Patent ID: 7568016

Claim:
An method for providing information about a plurality of users to a plurality of requesters, the method comprising: storing information about the plurality of users in a database located on a cookie management system and associating information about the plurality of users with a plurality of keys; receiving a request at the cookie management system for information about a particular user of the plurality of users from a requester; receiving a key associated with the request at the cookie management system from the requester, wherein the key associated with the request is included in a cookie on a machine of the particular user; using the key associated with the request to retrieve information about the particular user from the database; and forwarding information about the particular user to the requestor; wherein the requester determines whether the cookie exists on the machine of the particular user, and in response to determining that the cookie does not exist on the machine of the particular user, the requester: indirectly obtains information about the particular user; generates and stores the cookie including the key on the machine of the particular user; and provides the key and the information about the particular user to the cookie management system.