SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING PRIVACY AND LIMITED EXPOSURE SERVICES FOR LOCATION BASED SERVICES

• US 20120330543A1
• Filed: 09/07/2012
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NNG LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: DINGLER, John R., OLDS, David C., RAMANATHAN, Sri, TERRY, Matthew A., TREVATHAN, Matthew B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,966,114 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/400
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

A system and method is provided for providing privacy and limited exposure services for location based services. The system includes at least one module configured to provide fictitious location or route information of a mobile user to selected users or group of users based on a mobile user provided profile.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one computing device configured to;

query a mobile user for a start address and an end address of a fictitious route of travel information of the mobile user, at a same time, the fictitious route of travel information being a route chosen from a predefined location to a different location; and

provide the fictitious route of travel information to selected users or a group of users based on a mobile user provided profile.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to allow the mobile user to opt in or opt out of location based services while still providing actual location based information to selected requesting third parties.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to provide fictitious location information or the fictitious route of travel information of the mobile user to the selected users or the group of users during mobile user selected time windows.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile user provided profile includes at least one of:

the selected users or the group of users which receive fictitious location information or the fictitious route of travel information;

time windows to send the fictitious location information or the fictitious route of travel information;

selected users or groups of user which receive actual location or route information; and

time windows to send the actual location or route information.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device is configured to receive permissions from the mobile user to, one of, send fictitious location information or the fictitious route of travel information to a third party and block actual location or route information to the third party.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device is configured to alter the fictitious route of travel information based on one of weather and traffic patterns.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device is configured to receive an identifier of the mobile user to establish the mobile user as a unique user and to match the mobile user with the mobile user provided profile.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one computing device comprises a web service module that checks if the mobile user authorized a third party to use a wireless device location tracking of the mobile user.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one computing device is configured to receive a request from a third party to obtain actual location information of the mobile user.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one computing device is configured to detect that the third party is one of the users or group of users which will be denied access to actual location information of the mobile user.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

determine to send the fictitious route of travel information of the mobile user to the selected users or the group of users; and

query the mobile user for the start address and the end address of the fictitious route of travel information, at the same time, after the determining to send the fictitious route of travel information.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

set a mobile user selected time window for the selected users or the group of users to receive the fictitious route of travel information; and

check a scheduler to determine if a service should be instituted for providing the fictitious route of travel information.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

determine whether the fictitious route of travel information is to be cloaked;

when the fictitious route of travel information is to be cloaked, retrieve information of the fictitious route of travel information for a scheduled time; and

determine the fictitious route of travel information from the start address to the end address.

14. A method implemented in a computer infrastructure, comprising:

receiving a request by one or more users to obtain location information of a mobile device;

determining to send a fictitious route of travel information of the mobile device to the requesting one or more users;

querying the mobile device for a start address and an end address of the fictitious route of travel information of the mobile device, at a same time;

after the determining to send the fictitious route of travel information, wherein the fictitious route of travel information is a route chosen from a predefined location to a different location; and

sending the fictitious route of travel information to the requesting one or more users based on a profile associated with the mobile device or a user of the mobile device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the sending is provided during a mobile user time window.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising parsing a look-up table to determine whether the requesting one or more users is provided with permission to receive actual location or route information of the mobile device based on at least one of a time window and user defined rules.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

setting a mobile user selected time window for the requesting one or more users to receive the fictitious route of travel information;

checking a scheduler to determine if a service should be instituted for providing the fictitious route of travel information;

querying at least one of traffic patterns from traffic services and weather from weather services; and

altering the fictitious route of travel information with at least one of the queried traffic patterns and the queried weather patterns.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining whether the fictitious route of travel information is to be cloaked;

when the fictitious route of travel information is to be cloaked, retrieving information of the fictitious route of travel information for a scheduled time;

determining the fictitious route of travel information from the start address to the end address;

querying at least one of traffic patterns from traffic services and weather from weather services; and

altering the fictitious route of travel information with at least one of the queried traffic patterns and the queried weather patterns.

19. A computer program product comprising a tangible computer usable storage memory having readable program code tangibly embodied in the storage memory, the computer program product includes at least one component operable to:

store one or more users or groups of users in which to provide a fictitious route of travel information of a mobile user;

determine to send the fictitious route of travel information of the mobile user to a requesting third party;

query the mobile user for a start address and an end address of the fictitious route of travel information, at a same time, after the determining to send the fictitious route of travel information, wherein the fictitious route of travel information is a route chosen from a predefined location to a different location;

store the fictitious route of travel information;

provide the fictitious route of travel information during a mobile user selected time window to the requesting third party of the one or more users or groups of users;

set the mobile user selected time window for the requesting third party to receive the fictitious route of travel information; and

check a scheduler to determine if a service should be instituted for providing the fictitious route of travel information.

20. The computer program of claim 19, wherein the at least one component is operable to:

store one or more permitted users or groups of users in which to provide actual location or route information; and

provide the actual location or route information during a time window to the one or more permitted users or groups of users.