Methods and apparatus to collect distributed user information for media impressions and search terms
AssigneeThe Nielsen Company (US), LLC
InventorsJohn R. Burbank, Madhusudhan Reddy Alla
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed examples involve decoding information from a mobile device into a plurality of encrypted identifiers identifying at least one of the mobile device or a user of the mobile device, sending ones of the encrypted identifiers to corresponding database proprietors, receiving a plurality of user information corresponding to the ones of the encrypted identifiers from the corresponding database proprietors, and associating the plurality of user information with at least one of a search term collected at the mobile device or a media impression logged for media presented at the mobile device.
Claims17
A method comprising:
- receiving a plurality of encrypted identifiers and a media identifier collected at a mobile device, the encrypted identifiers identifying at least one of the mobile device or a user of the mobile device, and the media identifier indicative of media presented at the mobile device;
- sending a first one of the encrypted identifiers to a first database proprietor associated with the first one of the encrypted identifiers;
- sending a second one of the encrypted identifiers to a second database proprietor associated with the second one of the encrypted identifiers;
- receiving first user information associated with the first one of the encrypted identifiers from the first database proprietor;
- receiving second user information associated with the second one of the encrypted identifiers from the second database proprietor;
- and
- associating at least one of the first user information or the second user information with a media impression logged for the media identifier.
An apparatus comprising:
- a decoder to:
- obtain encrypted identifiers identifying at least one of the mobile device or a user of the mobile device, and
- send respective ones of the encrypted identifiers to corresponding database proprietors;
- and
- a server to:
- receive user information corresponding to the respective ones of the encrypted identifiers from the corresponding database proprietors, and
- associate the user information with a search term collected at the mobile device.
A method to monitor usage of a mobile device, the method comprising:
- installing an application having a data collector on a mobile device;
- collecting, via the data collector, a media identifier indicative of media presented at the mobile device;
- encrypting a user identifier that identifies the user of the mobile device, the encrypting of the user identifier based on a first encryption key corresponding to a first database proprietor having first user information associated with the user identifier;
- encrypting a device identifier that identifies the mobile device, the encrypting of the device identifier based on a second encryption key corresponding to a second database proprietor having second user information associated with the device identifier;
- and
- sending the encrypted user identifier, the encrypted device identifier, and the media identifier to a data collection server.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.