Inferring user demographics through network activity records
AssigneeUniloc Luxembourg S.A.
InventorCraig S. ETCHEGOYEN
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Personal information on a networked client computer is used by a server from which the device has requested information to infer demographic characteristics of the user of the client computer in order to add customized content to the requested information. The personal information provided to the server is gathered from the use of network browser software by the client computer and includes cookies, history and bookmarks. Inferring demographic characteristics of the user involves application of predetermined demographics inference rules stored by the server to the personal information provided by the client.
Claims15
A method for characterizing a user of a remotely-located computer, the method comprising:
- receiving personal information from the remotely-located computer, wherein the personal information includes one or more items of data representing prior user-initiated network activity of the remotely-located computer;
- for each of the items of data of the personal information:
- determining that one or more predetermined demographic characteristic inference rules apply to the item of data;
- and
- adjusting one or more demographic characteristic inferences according to the applicable predetermined demographic characteristic inference rules;
- and
- inferring one or more characteristics of the user from the demographic characteristic inferences.
A computer readable medium useful in association with a computer that includes one or more processors and a memory, the computer readable medium including computer instructions that are configured to cause the computer, by execution of the computer instructions in the one or more processors from the memory, to characterize a user of a remotely-located computer by at least:
- receiving personal information from the remotely-located computer, wherein the personal information includes one or more items of data representing prior user-initiated network activity of the remotely-located computer;
- for each of the items of data of the personal information data:
- determining that one or more predetermined demographic characteristic inference rules apply to the item of data;
- and
- adjusting one or more demographic characteristic inferences according to the applicable predetermined demographic characteristic inference rules;
- and
- inferring one or more characteristics of the user from the demographic characteristic inferences.
A computer system comprising:
- at least one processor;
- a computer readable medium that is operatively coupled to the processor;
- network access circuitry that is operatively coupled to the processor;
- and
- demographic inference logic (i) that executes at least in part in the processor from the computer readable medium and (ii) that, when executed, causes the processor to infer one or more demographic characteristics of a user of a remotely-located computer by at least:
- receiving personal information from the remotely-located computer, wherein the personal information includes one or more items of data representing prior user-initiated network activity of the remotely-located computer;
- for each of the items of data of the personal information:
- determining that one or more predetermined demographic characteristic inference rules apply to the item of data;
- and
- adjusting one or more demographic characteristic inferences according to the applicable predetermined demographic characteristic inference rules;
- and
- inferring one or more characteristics of the user from the demographic characteristic inferences.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.