Obscuring true location for location-based services
View Patent ↗A location of a client device may be obscured by using generated random offsets and/or a set of regions. In one implementation, the location of a client device may be obscured using a first random offset and a second random offset. A pseudo-location may be determined based on the location of the client device, the first random offset, and the second random offset. The pseudo-location may be transmitted to a third-party for a location-based service. In another implementation, the location of a client device may be obscured using a first random offset and a set of regions. An intermediate location may be determined based on the location of the client device and the first random offset. A region of the set of regions may be determined based on the intermediate location. A pseudo-location may be transmitted to a third-party for a location-based service based on the determined region.
1. A method for obscuring a location of a client device comprising:
receiving, by one or more data processors, an intermediate pseudo-location transmitted from a client device, the intermediate pseudo-location generated based on a true location of the client device and a first randomly generated offset;
generating, using the one or more data processors, a second randomly generated offset;
generating, using the one or more data processors, a pseudo-location based on the intermediate pseudo-location and the second randomly generated offset; and
transmitting the generated pseudo-location to one of the client device or a location-based service.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second randomly generated offset is generated for each received intermediate pseudo-location for the client device.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second randomly generated offset comprises a two dimensional offset vector.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the second randomly generated offset comprises a first randomly generated value corresponding to a radius and a second randomly generated value corresponding to an angle.
5. The method of claim 3 further comprising:
comparing an absolute value of each randomly generated value of the two dimensional offset vector to a predetermined value.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first randomly generated offset is generated on a periodic basis for the client device.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the true location of the client device is determined by one or more of a GPS module, a WiFi access point, or cellular triangulation.
8. A system for obscuring a true location of a client device comprising:
a processing module; and
a storage device storing instructions that, when executed by the processing module, cause the processing module to perform operations comprising: generating a first randomly generated offset;
generating an intermediate pseudo-location based on a true location of the client device and the first randomly generated offset;
transmitting the generated intermediate pseudo-location to a server; and
receiving from the server a generated pseudo-location based on the intermediate pseudo-location and a second randomly generated offset.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first randomly generated offset is generated on a periodic basis for the client device.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second randomly generated offset is generated on for each transmission of a generated intermediate pseudo-location to the server.
11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the first randomly generated offset is generated offset is generated on for each transmission of a generated intermediate pseudo-location to the server.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the second randomly generated offset is generated on a periodic basis for the client device.
13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the intermediate pseudo-location comprises a two dimensional vector of longitude and latitude coordinates.
14. The system of claim 8 , wherein the intermediate pseudo-location comprises an encoded string of data.
15. The system of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further cause the processing module to perform operations comprising:
receiving a request for a location from a location-based service; and
transmitting the received generated pseudo-location to the location-based service responsive to the received request.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein transmitting the received generated pseudo-location comprises a content item request with the generated pseudo-location.
17. A system for obscuring a true location of a client device comprising:
a processing module; and
a storage device storing instructions that, when executed by the processing module, cause the processing module to perform operations comprising:
receiving an intermediate pseudo-location transmitted from a client device, the intermediate pseudo-location generated based on a true location of the client device and a first randomly generated offset generated on a periodic basis for the client device;
generating a second randomly generated offset responsive to receive the intermediate pseudo-location;
generating a pseudo-location based on the intermediate pseudo-location and the second randomly generated offset; and
transmitting the generated pseudo-location to one of the client device or a location-based service.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the true location of the client device is determined based on GPS data.
19. The system of claim 17 , wherein the true location of the client device is determined based on data from a WiFi access point.
20. The system of claim 17 , wherein the true location of the client device is determined based on signal strength from one or more cellular towers.