Method and system for using random and derivative device identifiers to authenticate, and to deliver targeted marketing and other customized communications to mobile and other devices, with user privacy and security central to the design

A new privacy-preserving method for targeting users of phones, tablets, watches, laptops, computers or other devices (a) communicating over at least one of the following type of networks (jointly herein, a “Universal Network”):

• the internet;
• public switched network;
• cellular or wireless digital network;
• wide-area network;
• local-area network;
• or any other wired or wireless network that is not a hyper-local or other proximity-based network (i.e., a distance-limited network based on NFC or bluetooth technology that covers only a user's vicinity, i.e., typically at most a few hundred meters), and (b) equipped with app-tracking-transparency or other privacy enhancing software or functionality, the method comprising:
• A software or firmware client one any phone, tablet, watch, laptop, computer or other device (“Targeted Device”), using variable identification information, assigns a unique device identifier (“Tracing Key”), selected by using either:
• generation of a static Tracing Key (“STK”) based on at least one of the following identifiers associated with the Targeted Device (including its software and firmware):
• a one-time tracing key, randomly generated one-time tracing key, and any other variable identification dataset, or
• generation of a random or dynamically changing Tracing Key (“RTK”);
• and
• Using a client application (herein, a sixth-sense client or, “SS Client”) on a broadcast device to conduct at least one of the following functions on the at least one Universal Network:
• detect the Tracing Key stored on at least one Targeted Device (“Detected Device”) and authenticate the at least one Detected Device based on its Tracing Key.

A new privacy-preserving method for authenticating devices and their users communicating over at least one of the following type of networks (jointly herein, a “Universal Network”):

• the internet;
• public switched network;
• cellular or wireless digital network;
• wide-area network;
• local-area network;
• or any other wired or wireless network that is not a hyper-local or other proximity-based network (i.e., a distance-limited network based on NFC or bluetooth technology that covers only a user's vicinity, i.e., typically at most a few hundred meters), the method comprising:
• Detection by a phone, tablet, watch, laptop, computer or other device (the “Inquiring Device”) of a unique device identifier (“Matching Key”) generated by at least one third-party device (a “Responding Device”) communicating over the least one Universal Network based on at least one item from a set comprised of at least one of the following identifiers (such set of identifiers herein the “Match Set”):
• any part or all of an alphabetized, numeric, or alphanumeric letter, digit, character, word, phrase, number, sequence, password, code, puzzle, listing, display, shape, symbol, image, equation, formula, music, audio clip, content, media or other dataset;
• and
• Authentication by the Inquiring Device of the at least one Responding Device if a software or firmware client on the Inquiring Device determines that the Matching Key from the at least one such Responding Device matches, completes, solves, precedes, succeeds, derives from, or relates to (jointly herein, “Matches”, or in the case of use in the gerund form, “Matching”) a private key (the “Host Key”) derived from the same Match Set stored on or accessible to the Inquiring Device.