DYNAMICALLY UPDATING PRIVACY SETTINGS IN A SOCIAL NETWORK

• US 20090070334A1
• Filed: 09/08/2008
• Published: 03/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wang, James, Callahan, Ezra, Vera, Nicolas
• Granted Patent: US 8,713,055 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6263 during internet communication, e.g. revealing personal data from cookies
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2115 Third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2119 Authenticating web pages, e.g. with suspicious links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A social network allows its members to regulate what data is accessible to other members using one or more privacy settings. A particular member of the social network can modify the one or privacy settings to grant or deny different users access to different data. When a member modifies a privacy setting, the social network determines which information pathways communicating data between members are affected. The affected information pathways are then modified responsive to the privacy setting to communicate data identified by the modified privacy setting and enforce the new privacy restrictions.

Claims

1. A method for regulating access to data associated with members of a social network based on the members'"'"' privacy settings, the method comprising:

maintaining a profile for a plurality of members of a social network, each profile identifying one or more characteristics associated with a member and one or more privacy settings granting or denying access to the one or more characteristics;

monitoring actions taken by the members of the social network;

responsive to an action changing a privacy setting for a particular member, determining one or more information pathways affected by the changed privacy setting, each information pathway communicating data about the member to one or more other members; and

modifying each information pathway affected by the changed privacy setting to adjust the data communicated to the one or more other members responsive to the changed privacy setting.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the social network comprises a social networking website.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying each information pathway affected by the changed privacy setting comprises:

responsive to the changed privacy setting indicating data is not communicated using an information pathway, removing the information pathway.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying each information pathway affected by the changed privacy setting comprises:

responsive to the changed privacy setting indicating data communicated using an information pathway, establishing a new information pathway.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein an information pathway comprises a newsfeed story received by the member, a newsfeed story received a friends of the member, viewing a picture associated with the member, viewing a video associated with the member, an event the member receives data about, a group the member joins or a search engine result including data associated with the member.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more privacy settings granting or denying access to the one or more characteristics allow a subset of members to access the one or more characteristics.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the actions taken by the member of the social network comprise an action selected from a group consisting of:

sending a message to another member of the social network, adding a connection to another member of the social network, modifying one or more privacy settings.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying each information pathway affected by the changed privacy setting comprises:

analyzing results of a search of the social network; and

generating a modified search result by removing data from the results of the search engine responsive to the changed privacy setting.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the action changing the privacy setting associated with the member comprises restricting a second user from accessing a characteristic associated with the member, granting another user access to a characteristics associated with the member or modifying the frequency at which the user communicates data to additional users.

10. A system for regulating access to data associated with members of a social network based on the members'"'"' privacy settings, the system comprising:

a member profile store for maintaining a profile for a plurality of members of the social network, each profile identifying one or more characteristics associated with a member and one or more privacy settings granting or denying access to the one or more characteristics;

a privacy engine communicatively coupled to the member profile store for;

monitoring actions taken by members of the social network;

responsive to an action changing a privacy setting associated with a particular member, determining one or more information pathways affected by the changed privacy setting, each information pathway communicating data about the member to one or more additional members; and

modifying each information pathway affected by the changed privacy setting to adjust the data communicated to the one or more additional members responsive to the changed privacy setting.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the social network comprises a social networking website.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein modifying each information pathway affected by the changed privacy setting comprises:

responsive to the changed privacy setting indicating data is not communicated using an information pathway, removing the information pathway.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein modifying each information pathway affected by the changed privacy setting comprises:

responsive to the changed privacy setting indicating data communicated using an information pathway, establishing a new information pathway.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein an information pathway comprises a newsfeed story received by the member, a newsfeed story received a friends of the member, viewing a picture associated with the member, viewing a video associated with the member, an event the member receives data about, a group the member joins or a search engine result including data associated with the member

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more privacy settings granting or denying access to the one or more characteristics allow a subset of members to access the one or more characteristics.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the actions taken by the member of the social network comprise an action selected from a group consisting of:

sending a message to another member of the social network, adding a connection to another member of the social network, modifying one or more privacy settings.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein modifying each information pathway affected by the changed privacy setting comprises:

analyzing results of a search of the social network; and

generating a modified search result by removing data from the results of the search engine responsive to the changed privacy setting.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the action changing the privacy setting associated with the member comprises restricting a second user from accessing a characteristic associated with the member, granting another user access to a characteristics associated with the member or modifying the frequency at which the user communicates data to additional users.