ACCESS TO USER INFORMATION

• US 20110113488A1
• Filed: 11/06/2009
• Published: 05/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: McKee, Martin W., Hahn, Mark J., Sartini, Robert A., Schultz, Paul T.
• Granted Patent: US 8,869,296 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/21
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2107 File encryption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources

Abstract

A method may include storing user information associated with a first user, where the user information includes at least two of location information, presence information, address book information or calendar information. The method may also include storing access control information identifying criteria for allowing parties to access the user information and receiving, from a first party, a request for access to at least a first portion of the user information. The method may further include determining, based on the access control information, whether the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information and providing access to the first portion of the user information, when it is determined that the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

storing user information associated with a first user, the user information including at least two of location information, presence information, address book information or calendar information;

storing access control information, the access control information identifying criteria for allowing parties to access the user information;

receiving, from a first party, a request for access to at least a first portion of the user information;

determining, based on the access control information, whether the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information; and

providing access to the first portion of the user information, when it is determined that the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the user, time information indicating when the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information,

wherein the storing access control information comprises;

storing the time information, and

wherein the determining comprises;

determining, based on the time information, whether the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the user, location-related information associated with the user'"'"'s location, the location-related information indicating when the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information,

wherein the storing access control information comprises;

storing the location-related information, and

wherein the determining comprises;

determining, based on the location-related information, whether the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the user, frequency information indicating how frequently the first party is allowed to access the first portion of the user information,

wherein the storing access control information comprises;

storing the frequency information, and

wherein the determining comprises;

determining, based on the frequency information, whether the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing access control information comprises:

storing information indicating that parties identified as regular contacts or friends are to be granted access to the first portion of the user information.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining whether the first party is a regular contact or friend based on at least one of communication history between the user and the first party or information obtained via an external program.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a graphical user interface (GUI) configured to allow the user to input the access control information.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving, via the GUI, information identifying at least two of time information, frequency information or requestor identifier information,

wherein the determining comprises;

using the at least two of time information, frequency information or requestor identifier information to determine whether the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the access control information indicates that a request for access to the first portion of the user information requires explicit authorization from the first user.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

transmitting, based on the access control information, a message to the first user, the message requesting permission to grant access to the first portion of the user information;

receiving a response from the first user; and

determining whether to provide access based on the received response.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying access control information associated with the first party accessing the user information associated with the first user; and

automatically providing corresponding access to the first user to user information associated with the first party based on the access control information associated with the first user.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing user information associated with a plurality of users;

receiving access control information from each of the plurality of users; and

controlling access to the user information associated with each of the plurality of users based on the access control information received from each of the respective plurality of users.

13. A device, comprising:

a communication interface configured to receive communications from other devices;

a memory configured to store information associated with a plurality of users, the information including at least two of location information, presence information, address book information or calendar information; and

logic configured to;

receive requests, via the communication interface, for information stored in the memory, and

control access to the information stored in the memory based on user-defined criteria.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the logic is further configured to:

provide a graphical user interface (GUI) configured to allow a first user to input the user-defined criteria for controlling access to information associated with the first user, wherein the user defined criteria include at least two of time information, frequency information or requestor identifier information.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein the logic is further configured to:

receive a request from a first party, via the communication interface, for a first type of information associated with a first one of the plurality of users, and

determine, based on the first type of information and the user-defined criteria, whether the first party is authorized to access the information associated with the first user stored in the memory.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the user-defined criteria includes at least two of time information, frequency information or requestor identifier information.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the logic is further configured to:

perform an implicit authorization determination to determine whether the first party is authorized to access the information associated with the first user.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the logic is further configured to:

transmit a message, via the communication interface, to the first user to determine whether the first party is authorized to access the information associated with the first user.

19. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

provide a graphical user interface (GUI) configured to allow users to input user-defined access control information associated with accessing at least two of location information, presence information, address book information or calendar information;

receive, from a first party, a request for access to at least a first portion of information associated with a first user;

determine, based on user-defined access control information input by the first user, whether the first party is authorized to access the first portion of information; and

provide access to the first portion of information, when it is determined that the first party is authorized to access the first portion of the user information.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, further including instructions that cause the at least one processor to:

allow the users to modify the user-defined access control information.