Sensitivity Estimation for Differentially Private Query Processing

Differential privacy is a robust framework for private data analysis and query processing, which achieves privacy preservation by introducing controlled noise to query results in a centralized setting. The sensitivity of a query, defined as the maximum change in query output resulting from the addit...

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Main Authors: Meifan Zhang, Xin Liu, Lihua Yin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7667
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author Meifan Zhang
Xin Liu
Lihua Yin
author_facet Meifan Zhang
Xin Liu
Lihua Yin
author_sort Meifan Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Differential privacy is a robust framework for private data analysis and query processing, which achieves privacy preservation by introducing controlled noise to query results in a centralized setting. The sensitivity of a query, defined as the maximum change in query output resulting from the addition or removal of a single data record, directly influences the magnitude of noise to be introduced. Computing sensitivity for simple queries, such as count queries, is straightforward, but it becomes significantly more challenging for complex queries involving join operations. In such cases, the global sensitivity can be unbounded, which substantially impacts the accuracy of query results. While existing measures like elastic sensitivity and residual sensitivity provide upper bounds on local sensitivity to reduce noise, they often struggle with either low utility or high computational overhead when applied to complex join queries. In this paper, we propose two novel sensitivity estimation methods based on sampling and sketching techniques, which provide competitive utility while achieving higher efficiency compared to existing state-of-the-art approaches. Experiments on real-world and benchmark datasets confirm that both methods enable efficient differentially private joins, significantly enhancing the usability of online interactive query systems.
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issn 2076-3417
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spelling doaj-art-e2d7869dee7b4e9a9998d14f6ec5af532025-08-20T03:13:36ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-07-011514766710.3390/app15147667Sensitivity Estimation for Differentially Private Query ProcessingMeifan Zhang0Xin Liu1Lihua Yin2Cyberspace Institute of Advanced Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaCyberspace Institute of Advanced Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaCyberspace Institute of Advanced Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaDifferential privacy is a robust framework for private data analysis and query processing, which achieves privacy preservation by introducing controlled noise to query results in a centralized setting. The sensitivity of a query, defined as the maximum change in query output resulting from the addition or removal of a single data record, directly influences the magnitude of noise to be introduced. Computing sensitivity for simple queries, such as count queries, is straightforward, but it becomes significantly more challenging for complex queries involving join operations. In such cases, the global sensitivity can be unbounded, which substantially impacts the accuracy of query results. While existing measures like elastic sensitivity and residual sensitivity provide upper bounds on local sensitivity to reduce noise, they often struggle with either low utility or high computational overhead when applied to complex join queries. In this paper, we propose two novel sensitivity estimation methods based on sampling and sketching techniques, which provide competitive utility while achieving higher efficiency compared to existing state-of-the-art approaches. Experiments on real-world and benchmark datasets confirm that both methods enable efficient differentially private joins, significantly enhancing the usability of online interactive query systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7667differential privacysensitivityjoin queryapproximate query processing
spellingShingle Meifan Zhang
Xin Liu
Lihua Yin
Sensitivity Estimation for Differentially Private Query Processing
Applied Sciences
differential privacy
sensitivity
join query
approximate query processing
title Sensitivity Estimation for Differentially Private Query Processing
title_full Sensitivity Estimation for Differentially Private Query Processing
title_fullStr Sensitivity Estimation for Differentially Private Query Processing
title_full_unstemmed Sensitivity Estimation for Differentially Private Query Processing
title_short Sensitivity Estimation for Differentially Private Query Processing
title_sort sensitivity estimation for differentially private query processing
topic differential privacy
sensitivity
join query
approximate query processing
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/7667
work_keys_str_mv AT meifanzhang sensitivityestimationfordifferentiallyprivatequeryprocessing
AT xinliu sensitivityestimationfordifferentiallyprivatequeryprocessing
AT lihuayin sensitivityestimationfordifferentiallyprivatequeryprocessing