SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INFERRING ANONYMIZED PUBLISHERS

1 . A method, comprising:

obtaining data comprising a history of content presentations by a plurality of publishers on a plurality of client devices, the data providing an unambiguous identification of each publisher in a first portion of the publishers and an anonymous identification of each publisher in a second portion of the publishers;

identifying a pair of publishers comprising a first publisher from the first portion and a second publisher from the second portion;

calculating, based on the data, a similarity metric for the pair of publishers; and

facilitating, based on the calculated similarity metric, an adjustment of content presentations by the plurality of publishers.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the data comprises a client device identifier and a timestamp for each content presentation.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each publisher comprises one of a website and a software application.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the unambiguous identification comprises a publisher name.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the anonymous identification comprises an anonymized publisher identifier.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating the similarity metric comprises:

determining a degree of overlap between the first publisher and the second publisher for at least one parameter.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating the similarity metric comprises:

calculating a plurality of similarity metrics by determining a degree of overlap between the first publisher and the second publisher for each parameter from a plurality of parameters;

determining a weight for each calculated similarity metric; and

weighing each similarity metric according to the determined weights.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating the similarity metric comprises:

calculating a corresponding similarity metric for two publishers from the first portion of publishers;

determining a threshold value based on the corresponding similarity metric; and

comparing the similarity metric for the pair of publishers with the threshold value.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating the similarity metric comprises:

determining, based on the similarity metric, that the first and second publishers are identical.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

calculating a corresponding similarity metric for two publishers from the second portion of publishers,

wherein the facilitated adjustment is based at least in part on the corresponding similarity metric.

11 . A system, comprising:

one or more computer processors programmed to perform operations comprising:

obtaining data comprising a history of content presentations by a plurality of publishers on a plurality of client devices, the data providing an unambiguous identification of each publisher in a first portion of the publishers and an anonymous identification of each publisher in a second portion of the publishers;

identifying a pair of publishers comprising a first publisher from the first portion and a second publisher from the second portion;

calculating, based on the data, a similarity metric for the pair of publishers; and

facilitating, based on the calculated similarity metric, an adjustment of content presentations by the plurality of publishers.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the data comprises a client device identifier and a timestamp for each content presentation.

13 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the unambiguous identification comprises a publisher name.

14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the anonymous identification comprises an anonymized publisher identifier.

15 . The system of claim 11 , wherein calculating the similarity metric comprises:

determining a degree of overlap between the first publisher and the second publisher for at least one parameter.

16 . The system of claim 11 , wherein calculating the similarity metric comprises:

calculating a plurality of similarity metrics by determining a degree of overlap between the first publisher and the second publisher for each parameter from a plurality of parameters;

determining a weight for each calculated similarity metric; and

weighing each similarity metric according to the determined weights.

17 . The system of claim 11 , wherein calculating the similarity metric comprises:

calculating a corresponding similarity metric for two publishers from the first portion of publishers;

determining a threshold value based on the corresponding similarity metric; and

comparing the similarity metric for the pair of publishers with the threshold value.

18 . The system of claim 11 , wherein calculating the similarity metric comprises:

determining, based on the similarity metric, that the first and second publishers are identical.

19 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising:

calculating a corresponding similarity metric for two publishers from the second portion of publishers,

wherein the facilitated adjustment is based at least in part on the corresponding similarity metric.

20 . An article, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more computer processors, cause the computer processors to perform operations comprising:

obtaining data comprising a history of content presentations by a plurality of publishers on a plurality of client devices, the data providing an unambiguous identification of each publisher in a first portion of the publishers and an anonymous identification of each publisher in a second portion of the publishers;

identifying a pair of publishers comprising a first publisher from the first portion and a second publisher from the second portion;

calculating, based on the data, a similarity metric for the pair of publishers; and

facilitating, based on the calculated similarity metric, an adjustment of content presentations by the plurality of publishers.