TECHNIQUES FOR RECOVERING MISSING DEVICES

• US 20170270322A1
• Filed: 06/08/2017
• Published: 09/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: D'sa, Cailen
• Granted Patent: US 10,181,058 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/88 Detecting or preventing theft or loss

Abstract

Techniques are provided for assisting owners to recover missing devices. The missing device automatically performs certain actions proactively in response to detecting conditions that indicate that the device has been lost or stolen. Conditions that indicate the device has been lost or stolen (“triggering conditions”) may include that a password failure has occurred more than a predetermined number of times. Any number and type of recovery-assisting actions may be taken, in response to triggering conditions, to assist owners in recovering a missing device. For example, a device may generate a record that indicates the current location of the device, and synchronize the record with an online service or some other device. The generation and synchronization of such records may be repeated on a periodic basis until either (a) the device becomes disabled, or (b) a user enters an appropriate password.

Claims

6-1. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

the particular device automatically performing one or more additional recovery-assisting actions that are associated with the higher alert level.

13. A device comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media coupled to the one or more processors and storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform;

receiving, at the device, user input that associates each triggering condition, of a plurality of triggering conditions, with a corresponding alert level, of a plurality of alert levels;

wherein each triggering condition is a condition indicating a likelihood that the device is lost or stolen;

receiving, at the device, user input that associates each alert level, of the plurality of alert levels, with one or more respective recovery-assisting actions; and

in response to detecting that a particular triggering condition, of the plurality of triggering conditions, is satisfied, automatically performing the steps of;

determining an alert level that corresponds to the particular triggering condition; and

performing one or more particular recovery-assisting actions that are associated with the alert level that corresponds to the particular triggering condition.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the one or more sequences of instructions further cause the one or more processors to perform:

after performing the one or more particular recovery-assisting actions, detecting occurrence of a device-found event; and

in response to detecting occurrence of the device-found event, automatically performing a garbage collection action to recover at least one resource consumed by performing the one or more particular recovery-assisting actions.

15. The device of claim 13,

wherein a lower alert level of the plurality of alert levels corresponds to one or more first triggering conditions that indicate a lower likelihood that the device is lost or stolen than one or more second triggering conditions that correspond to a higher alert level;

wherein, if the alert level is the higher alert level, the performing of the one or more particular recovery-assisting actions causes the device to consume greater amount of computing resources than if the alert level is the lower alert level.

16. The device of claim 13, wherein the one or more sequences of instructions further cause

the one or more processors to perform:

in response to detecting that an additional triggering condition, of the plurality of triggering conditions, is satisfied after detecting the particular triggering condition was satisfied, automatically performing one or more additional recovery-assisting actions that are associated with a particular alert level that corresponds to the additional triggering condition.

17. The device of claim 13, wherein the one or more sequences of instructions further cause

the one or more processors to perform:

in response to detecting that an additional triggering condition, of the plurality of triggering conditions, is satisfied after detecting the particular triggering condition was satisfied, automatically modifying the alert level to a higher alert level that corresponds to the additional triggering condition; and

wherein the additional triggering condition is a condition indicating a higher likelihood that the device is lost or stolen than the particular triggering condition.

18. The device of claim 13, wherein the performing the one or more particular recovery-assisting actions that are associated with the alert level that corresponds to the particular triggering condition provides a recovery-assisting indication to a user of another device that the device may be lost or stolen.

19. The device of claim 13, wherein the plurality of triggering conditions includes at least one or more of:

the device having experienced an abrupt movement,

an attempt to open or dismantle the device, or

a certain number of failed attempts to power down the device have failed.

20. The device of claim 13, wherein automatically performing the one or more particular recovery-assisting actions includes one or more of:

obtaining, by the device, at least one of a current location of the device, a finger print of a user of the device, or a photo taken by the device, or

entering a low power mode in which one or more functions of the device are disabled.