METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRIVACY PROTECTION IN MOBILE TERMINAL

• US 20110179366A1
• Filed: 01/18/2011
• Published: 07/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: CHAE, Hyi Hong
• Application Number:
  US13/008,139
• Publication Number:
  US 20110179366A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/764
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/84 output devices, e.g. displays or monitors

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for privacy protection in a mobile terminal are provided. Upon detection of a user interaction through a detecting module during use, screen data containing private information can be temporarily hidden. The method includes displaying screen data of an application in execution on a display unit, recognizing a user interaction to hide the displayed screen data of the application, hiding the screen data of the application from the display unit upon recognition of the user interaction.

Claims

1. A method for privacy protection in a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

displaying screen data of an application in execution on a display unit;

recognizing a user interaction to hide the displayed screen data of the application;

hiding the screen data of the application from the display unit upon recognition of the user interaction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the hiding of the screen data of the application comprises:

activating a hiding mode in response to the user interaction; and

hiding, in the hiding mode, the screen data according to preset option information specifying a hiding scheme.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the option information indicates at least one of a screen transition option and a screen-off option as a hiding scheme.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the hiding of the screen data of the application comprises performing a screen transition after hiding mode activation by placing the application in the background and displaying screen data of a screensaver on the display unit.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the hiding of the screen data of the application comprises turning off the display unit while sustaining the application after hiding mode activation.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the screen data of the application includes at least one of dynamic data and static data provided by the mobile terminal and photographic data provided by the user set as screensaver data according to user settings.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

deactivating the hiding mode upon recognition of the user interaction to restore the screen data of the application within a preset threshold time after hiding mode activation; and

displaying the screen data of the application on the display unit upon deactivating the hiding mode.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein deactivating the hiding mode comprises at least one of displaying the screen data of the application after terminating execution of a screensaver and turning on the display unit, according to the option information.

9. The method of claim 3, further comprising activating a locking mode when the user interaction is not recognized within a preset threshold time after hiding mode activation.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the application may be any application supported by the mobile terminal related to at least one of composing a text message, viewing a text message, composing an electronic mail, viewing an electronic mail, viewing a moving image, viewing a still image, and receiving a digital broadcast.

11. A mobile terminal comprising:

a display unit for displaying screen data of an application being executed, and for being turned off or replacing the screen data of the application with screen data of a screensaver upon activation of a hiding mode;

a storage unit for storing option information that processes the hiding mode and for storing threshold time information that activates a locking mode after the hiding mode activation;

a detecting module for detecting user interaction and for producing corresponding interaction information; and

a control unit for controlling the display unit to hide screen data of the application in response to reception of interaction information from the detecting module during execution of the application.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the detecting module comprises at least one of a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a camera module.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 12, wherein the control unit activates the hiding mode upon receiving the interaction information, and performs screen data hiding according to the option information.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 13, wherein the control unit hides the screen data by controlling at least one of displaying screen data of the screensaver after placing the executed application in the background and turning off the display unit while sustaining the executed application, according to the option information.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 14, wherein the control unit deactivates the hiding mode when the interaction information is received from the detecting module within a preset threshold time after hiding mode activation, and controls the display unit to display the screen data of the application.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 15, wherein the control unit deactivates the hiding mode by controlling at least one of displaying the screen data of the application after terminating execution of the screensaver and turning on the display unit, according to the option information.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 13, wherein the control unit activates a locking mode when interaction information is not received from the detecting module within a preset threshold time after the hiding mode activation.