# US 12,008,143 B2 · Selective replacement of information within communication metadata

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- Number: US 12,008,143 B2
- Document ID: US12008143B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/834,079
- Filed: 2022-06-07
- Published: 2022-09-22
- Granted: 2024-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2019-11-22
- Assignees: T-Mobile USA, Inc.
- Applicants: T-Mobile USA, Inc.
- Inventors: Jay Stark
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12008143B2

## CPC

- G06F 21/6263: {during internet communication, e.g. revealing personal data from cookies}
- H04L 9/0894: {Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage}
- G06F 21/6254: {by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification}
- H04L 9/0869: {involving random numbers or seeds}
- H04W 12/02: Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
- H04W 12/03: Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
- H04L 63/0464: {using hop-by-hop encryption, i.e. wherein an intermediate entity decrypts the information and re-encrypts it before forwarding it}
- H04L 63/101: {Access control lists [ACL]}
- H04L 2209/42: Anonymization, e.g. involving pseudonyms
- H04W 12/08: Access security
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## 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.

## Claims

### Claim 1

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.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein selecting replacement data values for the one or more data fields to be replaced comprises selecting the replacement data values from a list of potential data values of a type associated with the one or more data fields.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein selecting replacement data values for the one or more data fields to be replaced comprises randomly generating the replacement data values in a format associated with the one or more data fields.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein selecting replacement data values for the one or more data fields to be replaced comprises selecting a set of corresponding replacement data values associated with a pseudo identity.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, from the recipient device, a network document associated with the website; and
forwarding the network document to the user device.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more data fields to be replaced within the metadata are determined based at least in part on at least one of the user device or the recipient device.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the user device is associated with an account and the one or more data fields to be replaced are determined based on privacy settings stored in association with the account.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the one or more data fields to be replaced are determined based on the recipient device being included on a whitelist or blacklist.

### Claim 9

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.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The computing device of claim 9, wherein the computing device is a computing device of a telecommunication network.

### Claim 11 (depends on 9)

The computing device of claim 9, wherein the instructions are further configured to cause the computing device to:
receive, from the recipient device, a network document associated with the website; and
forward the network document to the user device.

### Claim 12 (depends on 9)

The computing device of claim 9, wherein each of the replacement data values for the one or more data fields are selected from a list of data values stored in association with a corresponding data field.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The computing device of claim 12, wherein each list of data values stored in association with a data field includes an index value, the replacement data value being selected from each list of data values based on the corresponding index value.

### Claim 14 (depends on 9)

The computing device of claim 9, wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:
receive a second communication originating from the user device and directed to the recipient device;
select new replacement data values for the one or more data fields;
overwrite data values within the one or more data fields with the new replacement data values; and
forward the second communication with the new replacement data values to the recipient device.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The computing device of claim 14, wherein the new replacement data values are different from the replacement data values.

### Claim 16 (depends on 9)

The computing device of claim 9, wherein the one or more data fields relate to personally identifiable information.

### Claim 17 (depends on 9)

The computing device of claim 9, wherein the one or more data fields relate to one or more of a type of the user device, an operating system, a screen resolution, a browser application and browser version, a language, or a time zone.

### Claim 18

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.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein forwarding the message with the encrypted overwritten data values to the recipient device causes a communication session to be established between the user device and the recipient device.

### Claim 20 (depends on 18)

The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein determining one or more data fields to be replaced within the metadata comprises determining at least one data field not to be replaced, the one or more data fields comprising a subset of available data fields less the at least one data field.