Social platform with enhanced privacy and integrated customization features

• US 10,652,199 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2019
• Issued: 05/12/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sgrouples, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sgrouples, Inc.
• Inventors: Wolfe, Jonathan, Weinstein, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Khanh Q
• Application Number:
  US16/695,032
• Publication Number:
  US 20200099649A1
• Time in Patent Office: 169 Days
• Field of Search: 709224, 709220, 709226, 709228, 709232
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0257 User requested
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

The present invention provides a social networking platform offering various services, such as, facilitating aggregation and management of a user'"'"'s interaction on one or more social networking platforms, offering enhanced control over the level of privacy associated with the flow of user data, offering tools to customize the user'"'"'s exposure to advertisement-related content on the social networking platform(s), integrating features to control aspects of how data/content is presented to and visualized by the user, empowering the user to multicast direct messages to other users without the other users having to meet certain constraints, empowering the user to create and/or join a group based on messaging threads, and the like. One or more of these enhanced services/features are associated with a powerful framework of authentication/permission model for access control.

Claims

1. A method of providing an advertisement to a user of a social network platform, the method comprising:

receiving identity information corresponding to the user;

receiving preference information relating to an advertisement viewing preference of the user;

determining, based on the preference information, first advertisement criteria;

receiving, from an advertiser, a first advertisement;

in accordance with a determination that the first advertisement satisfies the first advertisement criteria, presenting the first advertisement to the user;

receiving, from the user, input corresponding to the first advertisement;

anonymizing the input with respect to the advertiser; and

communicating the anonymized input to the advertiser,

wherein;

the input is not communicated to an operator of the social network platform,

the identity information is not communicated to the advertiser, and

the identity information is not communicated to the operator of the social network platform.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting the first advertisement comprises presenting the first advertisement to the user via a third party.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first advertisement corresponds to an item and the input indicates a request by the user to purchase the item.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the request comprises a request that a supplier provide the item, and

the identity information is not communicated to the supplier.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first advertisement comprises a coupon corresponding to the item.