User search based on private information

• US 10,032,047 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2015
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Virochsiri, Kittipat, Sankar, Sriram
• Primary Examiner(s): Gillis, Brian J
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOREAU, AUSTIN J
• Application Number:
  US14/879,952
• Publication Number:
  US 20160034716A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9536 Search customisation based on social or collaborative filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6263 during internet communication, e.g. revealing personal data from cookies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, from a first user, a query specifying one or more criteria; accessing a data store comprising information associated with one or more users of a social-networking system; identifying a second user from a plurality of users of the social-networking system based on private information stored in the data store and the one or more criteria, wherein the private information is not viewable by the first user; and sending, to the first user, substitute information associated with the second user in place of the private information, the substitute information being information that is viewable by the first user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a social-networking system, a query from a client device of a first user specifying one or more criteria;

accessing, by the social-networking system, a data store comprising information associated with one or more users of the social-networking system;

identifying, by the social-networking system, a plurality of users of the social-networking system based on the query, wherein the plurality of users comprise;

a second user identified based on private information stored in the data store and the one or more criteria, wherein the private information is not viewable by the first user; and

a third user identified based on non-private information stored in the data store and the one or more criteria, wherein the non-private information is viewable by the first user, and wherein the third user is identified responsive to the identifying of the second user based on private information; and

sending, to the client device of the first user, a plurality of search results responsive to the query, wherein the search results comprise information associated with at least the second and third users, and wherein the information associated with the second user comprises substitute information associated with the second user in place of the private information, the substitute information being information that is viewable by the first user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accessing a social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes, each of the edges between two of the nodes representing a single degree of separation between them, the nodes comprising;

a first node corresponding to the first user; and

a plurality of user nodes corresponding to the plurality of users of the online social network, respectively.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the substitute information is public information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the private information comprises a relationship between the second user and a third user and the substitute information is a more generic relationship between the second user and the third user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the private information is deemed private based on a privacy setting specified by the second user, the privacy setting specifying that the private information is not viewable by the first user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the private information is deemed private based on a privacy setting specified by the second user, the privacy setting specifying that the private information is viewable only by a group of users, the group of users not including the first user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the private information comprises a relationship between the second user and a third user, the private information being deemed private based on a privacy setting specified by the third user, the privacy setting specifying that the private information is not viewable by the first user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the private information comprises a relationship between the second user and a third user, the private information being deemed private based on a privacy setting specified by the second user, the privacy setting specifying that the private information is not viewable by the first user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the second user comprises:

selecting a user from the plurality of users; and

determining whether the selected user satisfies one or more of the criteria based on the private information.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the third user does not satisfy the search criteria, and wherein the third user is a connection of the second user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-private information comprises public information, wherein the public information is information that is viewable by the general public.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each of the plurality of users, the information of the user comprises one or more family connections of the user, one or more friend connections of the user, one or more demographic data of the user, or one or more one or more background data of the user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, for each of the plurality of users, the one or more family connections of the user comprise one or more of parent, sibling, child, or spouse.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein, for each of the plurality of users, the one or more demographic data of the user comprise one or more of birth date, birth place, age, gender, or marital status.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein, for each of the plurality of users, the one or more background data of the user comprise one or more of education, employment, or residence.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the information associated with the third user is included in the search results to obfuscate the private information of the second user.

17. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to:

receive a query from a client device of a first user specifying one or more criteria;

access a data store comprising information associated with one or more users of the social-networking system;

identify, by the social-networking system, a plurality of users of the social-networking system based on the query, wherein the plurality of users comprise;

a second user identified based on private information stored in the data store and the one or more criteria, wherein the private information is not viewable by the first user; and

a third user identified based on non-private information stored in the data store and the one or more criteria, wherein the non-private information is viewable by the first user, and wherein the third user is identified responsive to the identifying of the second user based on private information; and

send, to the client device of the first user, a plurality of search results responsive to the query, wherein the search results comprise information associated with at least the second and third users, and wherein the information associated with the second user comprises substitute information associated with the second user in place of the private information, the substitute information being information that is viewable by the first user.

18. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory memory coupled to the processors comprising instructions executable by the processors, the processors operable when executing the instructions to;

receive a query from a client device of a first user specifying one or more criteria;

access a data store comprising information associated with one or more users of the social-networking system;

identify, by the social-networking system, a plurality of users of the social-networking system based on the query, wherein the plurality of users comprise;

a second user identified based on private information stored in the data store and the one or more criteria, wherein the private information is not viewable by the first user; and

a third user identified based on non-private information stored in the data store and the one or more criteria, wherein the non-private information is viewable by the first user, and wherein the third user is identified responsive to the identifying of the second user based on private information; and

send, to the client device of the first user, a plurality of search results responsive to the query, wherein the search results comprise information associated with at least the second and third users, and wherein the information associated with the second user comprises substitute information associated with the second user in place of the private information, the substitute information being information that is viewable by the first user.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the processors are further operable when executing the instructions to:

access a social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes, each of the edges between two of the nodes representing a single degree of separation between them, the nodes comprising;

a first node corresponding to the first user; and

a plurality of user nodes corresponding to the plurality of users of the online social network, respectively.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the substitute information is public information.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the private information comprises a relationship between the second user and a third user and the substitute information is a more generic relationship between the second user and the third user.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the private information is deemed private based on a privacy setting specified by the second user, the privacy setting specifying that the private information is not viewable by the first user.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the private information is deemed private based on a privacy setting specified by the second user, the privacy setting specifying that the private information is viewable only by a group of users, the group of users not including the first user.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein the private information comprises a relationship between the second user and a third user, the private information being deemed private based on a privacy setting specified by the third user, the privacy setting specifying that the private information is not viewable by the first user.

25. The system of claim 18, wherein the private information comprises a relationship between the second user and a third user, the private information being deemed private based on a privacy setting specified by the second user, the privacy setting specifying that the private information is not viewable by the first user.

26. The system of claim 18, wherein the instructions to identify the second user comprises instructions to:

select a user from the plurality of users; and

determine whether the selected user satisfies one or more of the criteria based on the private information.

27. The system of claim 18, wherein the third user does not satisfy the search criteria, and wherein the third user is a connection of the second user.

28. The system of claim 18, wherein the non-private information comprises public information, wherein the public information is information that is viewable by the general public.

29. The system of claim 18, wherein, for each of the plurality of users, the information of the user comprises one or more family connections of the user, one or more friend connections of the user, one or more demographic data of the user, or one or more one or more background data of the user.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein, for each of the plurality of users, the one or more family connections of the user comprise one or more of parent, sibling, child, or spouse.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein, for each of the plurality of users, the one or more demographic data of the user comprise one or more of birth date, birth place, age, gender, or marital status.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein, for each of the plurality of users, the one or more background data of the user comprise one or more of education, employment, or residence.

33. The system of claim 18, wherein the information associated with the third user is included in the search results to obfuscate the private information of the second user.