IDENTIFYING AND USING IDENTITIES DEEMED TO BE KNOWN TO A USER

• US 20130066990A1
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Published: 03/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ben-Yoseph, Roy
• Granted Patent: US 9,736,255 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

The people a user is presumed to know or be associated with may be determined using a number of techniques. This information about people that the user knows is used in relation to the user'"'"'s communications. For example access to a user'"'"'s online presence may be restricted based on the known people such that access to presence is provided only to those people that the user knows.

Claims

1. A method of providing online presence information:

maintaining a list of people known to a user;

accessing online presence information for the user;

determining a potential receiver of the online presence information;

comparing the potential receiver to the maintained list to determine if the potential receiver is included on the list; and

determining whether to communicate the online presence information to the potential receiver based on whether the potential receiver is included in the list.

2-45. -45. (canceled)