IP Library Granted Patent US 9,872,072
Granted Patent B2
US 9,872,072 · App. 15/075,895 · Granted Jan 16, 2018

Systems and methods for identifying non-canonical sessions

Inventor: Timothy Olds (New York, NY)
Assignee: Google LLC
H04N21/458H04N21/25883H04N21/4532
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,872,072
App. No.
15/075,895
Granted
Jan 16, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems and methods for automatically identifying non-canonical user sessions utilize demographics associated with a device identifier in comparison to demographics associated with requested content (e.g. video, website, etc.). If the demographics match above a threshold, then the session may be assumed to be canonical or associated with the original user. If the demographics of the content do not match the demographics of the user, then the session may be considered non-canonical. Upon identifying a non-canonical session, content selection based on demographics may be suspended until a timer expires or the session ends.

Claims (44)

1. A method for identifying non-canonical sessions via demographic correlations, comprising:

receiving, by a content server from a client computing device, a request for an item of content, the request comprising an identifier associated with a first user;

retrieving, by an override service of the content server from a content metadata database, a first demographic profile associated with the requested item of content, the first demographic profile including, for each of a plurality of demographic traits, a first value for said trait and a corresponding percentage for said trait;

retrieving, by the override service from a user profile database, a second demographic profile associated with the identifier associated with the first user, the second demographic profile including, for each of the plurality of demographic traits, a second value for said trait;

calculating, by a correlator of the override service, a comparison score between the first demographic profile and second demographic profile by:

adjusting each of the plurality of percentages of the first demographic profile, based on an overlap between the corresponding demographic traits of the first demographic profile and second demographic profile, and

calculating the comparison score as an average of the adjusted plurality of percentages;

determining, by the override service, that the score is below a predetermined threshold;

identifying, by the override service, the request as associated with a second user different from the first user, based on the score being below the predetermined threshold; and

disabling a content personalization system of the content server for the client computing device, responsive to the identification.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

selecting, by a content selector of the content provider, a second item of content for transmission to the client computing device; and

transmitting, by the content provider, the requested item of content and the second item of content to the client computing device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein selecting the second item of content comprises selecting the second item of content from a plurality of items of content, responsive to the second item of content having no selection criteria.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein selecting the second item of content comprises selecting the second item of content from a plurality of items of content, responsive to the second item of content having a demographic profile similar to the first demographic profile associated with the requested item of content.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first demographic profile further comprises a demographic trait and a corresponding percentage; and

wherein calculating the comparison score between the first demographic profile and second demographic profile further comprises increasing the percentage by a predetermined amount, responsive to the first demographic profile and second demographic profile both including the demographic trait.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first demographic profile further comprises a demographic trait and a corresponding percentage; and

wherein calculating the comparison score between the first demographic profile and second demographic profile further comprises decreasing the percentage by a predetermined amount, responsive to the second demographic profile not including the demographic trait.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first value is a range and the predetermined function is a stepwise function.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the request as associated with a second user different from the first user further comprises generating, by the override service, an entry in an override session table comprising an identification of the client computing device.

9. A system for identifying non-canonical sessions via demographic correlations, comprising:

a content server comprising a network interface in communication with a client computing device, a processor executing a content selector and an override service, and a memory device storing a user profile database and content metadata database;

wherein the network interface is configured to receive, from the client computing device, a request for an item of content, the request comprising an identifier associated with a first user;

wherein the override service is configured to:

retrieve, from the content metadata database, a first demographic profile associated with the requested item of content, the first demographic profile including, for each of a plurality of demographic traits, a first value for said trait and a corresponding percentage for said trait,

retrieve, from the user profile database, a second demographic profile associated with the identifier associated with the first user, the second demographic profile, for each of the plurality of demographic traits, a second value for said trait,

calculate a comparison score between the first demographic profile and second demographic profile by:

adjusting each of the plurality of percentages of the first demographic profile, based on an overlap between the corresponding demographic traits of the first demographic profile and second demographic profile, and calculating the comparison score as an average of the adjusted plurality of percentages,

determine that the score is below a predetermined threshold, and

identify the request as associated with a second user different from the first user, based on the score being below the predetermined threshold; and

wherein the content selector is configured to disable a content personalization system for the client computing device, responsive to the identification.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the content selector is further configured to select a second item of content for transmission to the client computing device; and

wherein the network interface is further configured to transmit the requested item of content and the second item of content to the client computing device.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the content selector is further configured to select the second item of content from a plurality of items of content, responsive to the second item of content having no selection criteria.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the content selector is further configured to select the second item of content from a plurality of items of content, responsive to the second item of content having a demographic profile similar to the first demographic profile associated with the requested item of content.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first demographic profile further comprises a demographic trait and a corresponding percentage; and

wherein the override service is further configured to increase the percentage by a predetermined amount, responsive to the first demographic profile and second demographic profile both including the demographic trait.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first demographic profile further comprises a demographic trait and a corresponding percentage; and

wherein the override service is further configured to decrease the percentage by a predetermined amount, responsive to the second demographic profile not including the demographic trait.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first value is a range and the predetermined function is a stepwise function.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the override service is further configured to generate an entry in an override session table comprising an identification of the client computing device, responsive to identifying the request as associated with a second user different from the first user.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined function comprises a weighting function.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the predetermined function comprises an asymmetrical weighting function.

Assignments (2)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Oct 5, 2017
From: GOOGLE INC.
To: GOOGLE LLC
Reel/Frame 044129/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 21, 2016
From: OLDS, TIMOTHY
To: GOOGLE INC.
Reel/Frame 038050/0994 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20170272816A1 · Sep 21, 2017