Dynamically generating a privacy summary

• US 8,225,376 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2006
• Issued: 07/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zuckerberg, Mark, Kelly, Chris
• Primary Examiner(s): Pwu, Jeffrey
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRUONG, THONG P
• Application Number:
  US11/493,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20080046976A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,184 Days
• Field of Search: 715/731, 726/4, 706/12
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A system and method for dynamically generating a privacy summary is provided. The present invention provides a system and method for dynamically generating a privacy summary. A profile for a user is generated. One or more privacy setting selections are received from the user associated with the profile. The profile associated with the user is updated to incorporate the one or more privacy setting selections. A privacy summary is then generated for the profile based on the one or more privacy setting selections.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

accessing a profile for a user stored in an electronic database;

presenting a first user interface to the user;

receiving a plurality of privacy setting selections provided by the user using the first user interface, wherein the privacy settings selections identify, for each of a plurality of different categories of information associated with the user, one or more other users who can access that category of information;

updating the profile associated with the user to incorporate the plurality of privacy setting selections;

generating, by a processor, a narrative explanation of which other users can access which categories of information based on the privacy settings selections, wherein generating the narrative explanation comprises, for one or more of the privacy settings selections, selecting a narrative explanation template based on the privacy settings selection, wherein the narrative explanation template comprises text that identifies a group of other users who can access a category of information about the user profile based on the privacy settings selection; and

providing the narrative explanation to the user associated with the profile in a second user interface after receiving the privacy setting selections provided using the first user interface.

2. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising displaying the narrative explanation to the user associated with the profile.

3. The method recited in claim 1, further comprising displaying information associated with the profile to one or more other users based on the privacy setting selections.

4. The method recited in claim 3, wherein the one or more other users comprise one or more groups.

5. The method recited in claim 3, wherein the narrative explanation comprises the information associated with the profile that the one or more other users can access based on the privacy setting selections.

6. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more privacy settings are associated with one or more networks associated with the user.

7. The method recited in claim 6, wherein the one or more privacy settings selections are associated with one or more categories associated with the one or more networks.

8. A system comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions comprising;

a profile generator configured to generate a profile for a user;

a communications interface configured to present a first user interface to the user and to receive a plurality of privacy setting selections provided by the user using the first user interface, wherein one or more of the privacy settings selections relates to at least a category identify, for each of a plurality of different categories of information associated with the user, and one or more other users who can access that category of information;

a user profile management module, coupled to the communications interface, configured to update the profile associated with the user to incorporate the plurality of privacy setting selections; and

a privacy settings engine, coupled to the user profile management module, configured to generate a narrative explanation of which other users can access which categories of information about the user based on the privacy settings selections, wherein the privacy settings engine is configured to generate a narrative explanation for the profile based on the one or more privacy setting selections by, for one or more of the privacy settings selections, selecting a narrative explanation template based on the privacy settings selection, wherein the narrative explanation template comprises text that identifies a group of other users who can access a category of information about the user profile based on the privacy settings selection;

wherein the communications interface is further configured to provide the narrative explanation to the user associated with the profile in a second user interface after receiving the privacy setting selections via the first user interface; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions.

9. The system recited in claim 8, further comprising a display engine configured to display the narrative explanation to the user associated with the profile.

10. The system recited in claim 8, wherein a display engine is configured to display information associated with the profile to one or more other users based on the privacy setting selections.

11. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the one or more other users comprise one or more groups.

12. The system recited in claim 10, wherein the narrative explanation comprises the information associated with the profile that the one or more other users can access based on the privacy setting selections.

13. The system recited in claim 12, wherein the narrative explanation of the information associated with the profile that the one or more other users can access based on the privacy setting selections includes an explanation by category of photos associated with the profile that the one or more other users can access based on the privacy setting selections.

14. The system recited in claim 8, wherein the one or more privacy settings are associated with one or more networks associated with the user.

15. The system recited in claim 14, wherein the one or more privacy settings selections are associated with one or more categories associated with the one or more networks.

16. A non-transitory computer program embodied on a computer readable storage medium having encoded thereon instructions for dynamically generating a privacy summary comprising:

accessing a profile for a user stored in an electronic database;

presenting a first user interface to the user;

receiving a plurality of privacy setting selections provided by the user using the first user interface, wherein the privacy settings selections identify, for each of a plurality of different categories of information associated with the user, one or more other users who can access that category of information;

updating the profile associated with the user to incorporate the plurality of privacy setting selections;

generating, by a processor, a narrative explanation of which other users can access which categories of information based on the privacy settings selections, wherein generating the narrative explanation comprises, for one or more of the privacy settings selections, selecting a narrative explanation template based on the privacy settings selection, wherein the narrative explanation template comprises text that identifies a group of other users who can access a category of information about the user profile based on the privacy settings selection; and

providing the narrative explanation to the user associated with the profile in a second user interface after receiving the privacy setting selections provided using the first user interface.

17. The computer program recited in claim 16, further comprising displaying the narrative explanation to the user associated with the profile.

18. The computer program recited in claim 16, further comprising displaying information associated with the profile to one or more other users based on the privacy setting selections.

19. The computer program recited in claim 18, wherein the one or more other users comprise one or more groups.

20. The computer program recited in claim 18, wherein the narrative explanation comprises the information associated with the profile that the one or more other users can access based on the privacy setting selections.

21. The computer program recited in claim 16, wherein the one or more privacy settings are associated with one or more networks associated with the user.

22. The computer program recited in claim 21, wherein the one or more privacy settings selections are associated with one or more categories associated with the one or more networks.