Authenticating Users to Media-Player Devices on Online Social Networks

• US 20170366531A1
• Filed: 08/11/2017
• Published: 12/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Niewczas, Mateusz Marek, Penov, Francislav
• Granted Patent: US 10,447,679 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/64 using geofenced areas
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes an online social networking system generating an authentication key in response to a request from a media-player device. The media-device player broadcasts the authentication key, which is received by a client system of a user of the online social network that is within range of the broadcast. The user is logged into the online social network via an application running on the client system. The application verifies the authentication key with the online social networking system. Location information of the client system and social-networking information of the user are sent by the application to the media-player device in response to the authentication key being verified. The user may be registered as an owner of the media-player device or a guest user of the media-player device.

Claims

1. A method comprising, by one or more computing devices of an online social network:

receiving, from a media-player device, a request for an authentication key;

sending, to the media-player device in response to the request, an authentication key for broadcast by the media-player device, the authentication key being generated for a user of the media-player device who is currently logged into the online social network via a native application on a client system;

receiving, from the native application on the client system, the authentication key;

verifying the authentication key received from the native application on the client system; and

sending the verification to the native application on the client system authorizing the native application to send location information of the client system and social-networking information of the user to the media-player device, wherein the authorization is used to register the user as an owner or a guest of the media-player device, wherein the user is registered as a guest if the request for an authentication key was sent to the media-player device by a client system of a registered owner of the media-player device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication key sent to the media-player device is broadcast using a short-range radio frequency.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication key sent to the media-player device is broadcast for one or more predetermined time intervals, and wherein the native application on the client system receives the authentication key during the one or more predetermined time intervals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the authentication key sent to the media-player device is an alphanumeric sequence.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the verification to the native application further causes the native application to provide a first message for display at an interface of the client system, the first message being a request for confirmation the user is registered as the owner or the guest of the media-player device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user is registered as the owner of the media-player device in response to receiving the requested confirmation by the user at the client system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the requested confirmation comprises a second message in response to the first message, wherein the second message is sent by a messaging application of the client system, wherein the messaging application is associated with the online social network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the online social network receives the request from a media-player device for an authentication key in response to the media-player device being initialized.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the verification to the native application further comprises authorization for the media-player device to use social-networking information of the user to customize media content for the user based on a set of permissions specified by the user or other restrictions imposed by the online social network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein sending the verification to the native application further comprises authorization for the media-player device to provide customized media content to a display screen coupled to the media-player device for display to the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the verification to the native application further comprises authorization for the media-player device to register the user as a guest user of the media-player device based on the location information and the social-networking information of the client system of the user, wherein the location information of the user indicates that the client system of the user is within a threshold distance of the media-player device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein sending the verification to the native application further comprises authorization for the media-player device to customize media content based on the social-networking information of the guest user and the social-networking information of the registered owner.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the guest user and the registered owner are connected on the online social network.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the online social network comprises a social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes, each of the edges between two of the nodes representing a single degree of separation between them, the nodes comprising:

a first node corresponding to the user; and

a plurality of second nodes, each second node corresponding to a respective second user of the online social network.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the media-player device registers the user as a guest user of the media-player device only if the social-networking information of the registered owner and the social-networking information of the guest user indicate that a node corresponding to the registered owner and a particular node corresponding to the guest user are within a threshold degree of separation in the social graph.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the verification to the native application further comprises authorization for a registered owner to communicate with antennas of the media-player device over Bluetooth in order to set a range of coverage of the media-player device.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the online social network may communicate with the media-player device through one or more of Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular data, or Ethernet connections.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein location information may be determined by the social-networking system based on social-networking actions taken by the user.

19. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software that is operable when executed to:

receive, from a media-player device, a request for an authentication key;

send, to the media-player device in response to the request, an authentication key for broadcast by the media-player device, the authentication key being generated for a user of the media-player device who is currently logged into the online social network via a native application on a client system;

receive, from the native application on the client system, the authentication key;

verify the authentication key received from the native application on the client system; and

send the verification to the native application on the client system authorizing the native application to send location information of the client system and social-networking information of the user to the media-player device, wherein the authorization is used to register the user as an owner or a guest of the media-player device, wherein the user is registered as a guest if the request for an authentication key was sent to the media-player device by a client system of a registered owner of the media-player device.

20. A system comprising:

one or more non-transitory processors; and

a non-transitory memory coupled to the non-transitory processors comprising instructions executable by the non-transitory processors, the non-transitory processors operable when executing the instructions to;

receive, from a media-player device, a request for an authentication key;

send, to the media-player device in response to the request, an authentication key for broadcast by the media-player device, the authentication key being generated for a user of the media-player device who is currently logged into the online social network via a native application on a client system;

receive, from the native application on the client system, the authentication key;

verify the authentication key received from the native application on the client system; and

send the verification to the native application on the client system authorizing the native application to send location information of the client system and social-networking information of the user to the media-player device, wherein the authorization is used to register the user as an owner or a guest of the media-player device, wherein the user is registered as a guest if the request for an authentication key was sent to the media-player device by a client system of a registered owner of the media-player device.