Regulating Communication of Audio Data From a Client Device Based on a Privacy Setting Stored by the Client Device

• US 20160036815A1
• Filed: 07/29/2014
• Published: 02/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Dharawat, Parikshit
• Granted Patent: US 9,697,368 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

A client device stores a user-specified privacy setting regulating communication of information associated with audio data captured by the client device to an external entity. When the client device captures audio data, the client device determines whether the user-specified privacy setting authorizes communication of data associated with the captured audio data to an external entity. The privacy setting may identify specific external entities to which data may be communicated, specify characteristics of captured audio data authorized to be transmitted, or generally specify whether communication of data associated with captured audio data is authorized or prevented.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of client devices, each client device associated with a user, configured to process audio data captured by a client device, and to store a privacy setting specified by a user associated with the client device and regulating communication of audio data captured by the client device;

a local data processing module coupled to each of the plurality of client devices, the local data processing module configured to receive audio data captured by one or more client devices having a stored privacy setting authorizing communication of the captured audio data from the one or more client devices; and

a remote data processing module configured to receive information from the local data processing module based at least in part on the audio data captured by the one or more client devices authorizing communication of the captured audio data and configured to communicate contextual information associated with the captured audio data determined from the received information to the local data processing module.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the local data processing module is further configured to communicate the contextual information received from the remote data processing module to each of the one or more client devices.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the privacy setting is selected from a group consisting of a privacy setting authorizing communication of captured audio data and a privacy setting preventing communication of captured audio data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the privacy setting is selected from a group consisting of a privacy setting authorizing communication of captured audio data, a privacy setting preventing communication of captured audio data, and a privacy setting authorizing communication of a subset of information based on captured audio data.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the privacy setting authorizing communication of the subset of information based on the captured audio data specifies one or more characteristics of audio data authorized to be communicated.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of client devices exchange audio data with each other.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein audio data captured by the client device includes a location associated with the captured audio data captured by the client device.

8. A method comprising:

receiving a privacy setting from a user associated with a client device, the privacy setting regulating communication of data associated with audio data captured by the client device to one or more external entities;

storing the privacy setting in the client device;

capturing audio data via the client device;

retrieving the privacy setting; and

determining whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to an external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

communicating the data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity in response to determining the privacy setting authorizes communication of the data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein determining whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting comprises:

determining whether the privacy setting is a privacy setting authorizing communication of data associated with the captured audio data or is a privacy setting preventing communication of data associated with the captured audio data.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein determining whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting comprises:

comparing an identifier associated with the external entity to an identifier specified by the privacy setting; and

determining the client device is authorized to communicate the data associated with the captured data to the external entity if the identifier associated with the external entity matches the identifier specified by the privacy setting.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein determining whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting comprises:

comparing an identifier associated with the external entity to an identifier specified by the privacy setting; and

determining the client device is authorized to communicate the data associated with the captured data to the external entity if the identifier associated with the external entity does not match the identifier specified by the privacy setting.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein determining whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting comprises:

retrieving one or more characteristics associated with the captured audio data;

determining whether the one or more characteristics associated with the captured audio data match at least a threshold amount of characteristics specified by the privacy setting; and

determining the client device is authorized to communication the data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity in response to determining the one or more characteristics associated with the captured audio data match at least the threshold amount of characteristics specified by the privacy setting.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein determining whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting comprises:

retrieving one or more characteristics associated with the captured audio data;

determining whether the one or more characteristics associated with the captured audio data match at least a threshold amount of characteristics specified by the privacy setting; and

determining the client device is authorized to communication the data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity in response to determining the one or more characteristics associated with the captured audio data do not match at least the threshold amount of characteristics specified by the privacy setting.

15. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving contextual information from the external entity based on the data associated with the captured audio data if the client device communicates the data associated with the captured audio data based on the privacy setting.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

receive a privacy setting from a user associated with a client device, the privacy setting regulating communication of data associated with audio data captured by the client device to one or more external entities;

store the privacy setting in the client device;

capture audio data via the client device;

retrieve the privacy setting; and

determine whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to an external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer readable storage medium further has instructions encoded thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

communicate the data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity in response to determining the privacy setting authorizes communication of the data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein determine whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting comprises:

determine whether the privacy setting is a privacy setting authorizing communication of data associated with the captured audio data or is a privacy setting preventing communication of data associated with the captured audio data.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein determine whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting comprises:

compare an identifier associated with the external entity to an identifier specified by the privacy setting; and

determine the client device is authorized to communicate the data associated with the captured data to the external entity if the identifier associated with the external entity matches the identifier specified by the privacy setting.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein determine whether the client device is authorized to communicate data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity based at least in part on the privacy setting comprises:

retrieve one or more characteristics associated with the captured audio data;

determine whether the one or more characteristics associated with the captured audio data match at least a threshold amount of characteristics specified by the privacy setting; and

determine the client device is authorized to communication the data associated with the captured audio data to the external entity in response to determining the one or more characteristics associated with the captured audio data match at least the threshold amount of characteristics specified by the privacy setting.