Managing associations between device identifiers

Abstract

Device identifiers for devices, such as computing devices, software, and applications, etc., are analyzed to determine whether the device identifiers are associated with each other (e.g., are connected to each other) and how strongly the device identifiers are associated with each other. A stronger connection between two device identifiers may indicate that the device identifiers are connected to the same user, same computing device, or same household. Connections between device identifiers are identified and/or weighted if the device identifiers are associated with the same network or if the device identifiers use the same login information to access content. The identifiers and their connections may form a device graph. Content is targeted to the clients based on the device graph. The device graph may also be used to perform targeting and orchestration of advertising, attribution reporting, analytics, and content optimization across devices in the device graph.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer implemented method comprising:
 receiving, by at least one processor, a plurality of identifiers including a first identifier and a second identifier from a data source, wherein the first identifier is associated with a first device or a first application executing on the first device and wherein the second identifier is associated with a second device or a second application executing on the second device;   identifying, by the at least one processor, at least one association between the plurality of identifiers, including identifying an association between at least the first identifier and the second identifier based on a first set of network data, wherein the association is indicative of commonality between the first device or first application and the second device or second application;   assigning, by the at least one processor, an association value to the association between the first identifier and the second identifier;   adjusting, by the at least one processor, a determination of the value of the association between the first identifier and the second identifier based a second set of network data for the first identifier and the second identifier, wherein adjusting the value of the association includes increasing or decreasing the association value responsive to analyzing network activity associated with a common IP address for the first identifier and the second identifier; and   providing, by the at least one processor, content to one or more of the first device and the second device, based on the at least one association.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising an act of generating at least one grouping of device identifiers responsive to analyzing network activity associated with a common IP address and time. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the association between the first identifier and the second identifier comprises analyzing whether the first device or first application and the second device or second application appear on a common network. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein identifying the association between the first identifier and the second identifier comprises analyzing whether the first device or first application and the second device or second application appear on the common network within a time window. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein identifying the association between the first identifier and the second identifier comprises analyzing whether the first device and the second device have logged into one or more services using a same login information. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the adjusting of the determination of the value of the association between the first identifier and the second identifier is based on analyzing a second set of network data for the first identifier and the second identifier, 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving additional identifiers from the data source, wherein the additional identifiers are associated with additional devices or additional applications executing on the additional devices;   identifying additional associations between the additional identifiers, the first identifier, and the second identifier;   assigning an association value for the additional devices.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 adjusting the additional association values of the additional associations based on a third set of network data for the first device or first application, the second device or second application, and the additional devices or the additional applications; and   providing content to a combination of two or more of the first device, the second device, or the additional devices based on one or more of the association, the additional associations, the association value, or the additional association values.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a set of associations to the first identifier are removed when the set of associations exceeds a threshold size or when a number of associations in the set of associations increases by a threshold amount within a threshold amount of time. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating an audience record including a plurality of device identifiers; and   targeting additional content to the plurality of devices using the audience record.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising attributing a network activity originating from the second device, to the first device, based on one or more of the association, the association value, or an impression history. 
     
     
         12 . A system comprising:
 at least one processor operatively connected to a memory configured to store a plurality of identifiers; and   a processing device, executed by the at least one processor and coupled to the memory, the processing device, configured to:
 receive a plurality of identifiers including a first identifier and a second identifier from a data source, wherein the first identifier is associated with a first device or a first application executing on the first device and wherein the second identifier is associated with a second device or a second application executing on the second device; 
 identify at least one association between the plurality of identifiers, including identifying an association between at least the first identifier and the second identifier based on a first set of network data, wherein the association is indicative of commonality between the first device or first application and the second device or second application; 
 assign an association value to the association between the first identifier and the second identifier; 
 adjust a determination of the value of the association between the first identifier and the second identifier based a second set of network data for the first identifier and the second identifier, wherein adjusting the value of the association includes increasing or decreasing the value of the association responsive to analyzing network activity associated with a common IP address for the first identifier and the second identifier; and 
 providing content to one or more of the first device and the second device, based on the at least one association. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the processing device is further configured to: generate at least one grouping of device identifiers responsive to analyzing network activity associated with a common IP address and time. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the processing device is further configured to: analyze whether the first device or first application and the second device or second application appear on a common network. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the processing device is further configured to: analyze whether the first device and the second device have logged into one or more services using a same login information. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the processing device is further configured to:
 receive additional identifiers from the data source, wherein the additional identifiers are associated with additional devices or additional applications executing on the additional devices;   identify additional associations between the additional identifiers, the first identifier, and the second identifier;   assign an association value for the additional devices.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the processing device is further configured to:
 adjust the additional association values of the additional associations based a third set of network data for the first device or first application, the second device or second application, and the additional devices or the additional applications; and   provide content to a combination of two or more of the first device, the second device, or the additional devices based on one or more of the association, the additional associations, the value, or the additional values.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the processing device is further configured to: remove a set of associations to the first identifier when the set of associations exceeds a threshold size or when a number of associations in the set of associations increases by a threshold amount within a threshold amount of time. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the processing device is further configured to:
 generate an audience record including a plurality of device identifiers; and   target additional content to the plurality of devices using the audience record.   
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed, cause a processing device to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a plurality of identifiers including a first identifier and a second identifier from a data source, wherein the first identifier is associated with a first device or a first application executing on the first device and wherein the second identifier is associated with a second device or a second application executing on the second device;   identifying at least one association between the plurality of identifiers, including identifying an association between at least the first identifier and the second identifier based on a first set of network data, wherein the association is indicative of commonality between the first device or first application and the second device or second application;   assigning an association value to the association between the first identifier and the second identifier;   adjusting the value of the association between the first identifier and the second identifier based a second set of network data for the first identifier and the second identifier, wherein adjusting the value of the association includes increasing or decreasing the value of the association responsive to analyzing network activity associated with a common IP address for the first identifier and the second identifier; and   providing content to one or more of the first device and the second device, based on the at least one association.