Masking Mobile Message Content

• US 20130227701A1
• Filed: 02/29/2012
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Caskey, Sasha P., Emam, Ossama, Kanevsky, Dimitri, Sainath, Tara N.
• Granted Patent: US 9,077,813 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72433 for voice messaging, e.g. dictaphones for answering incoming calls H04M1/64
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails

Abstract

A method, an apparatus and an article of manufacture for masking a message on an electronic device. The method includes receiving a message on an electronic device, determining if a message category label is included in the message, mapping the message category to a corresponding masking format if a message category label is included in the message, extracting the content of the message to generate a message category if a message category label is not included in the message, wherein each message category generated corresponds to a masking format, and masking the message on the electronic device by transforming the message into the masking format that corresponds to the message category for the message.

Claims

1. A method for masking a message on an electronic device, wherein the method comprises:

receiving a message on an electronic device;

determining if a message category label is included in the message;

mapping the message category to a corresponding masking format if a message category label is included in the message;

extracting the content of the message to generate a message category if a message category label is not included in the message, wherein each message category generated corresponds to a masking format; and

masking the message on the electronic device by transforming the message into the masking format that corresponds to the message category for the message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprises one of a text message, an email and a voice message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the masking format comprises one or more of vibration, sound and a graphic symbol.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a vocabulary for the masking format; and

associating each component of the vocabulary with a different message category.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a message sender defines a message category for the message.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling a user to change a masking format that corresponds to the message category for the message.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring user activity to determine a user state;

monitoring environmental information to determine a privacy status of the user; and

determining how a message is to be transformed based on the user state and the privacy status.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein extracting the content of the message to generate a message comprises:

analyzing the content to produce semantics pertaining to the message; and

using the semantics to generate a category for the message.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein analyzing to content comprises using speech recognition.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein using the semantics to generate a category for the message comprises reading a semantic description of the message and mapping the description into a category.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein masking the message on the electronic device by transforming the message into the masking format that corresponds to the message category for the message further comprises:

sending the masking format to a device membrane component.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

generating a manifestation according to the masking format for the message.

13. An article of manufacture comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable instructions tangibly embodied thereon which, when implemented, cause a computer to carry out a plurality of method steps comprising:

receiving a message on an electronic device;

determining if a message category label is included in the message;

mapping the message category to a corresponding masking format if a message category label is included in the message;

extracting the content of the message to generate a message category if a message category label is not included in the message, wherein each message category generated corresponds to a masking format; and

masking the message on the electronic device by transforming the message into the masking format that corresponds to the message category for the message.

14. The article of manufacture of claim 13, wherein the message comprises one of a text message, an email and a voice message.

15. The article of manufacture of claim 13, wherein the masking format comprises one or more of vibration, sound and a graphic symbol.

16. The article of manufacture of claim 13, wherein the computer readable instructions which, when implemented, further cause a computer to carry out a method step comprising:

monitoring user activity to determine a user state;

monitoring environmental information to determine a privacy status of the user; and

determining how a message is to be transformed based on the user state and the privacy status.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 13, wherein extracting the content of the message to generate a message comprises:

analyzing the content to produce semantics pertaining to the message; and

using the semantics to generate a category for the message.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 17, wherein using the semantics to generate a category for the message comprises reading a semantic description of the message and mapping the description into a category.

19. A system for masking a message on an electronic device, comprising:

at least one distinct software module, each distinct software module being embodied on a tangible computer-readable medium;

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and operative for;

receiving a message on an electronic device;

determining if a message category label is included in the message;

mapping the message category to a corresponding masking format if a message category label is included in the message;

extracting the content of the message to generate a message category if a message category label is not included in the message, wherein each message category generated corresponds to a masking format; and

masking the message on the electronic device by transforming the message into the masking format that corresponds to the message category for the message.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the message comprises one of a text message, an email and a voice message.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the masking format comprises one or more of vibration, sound and a graphic symbol.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor coupled to the memory is further operative for:

monitoring user activity to determine a user state;

monitoring environmental information to determine a privacy status of the user; and

determining how a message is to be transformed based on the user state and the privacy status.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor coupled to the memory operative for extracting the content of the message to generate a message is further operative for:

analyzing the content to produce semantics pertaining to the message; and

using the semantics to generate a category for the message.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the at least one processor coupled to the memory operative for using the semantics to generate a category for the message is further operative for reading a semantic description of the message and mapping the description into a category.