Selective replacement of information within communication metadata
AssigneeT-Mobile USA, Inc.
InventorJay Stark
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Described herein are techniques that provide privacy protection for a user by preventing user device tracking via device fingerprints. A communication may be received from a user device that includes metadata having information related to the user device. An intended recipient of the communication may be identified. Based on one or more of the user device or the recipient, a determination may be made as to what data within the metadata should be scrambled or selectively replaced. The data may then be overwritten with alternative data that may be selected at random, and the communication is forwarded to the recipient.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- receiving, at a telecommunication network, a message including a message header in an encrypted communication originating from a user device and directed to a recipient device, the communication comprising a request from the user device to access a website hosted by the recipient device, the message header including metadata having encrypted data values in data fields;
- determining, by the telecommunication network, one or more of the data fields to have data values therein to be replaced;
- decrypting the data values in the determined one or more data fields;
- determining which of the data values among the decrypted data values to replace;
- selecting, by the telecommunication network and based on the determining of the data values, replacement data values to replace the data values in the determined one or more data fields;
- overwriting, by the telecommunication network, the data values in the determined data fields with the selected replacement data values;
- encrypting the overwritten data values;
- and
- forwarding, by the telecommunication network, the message with the encrypted overwritten data values to the recipient device.
A computing device comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a memory including instructions that, when executed with the processor, cause the computing device to, at least:
- receive a message including a message header in an encrypted communication originating from a user device and directed to a recipient device, the communication comprising a request from the user device to access a website hosted by the recipient device, the message header including metadata having encrypted data values in data fields;
- determine one or more of the data fields to have data values therein to be replaced based at least in part on a type or a category to which the recipient device belongs;
- decrypt the data values in the determined one or more data fields;
- determine which of the data values among the decrypted data values to replace;
- select, based on the determining of the data values, replacement data values to replace the data values in the determined one or more data fields;
- overwrite the data values in the determined data fields with the selected replacement data values;
- encrypt the overwritten data values;
- and
- forward the message with the encrypted overwritten data values to the recipient device.
A non-transitory computer-readable media collectively storing computer-executable instructions that upon execution cause one or more computing devices to collectively perform acts comprising:
- receiving a message including a message header in an encrypted communication originating from a user device and directed to a recipient device, the communication comprising a request from the user device to access a website hosted by the recipient device, the message header including metadata having encrypted data values in data fields;
- determining one or more of the data fields to have data values therein to be replaced based at least in part on a type or a category to which the recipient device belongs;
- decrypting the data values in the determined one or more data fields;
- determining which of the data values among the decrypted data values to replace;
- selecting, based on the determining of the data values, replacement data values to replace the data values in the determined one or more data fields;
- overwriting the data values in the determined data fields with the selected replacement data values;
- encrypting the overwritten data values;
- and
- forwarding the message with the encrypted overwritten data values to the recipient device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.