing the suitability of the specified entity to receive advertising content based at least in part on the frequencies; and
sending the bid response to the advertising exchange.
18. The medium of claim 17 wherein the instructions for configuring the bid response comprises:
customizing the advertising content.
19. The medium of claim 17 wherein the instructions for configuring the bid response comprises:
selecting a bid price.
20. The medium of claim 17 wherein:
the specified timeframe is configured based on a jurisdiction of a location of the keyword mapping system.