Methods and apparatus to identify users associated with device application usage

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are disclosed to identify users associated with device application usage. A disclosed example method involves obtaining demographics of persons to participate in a panel for an audience research study, identifying a set of applications to be monitored, providing devices associated with the persons in the panel with a meter to record usage of the applications and with a user-to-application associator, the user-to-application associator to define associations between the applications to be monitored and the persons associate with the device before the applications are launched, receiving data from a first one of the devices identifying a first one of the persons as a primary user of a first one of the applications in the set of applications, receiving data from the first device identifying usage of the first application, and associating the demographics of the first person with the usage of the first application.

1 . A computing system comprising a processor and a memory, the computing system configured to perform a set of acts comprising:
 obtaining, from a mobile device of a panelist household via a network communication, panelist-to-application data designating, for each of multiple applications installed on the mobile device, a respective primary viewer for the application;   obtaining data identifying usage on the mobile device of a given application of the multiple applications;   determining, using the panelist-to-application data, a primary viewer for the given application;   obtaining demographics for the primary viewer for the given application;   associating the demographics with the usage of the given application on the mobile device; and   generating a viewing report using the demographics associated with the usage of the given application on the mobile device in combination with demographics associated with other usages of other mobile devices.   
     
     
         2 . The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein obtaining the panelist-to-application data comprises:
 sending, to the mobile device, a list of panelists in the panelist household, wherein the mobile device uses the list of panelists to prompt a user of the mobile device to designate the primary viewers for the applications;   receiving, from the mobile device, the panelist-to-application data; and   storing the panelist-to-application data in a database.   
     
     
         3 . The computing system of  claim 1 , wherein obtaining the data identifying usage on the mobile device of the given application comprises receiving application reporting data collected by an application meter on the mobile device. 
     
     
         4 . The computing system of  claim 3 , wherein the application meter is embedded into the given application through a software development kit. 
     
     
         5 . The computing system of  claim 4 , wherein the application reporting data comprises data extracted by the application meter from media presented by the given application. 
     
     
         6 . The computing system of  claim 5 , wherein the application reporting data correlates a device identifier of the mobile device with the data extracted by the application meter. 
     
     
         7 . The computing system of  claim 4 , wherein:
 the set of acts further comprises identifying reference metadata corresponding to the data extracted by the application meter; and   the viewing report is generated based on the reference metadata.   
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 obtaining, by a computing system from a mobile device of a panelist household via a network communication, panelist-to-application data designating, for each of multiple applications installed on the mobile device, a respective primary viewer for the application;   obtaining, by the computing system, data identifying usage on the mobile device of a given application of the multiple applications;   determining, by the computing system, using the panelist-to-application data, a primary viewer for the given application;   obtaining, by the computing system, demographics for the primary viewer for the given application;   associating, by the computing system, the demographics with the usage of the given application on the mobile device; and   generating, by the computing system, a viewing report using the demographics associated with the usage of the given application on the mobile device in combination with demographics associated with other usages of other mobile devices.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein obtaining the panelist-to-application data comprises:
 sending, to the mobile device, a list of panelists in the panelist household, wherein the mobile device uses the list of panelists to prompt a user of the mobile device to designate the primary viewers for the applications;   receiving, from the mobile device, the panelist-to-application data; and   storing the panelist-to-application data in a database.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein obtaining the data identifying usage on the mobile device of the given application comprises receiving application reporting data collected by an application meter on the mobile device. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the application meter is embedded into the given application through a software development kit. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the application reporting data comprises data extracted by the application meter from media presented by the given application. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the application reporting data correlates a device identifier of the mobile device with the data extracted by the application meter. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising identifying reference metadata corresponding to the data extracted by the application meter,
 wherein the viewing report is generated based on the reference metadata.   
     
     
         15 . An audience measurement system comprising:
 a mobile device of a panelist household; and   a computing system comprising a processor and a memory, the computing system configured to perform a set of acts comprising:
 obtaining, from the mobile device via a network communication, panelist-to-application data designating, for each of multiple applications installed on the mobile device, a respective primary viewer for the application, 
 obtaining data identifying usage on the mobile device of a given application of the multiple applications, 
 determining, using the panelist-to-application data, a primary viewer for the given application, 
 obtaining demographics for the primary viewer for the given application; 
 associating the demographics with the usage of the given application on the mobile device, and 
 generating a viewing report using the demographics associated with the usage of the given application on the mobile device in combination with demographics associated with other usages of other mobile devices. 
   
     
     
         16 . The audience measurement system of  claim 15 , wherein obtaining the panelist-to-application data comprises:
 sending, to the mobile device, a list of panelists in the panelist household, wherein the mobile device uses the list of panelists to prompt a user of the mobile device to designate the primary viewers for the applications;   receiving, from the mobile device, the panelist-to-application data; and   storing the panelist-to-application data in a database.   
     
     
         17 . The audience measurement system of  claim 15 , wherein obtaining the data identifying usage on the mobile device of the given application comprises receiving application reporting data collected by an application meter on the mobile device. 
     
     
         18 . The audience measurement system of  claim 17 , wherein the application meter is embedded into the given application through a software development kit. 
     
     
         19 . The audience measurement system of  claim 18 , wherein the application reporting data comprises data extracted by the application meter from media presented by the given application. 
     
     
         20 . The audience measurement system of  claim 19 , wherein the application reporting data correlates a device identifier of the mobile device with the data extracted by the application meter.