Cloaking with footprints to provide location privacy protection in location-based services

摘要

A method for using a location-based service while preserving anonymity includes receiving a location associated with a mobile node, receiving an anonymity level associated with the mobile node, computing a region containing the location of the mobile node and a number of footprints based on the anonymity level, wherein each of the footprints from a different user, and providing the region to a location-based service to thereby preserve anonymity of the mobile node. A method also allow a mobile device or its user to specify the anonymity level by selecting a public region consistent with a user's feelings towards desired privacy.

主权项

1. A method for using a location-based service while preserving anonymity by cloaking a device's instant location using footprints, the method comprising:
receiving a current location associated with the device; receiving an anonymity level associated with the device; accessing a database comprising a plurality of footprints, wherein the footprints are different devices' historical location samples; computing a region containing the current location of the device and a number of footprints from the database based on the anonymity level to thereby cloak when the device is present within the region using the footprints; and providing the region to a location-based service to thereby preserve anonymity of the device and provide location privacy protection for the device.