Source based anonymity and segmentation for visitors
US9590950B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 17, 2015 |
| Grant date | Mar 7, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W84/12
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and system for the anonymization and segmentation of the media access control (MAC) addresses reported by visitors' 802.11 enabled devices at a venue operator premises. This system assures a venue operator and its visitors that no individually identifying information about a visitor is re-transmitted or stored that can be traced back to their MAC address, while still allowing the venue operator to obtain venue visitor counts visit frequencies well as traffic patterns during visits (i.e. dwell times at, and movements between, locations within a venue) and counts of common visitors between venues. It also ensures that the data generated is segmented so that the data obtained by two different venue operators is not correlatable between visitors common to the two sets of data.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.