Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Edward Arthur Scott Low

Ryan Gregory Cropp

Brandon J Maslen

Lillian Rachel Kravitz

Disclosed herein is a system configured to collect and maintain user data within a first party silo while allowing third party data consumers to use the user data in accordance with explicit input from users. The system provides a user with transparency and control with regard to data use by displaying graphical user interfaces configured to receive input indicating whether the user allows or prevents third party data consumers to use his or her data. The system exposes an API that enables the third party data consumers to submit a data query. The system uses the data query to internally analyze a user data set. User data is included in the user data set in accordance with the input. The system is configured to provide, via the API, a result of the analysis to the third party data consumer that submitted the data query without providing the user data set.

Secured use of private user data by third party data consumers

Embodiments described herein are directed to intelligently classifying Web trackers in a privacy preserving manner and mitigating the effects of such Web trackers. As users browse the Web and encounter various Web sites, tracker-related metrics are determined. The metrics are obfuscated to protect the privacy of the user. The obfuscated metrics are provided as inputs to a machine learning model, which is configured to output a classification for the Web trackers associated with the Web sites visited by the user. Depending on the classification, the effects of the Web trackers are mitigated by placing restrictions on the Web trackers. The restrictions for a particular Web tracker may be relaxed based on a level of user engagement a user has with respect to the tracker's associated Web site. By doing so, the compatibility risks associated with tracking prevention are mitigated for Web sites that are relatively important to the user.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Edward Arthur Scott Low