Methods and apparatus for blocking usage tracking

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses that maintain one or more data stores capable of storing local data in a device for loading a resource of a domain are described. The resource may be loaded to cause one or more data access operations on the data stores. Access to usage tracking data of the device from the domain may depend on at least one of the data access operations. The data access operations may be configured to block the usage tracking data of the device from the domain. The data access operations may be performed on the data stores for the loading of the resource. A web page may be presented to a user when the resource is successfully loaded.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A machine-readable non-transitory storage medium having instructions therein, which when executed by a machine, causes the machine to perform a method, the method comprising:
 in response to a request for a resource of a third party domain, identifying a first party domain for the third party domain, wherein the request is caused by a loaded resource of the first party domain, and wherein the third party domain is transparent to a user of a device;   querying a cache of the device for the resource under the first party domain, wherein resources of the third party domain in the cache under a separate first party domain are inaccessible for the querying under the first party domain; and   loading the resource under the first party domain from the cache if the querying is successful, wherein the loading prevents usage tracking from the third party domain via the cache.   
     
     
         2 . The medium of  claim 1 , wherein the cache is indexed by at least one domain and wherein the resource is stored in the cache indexed by both the first party domain and the third party domain. 
     
     
         3 . The medium of  claim 1 , wherein the cache includes segregated partitions separately corresponding to separate domains including the first party domain, and wherein the resource is indexed by the third party domain in one of the partitions corresponding to the first party domain. 
     
     
         4 . A machine-readable non-transitory storage medium having instructions therein, which when executed by a machine, causes the machine to perform a method, the method comprising:
 maintaining one or more blacklists of known trackers in a device, wherein each known tracker addresses resources of a domain capable of tracking usage of the device;   monitoring a history of third party requests for resources of third party domains, each third party request caused transparently to a user of the device via a loaded   resource in the device, the loaded resource being of a first party domain specified in a request from the user;   presenting a user interface indicating usage tracking activities according to the history, wherein the usage tracking activities indicating relationships between the first party domains and the blacklists via the third party domains.   
     
     
         5 . The medium of  claim 4 , wherein the blacklists include a first blacklist, wherein the third party requests include a particular request of a particular one of the third party domains, the method further comprising:
 blocking the particular request if the particular third party domain belong to the first blacklist.   
     
     
         6 . The medium of  claim 5 , wherein the blocking prohibits network connections with the third party domain. 
     
     
         7 . The medium of  claim 5 , wherein the blacklists include a second blacklist, the method further comprising:
 restricting access to local data of the device for the particular third party domain without blocking the particular third party request if the particular third party domain belongs to the second blacklist.   
     
     
         8 . The medium of  claim 4 , wherein the usage tracking activities include statistics of the third party requests with respect to the blacklist for the first party domain. 
     
     
         9 . The medium of  claim 7 , wherein the statistics include counts of total number of the third party requests for each of the third party domain. 
     
     
         10 . A computer system comprising:
 a memory storing executable instructions;   a network interface coupled to sources of one or more domains including third party domains and first party domains according to requests from a user of the system;   a processing system coupled to the memory and the network interface to execute the instructions from the memory, the processing system being configured to maintain at least one blacklist of known trackers in a device, wherein each known tracker addresses resources of a domain capable of tracking usage of the system, monitor a history of third party requests for resources of the third party domains, each third party request caused transparently to the user via a loaded resource in the system, the loaded resource being of one of the first party domains specified in one of the requests;   present a user interface indicating usage tracking activities according to the history, wherein the usage tracking activities identifying relationships between the first party domains and the at least one blacklist via the third party domains.   
     
     
         11 . A machine-implemented method comprising:
 in response to a request for a resource of a third party domain, identifying a first party domain for the third party domain, wherein the request is caused by a loaded resource of the first party domain, and wherein the third party domain is transparent to a user of a device;   querying a cache of the device for the resource under the first party domain, wherein resources of the third party domain in the cache under a separate first party domain are inaccessible for the querying under the first party domain; and   loading the resource under the first party domain from the cache if the querying is successful, wherein the loading prevents usage tracking from the third party domain via the cache.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the cache is indexed by at least one domain and wherein the resource is stored in the cache indexed by both the first party domain and the third party domain. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the cache includes segregated partitions separately corresponding to separate domains including the first party domain, and wherein the resource is indexed by the third party domain in one of the partitions corresponding to the first party domain. 
     
     
         14 . A machine-implemented method comprising:
 maintaining one or more blacklists of known trackers in a device, wherein each known tracker addresses resources of a domain capable of tracking usage of the device;   monitoring a history of third party requests for resources of third party domains, each third party request caused transparently to a user of the device via a loaded   resource in the device, the loaded resource being of a first party domain specified in a request from the user;   presenting a user interface indicating usage tracking activities according to the history, wherein the usage tracking activities indicating relationships between the first party domains and the blacklists via the third party domains.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the blacklists include a first blacklist, wherein the third party requests include a particular request of a particular one of the third party domains, the method further comprising:
 blocking the particular request if the particular third party domain belong to the first blacklist.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the blocking prohibits network connections with the third party domain. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the blacklists include a second blacklist, the method further comprising:
 restricting access to local data of the device for the particular third party domain without blocking the particular third party request if the particular third party domain belongs to the second blacklist.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the usage tracking activities include statistics of the third party requests with respect to the blacklist for the first party domain. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the statistics include counts of total number of the third party requests for each of the third party domain. 
     
     
         20 . A computer system comprising:
 a memory storing executable instructions;   a network interface coupled to sources of one or more domains including third party domains and first party domains according to requests from a user of the system;   a processing system coupled to the memory and the network interface to execute the instructions from the memory, the processing system being configured to:   identify, in response to a request for a resource of a third party domain, a first party domain for the third party domain, wherein the request is caused by a loaded resource of the first party domain, and wherein the third party domain is transparent to a user of a device;   query a cache of the device for the resource under the first party domain, wherein resources of the third party domain in the cache under a separate first party domain are inaccessible for the querying under the first party domain; and   load the resource under the first party domain from the cache if the querying is successful, wherein the loading prevents usage tracking from the third party domain via the cache.