Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products for selecting and presenting content in privacy preserving manners. A digital component request can be received from a client device at a first content platform, and can request digital components for presentation and can include contextual data describing an environment in which the digital component will be presented. Based on the contextual data, a client device user can be added to interest groups. Based on the contextual data, a digital component is selected for distribution to the client device. The selected digital component and instruction data are provided to the client device causing the client device to: update a membership count that indicates that the user has been added to the interest group; and include the selected digital component in a digital component selection process to select a digital component for presentation to the user of the client device.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for distributing digital component while securing user data are described. In one aspect, a method includes receiving, by a multi-platform server and from a client device, a request for a digital component for presentation by the client device. The request for the digital component includes (i) request data that is opaque to the multi-platform server, and (ii) sensitive user data that is managed by the client device. In response to receiving the request for the digital component, the multi-platform server transmits, to a first content platform, a contextual request that includes the request data from the client device and that does not include the sensitive user data. After transmitting the contextual request, the multi-platform server receives, from the first content platform, a contextual response that includes a selection data unit for a first repository of digital components.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer-storage media, for privacy preserving digital component provider. In some implementations, a method includes providing, by a user device and during a browsing session of content page at the user device, (1) a request for a digital component and (2) contextual data representing a context within which the content page is provided for display on the user device; obtaining an embedding vector that represents the contextual data as a set of features and the digital component; generating one or more adjusted embedding vectors for a first interest group, wherein the collection includes the embedding vector adjusted by one or more values; and providing the one or more adjusted embedding vectors to a server for generating a model for the first interest group.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for securely executing customized computing workflows for selecting digital components are described. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a request for a digital component for presentation by a client device. In response to receiving the request, a pool of candidate digital components is retrieved from a repository of digital components, and each stage of a multi-stage workflow for selecting a digital component from the pool of digital components is executed in a sequence defined by the multi-stage workflow, including a filtering stage, a selection stage, and a rendering stage. After the rendering stage has been executed, a selected and packaged digital component is transmitted for receipt by the client device.