Information picker
First Claim
1. In a computer that stores contact information and that runs one or more applications, a method for controlling how the contact information is provided to the one or more applications, the method comprising:
- detecting a request from an application that is running on the computer for contact information corresponding to a particular user that is logged on to the computer;
upon detecting the request and prior to providing the application with contact information,determining whether the application is authorized to access the contact information, andupon determining that the application is authorized to access the contact information, identifying available contact personas associated with the particular user, each of the contact personas comprising contact information about the user;
after detecting the request and prior to providing the application with the requested contact information, informing the user that the application is seeking certain contact information by presenting to the user a list of a plurality of selectable contact personas that are each associated with the user and that each contain different contact information about the user, and presenting to the user a privacy value proposition to inform the user how the application will use the contact information;
receiving a user selection of a contact persona from the list of the plurality of contact personas, wherein the user selection of the contact persona grants access to the application to access the selected contact persona;
determining an appropriate format in which the contact information corresponding to the selected contact persona is to be presented to the application; and
providing the application with the contact information corresponding to the selected contact persona.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A user is able to informatively control how contact information is provided to one or more applications through the use of a persona interface object, corresponding personas and contact information, and an information picker interface. The persona interface identifies available personas, each persona having different contact information. The user can select a persona to use in response to an applications request for information. The personas can be modified and developed through the information picker interface, which can also be used to inform the user about what information is being requested and how it will be used.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. In a computer that stores contact information and that runs one or more applications, a method for controlling how the contact information is provided to the one or more applications, the method comprising:
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detecting a request from an application that is running on the computer for contact information corresponding to a particular user that is logged on to the computer; upon detecting the request and prior to providing the application with contact information, determining whether the application is authorized to access the contact information, and upon determining that the application is authorized to access the contact information, identifying available contact personas associated with the particular user, each of the contact personas comprising contact information about the user; after detecting the request and prior to providing the application with the requested contact information, informing the user that the application is seeking certain contact information by presenting to the user a list of a plurality of selectable contact personas that are each associated with the user and that each contain different contact information about the user, and presenting to the user a privacy value proposition to inform the user how the application will use the contact information; receiving a user selection of a contact persona from the list of the plurality of contact personas, wherein the user selection of the contact persona grants access to the application to access the selected contact persona; determining an appropriate format in which the contact information corresponding to the selected contact persona is to be presented to the application; and providing the application with the contact information corresponding to the selected contact persona. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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9. In a computer that stores contact information and that runs one or more applications, a method for controlling how the contact information is provided to the one or more applications, the method comprising:
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in response to a request for contact information by an application that is running on the computer and prior to providing contact information to the application, informing the user that is logged on to the computer that the application is seeking certain contact information by providing an interface object which, when selected, displays a list of a plurality of individually listed and selectable contact personas that are each associated with the user, and in response to the user selecting the interface object, displaying the plurality of contact personas and one or more privacy policies of the application that specify at least one of how and when the contact information will be used by the application, and allowing the user to select one of the contact personas for which corresponding contact information is to be provided to the application, wherein the corresponding contact information for a first contact persona in the displayed list of contact personas differs from the contact information for a second contact persona in the list of contact personas, even though the first and second contact personas are both associated with the user; in response to receiving a user selection of a particular contact persona from the list of contact personas, displaying the contact information corresponding to the selected contact persona; enabling the user to modify the contact information corresponding to the selected contact persona; and upon the user approving the respective contact information, providing the contact information corresponding to the selected contact persona to the application. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification