Controlling Access of User Information Using Social-Networking Information

• US 20110093506A1
• Filed: 12/22/2010
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Galbreath, Nicholas, Lunt, Christopher, Winner, Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 9,158,819 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/798
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/284 Relational databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence
• 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 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

Particular embodiments access a query submitted by a first user; retrieve information concerning one or more second users; retrieve a degree of separation between the first user and each second user within a social-networking system; and for each second user, if the degree of separation between the first user and the second user is less than or equal to a threshold degree of separation, then send the information concerning the second user to the first user in response to the query.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing, at one or more computing devices, a query submitted by a first user;

retrieving, by the one or more computing devices, information concerning one or more second users;

retrieving, by the one or more computing devices, a degree of separation between the first user and each second user within a social-networking system; and

for each second user, if the degree of separation between the first user and the second user is less than or equal to a threshold degree of separation, then sending, by the one or more computing devices, the information concerning the second user to the first user in response to the query.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the requested information concerning each second user is personal information of the second user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the requested information concerning each second user is information provided by the second user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold degree of separation is specified by each second user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising for each second user, if the degree of separation between the first user and the second user is greater than the threshold degree of separation, then notifying the first user that the requested information concerning the second user is not accessible to the first user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from each second user, the information concerning the second user; and

storing the information concerning each second user in a data store.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving the degree of separation between the first user and each second user within the social-networking system comprises:

accessing a graph maintained by the social-networking system, the graph comprising a plurality of nodes and one or more edges, wherein each node corresponds to a user of the social-networking system, and two nodes are connected with an edge if the two corresponding users are directly connected within the social-networking system;

identifying in the graph a first node corresponding to the first user and a second node corresponding to the second user; and

determining a minimum number of edge hops required to traverse from the first node to the second node in the graph as the degree of separation between the first user and the second user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving the degree of separation between the first user and each second user within the social-networking system comprises:

sending to the social-networking system a request comprising a first identifier of the first user and a second identifier of the second user; and

receiving from the social-networking system the degree of separation between the first user and the second user.

9. A system comprising:

a memory comprising instructions executable by one or more processors; and

the one or more processors coupled to the memory and operable to execute the instructions, the one or more processors being operable when executing the instructions to;

access a query submitted by a first user;

retrieve information concerning one or more second users;

retrieve a degree of separation between the first user and each second user within a social-networking system; and

for each second user, if the degree of separation between the first user and the second user is less than or equal to a threshold degree of separation, then send the information concerning the second user to the first user in response to the query.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the requested information concerning each second user is personal information of the second user.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the requested information concerning each second user is information provided by the second user.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the threshold degree of separation is specified by each second user.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further operable when executing the instructions to for each second user, if the degree of separation between the first user and the second user is greater than the threshold degree of separation, then notify the first user that the requested information concerning the second user is not accessible to the first user.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more processors are further operable when executing the instructions to:

receive, from each second user, the information concerning the second user; and

store the information concerning each second user in a data store.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein retrieving the degree of separation between the first user and each second user within the social-networking system comprises:

access a graph maintained by the social-networking system, the graph comprising a plurality of nodes and one or more edges, wherein each node corresponds to a user of the social-networking system, and two nodes are connected with an edge if the two corresponding users are directly connected within the social-networking system;

identify in the graph a first node corresponding to the first user and a second node corresponding to the second user; and

determine a minimum number of edge hops required to traverse from the first node to the second node in the graph as the degree of separation between the first user and the second user.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein retrieving the degree of separation between the first user and each second user within the social-networking system comprises:

send to the social-networking system a request comprising a first identifier of the first user and a second identifier of the second user; and

receive from the social-networking system the degree of separation between the first user and the second user.

17. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software operable when executed by one or more computer systems to:

access a query submitted by a first user;

retrieve information concerning one or more second users;

retrieve a degree of separation between the first user and each second user within a social-networking system; and

for each second user, if the degree of separation between the first user and the second user is less than or equal to a threshold degree of separation, then send the information concerning the second user to the first user in response to the query.

18. The media of claim 17, wherein the requested information concerning each second user is personal information of the second user.

19. The media of claim 17, wherein the requested information concerning each second user is information provided by the second user.

20. The media of claim 17, wherein the threshold degree of separation is specified by each second user.