Quantifying mobility of mobile devices via a privacy preserving mobility metric
Embodiments of the invention generate metrics quantifying the mobility of a mobile device without persisting information related to the device's specific location at any given time. Specifically, at multiple intervals, a value of a mobility metric is computed based on the distance between the current location of the mobile device and a previously identified origin location of the mobile device. The values of the mobility metric computed over a period of time quantify the overall mobility of the mobile device. The mobility metric does not provide any information regarding the specific location of the mobile device at any given time.
1. A method comprising:
providing instructions to a mobile device, the instructions comprising instructions for:
determining an origin location of the mobile device from a location of the mobile device;
determining a location of the mobile device at each of a plurality of points in time;
computing, at the mobile device, at least one value of a mobility metric based at least in part on a first delta distance between the origin and a first determined location at a first point in time and on a second delta distance between the origin and a second determined location at a second point in time, the mobility metric indicating how frequently the mobile device travels from the origin location; and
transmitting the at least one value of the mobility metric to a server system, wherein the mobility metric does not provide any information regarding the determined locations of the mobile device at any of the plurality of points in time; and
responsive to receiving the at least one value of the mobility metric at the server system, sending customized content to the mobile device, the customized content customized for the mobile device based at least in part on the at least one value of the mobility metric, regardless of the location of the mobile device at each of a plurality of points in time.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for determining the origin location by monitoring locations of the mobile device over a period of time to identify a location where the mobile device is present longest relative to other locations.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for determining the origin location by monitoring locations of the mobile device over a period of time to identify a location where the mobile device is present during certain hours of the day.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for determining the distance between the origin location and a location of the mobile device at a first point in time comprises requesting, at the first point in time, coordinates from a global positioning system included in the mobile device.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for selecting from an index of values a first index value that maps to the distance between the origin location and the location of the mobile device at a first point in time, the value of the mobility metric being equal to the first index value.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for computing a first value of the mobility metric comprises identifying from an index of classifications a first classification that maps to the distance between the origin location and the location of the mobile device at a first point in time, the value of the mobility metric being indicative of the first classification.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for transmitting a timestamp in association with each of the at least one value of the mobility metric to the server system.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for analyzing the at least one value, at the mobile device, to determine an average distance from the origin of the mobile device over a time period.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobility instructions comprise instructions for analyzing the values, at the mobile device, to determine a traveling frequency with which the mobile device travels more than a certain distance away from the origin over a time period.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the customized content comprises advertising content.
11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing processor-executable instructions, the instructions configured to be executed by the processor to implement a method comprising:
providing instructions to a mobile device, the instructions comprising instructions for:
determining an origin location of the mobile device from a location of the mobile device;
determining a location of the mobile device at each of a plurality of points in time;
computing, at the mobile device, at least one value of a mobility metric based at least in part on a first delta distance between the origin and a first determined location at a first point in time and on a second delta distance between the origin and a second determined location at a second point in time, the mobility metric indicating how frequently the mobile device travels from the origin location; and
transmitting the at least one value of the mobility metric to a server system, wherein the mobility metric does not provide any information regarding the determined locations of the mobile device at any of the plurality of points in time; and
responsive to receiving the at least one value of the mobility metric at the server system, sending customized content to the mobile device, the customized content customized for the mobile device based at least in part on the at least one value of the mobility metric, regardless of the location of the mobile device at each of a plurality of points in time.
12. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for determining the origin location by monitoring locations of the mobile device over a period of time to identify a location where the mobile device is present longest relative to other locations.
13. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for determining the origin location by monitoring locations of the mobile device over a period of time to identify a location where the mobile device is present during certain hours of the day.
14. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for determining the distance between the origin location and a location of the mobile device at a first point in time comprises requesting, at the first point in time, coordinates from a global positioning system included in the mobile device.
15. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for selecting from an index of values a first index value that maps to the distance between the origin location and the location of the mobile device at a first point in time, the value of the mobility metric being equal to the first index value.
16. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for computing a first value of the mobility metric comprises identifying from an index of classifications a first classification that maps to the distance between the origin location and the location of the mobile device at a first point in time, the value of the mobility metric being indicative of the first classification.
17. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for transmitting a timestamp in association with each of the at least one value of the mobility metric to the server system.
18. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the instructions comprise instructions for analyzing the at least one value, at the mobile device, to determine an average distance from the origin of the mobile device over a time period.
19. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the mobility instructions comprise instructions for analyzing the values, at the mobile device, to determine a traveling frequency with which the mobile device travels more than a certain distance away from the origin over a time period.
20. The medium of claim 11 , wherein the customized content comprises advertising content.
21. A system comprising:
a processor; and
a computer readable storage medium storing processor-executable computer program instructions, the computer program instructions comprising instructions for:
providing instructions to a mobile device, the instructions comprising instructions for:
determining an origin location of the mobile device from a location of the mobile device;
determining a location of the mobile device at each of a plurality of points in time;
computing, at the mobile device, at least one value of a mobility metric based at least in part on a first delta distance between the origin and a first determined location at a first point in time and on a second delta distance between the origin and a second determined location at a second point in time, the mobility metric indicating how frequently the mobile device travels from the origin location; and
transmitting the at least one value of the mobility metric to a server system, wherein the mobility metric does not provide any information regarding the determined locations of the mobile device at any of the plurality of points in time; and
responsive to receiving the at least one value of the mobility metric at the server system, sending customized content to the mobile device, the customized content customized for the mobile device based at least in part on the at least one value of the mobility metric, regardless of the location of the mobile device at each of a plurality of points in time.