System and method for privacy-enabled mobile locator services with dynamic encounter horizon

• US 8,417,262 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2009
• Issued: 04/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nytell Software LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: TTI Inventions D LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Loeb, Shoshana K., Falchuk, Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): RAMPURIA, SHARAD K
• Application Number:
  US12/617,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20100233999A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-457, 4554121-4122, 4554141-4144, 455517-521, 709203-206
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/15 Information service where the information is dependent on the location of the subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4217 Managing service interactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42365 Presence services providing information on the willingness to communicate or the ability to communicate in terms of media capability or network connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]

Abstract

A method and system for managing awareness information relating to a mobile device'"'"'s visibility with respect to other buddy devices, the system comprising; the mobile device, a mobile application listing one or more buddies, an application listener which tracks the one or more buddies zoom operations and radar zoom factors, and a server, the server comprising an encounter manager, an approach manager and a notification marshalling system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a first mobile device, a notification that a second mobile device associated with a buddy of a user of the first mobile device is going to detect a location of the first mobile device;

receiving, in response to the notification, a visibility designation, wherein the visibility designation specifies a desired visibility of the first mobile device by the second mobile device; and

providing the visibility designation to a server that is in communication with the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the visibility designation controls privacy of the first mobile device by preventing the second mobile device from receiving the location of the first mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the visibility designation prevents the second mobile device from receiving an identity of the user of the first mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the visibility designation identifies a time at which the second mobile device is able to receive the location of the first mobile device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the time is specific to the second mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a distance designation at the first mobile device, wherein the distance designation includes a threshold distance at which the first mobile device is to receive the notification, and wherein the threshold distance comprises a distance between the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising providing the distance designation to the server.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising implementing an automated visibility designation based on one or more previously received visibility designations.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification is triggered based on a zoom operation or a pan operation performed on a map screen of the second mobile device.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a receiver operatively coupled to the processor and configured to receive a notification that a mobile device associated with a buddy of a user of the apparatus is going to detect a location of the apparatus;

an interface operatively coupled to the processor and configured to receive, in response to the notification, a visibility designation, wherein the visibility designation specifies a desired visibility of the apparatus by the mobile device; and

a transmitter operatively coupled to the processor and configured to provide the visibility designation to a server that is in communication with the apparatus and the mobile device.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the visibility designation controls privacy of the apparatus by preventing the mobile device from receiving the location of the apparatus.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the interface is further configured to receive a distance designation, wherein the distance designation includes a threshold distance at which the apparatus is to receive the notification, and wherein the threshold distance comprises a distance between the apparatus and the mobile device.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the transmitter is further configured to provide the distance designation to the server.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to implement an automated visibility designation based on one or more previously received visibility designations.

15. A method comprising:

determining, at a server, that a second mobile device is going to detect a location of a first mobile device, wherein the second mobile device is associated with a buddy of a user of the first mobile device;

providing a notification to the first mobile device that the second mobile device is going to detect the location of the first mobile device;

receiving, in response to the notification, a visibility designation from the first device, wherein the visibility designation specifies a desired visibility of the first mobile by the second mobile device; and

controlling visibility of the first device by the second device based on the visibility designation.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the visibility designation prevents the second mobile device from receiving an identity of the user of the first mobile device.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the visibility designation identifies a time at which the second mobile device is able to receive the location of the first mobile device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the time is specific to the second mobile device.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising receiving a distance designation from the first mobile device, wherein the distance designation includes a threshold distance at which the first mobile device is to receive the notification, and wherein the threshold distance comprises a distance between the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the notification is triggered based on a zoom operation or a pan operation performed on a map screen of the second mobile device.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the determining that the second mobile device is going to detect the location of the first mobile device is based on a location of the second mobile device, a bearing of the second mobile device, and a velocity of the second mobile device.

22. An apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to determine that a second mobile device is going to detect a location of a first mobile device, wherein the second mobile device is associated with a buddy of a user of the first mobile device;

a transmitter operatively coupled to the processor and configured to provide a notification to the first mobile device that the second mobile device is going to detect the location of the first mobile device; and

a receiver operatively coupled to the processor and configured to receive, in response to the notification, a visibility designation from the first mobile device, wherein the visibility designation specifies a desired visibility of the first mobile device by the second mobile device,

wherein the processor is further configured to control visibility of the first device by the second device based on the visibility designation.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive an indication of a zoom operation or a pan operation performed on a map screen of the second mobile device.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the notification is triggered based on the zoom operation or the pan operation performed on the map screen of the second mobile device.

25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive a distance designation from the first mobile device, wherein the distance designation includes a threshold distance at which the first mobile device is to receive the notification, and wherein the threshold distance comprises a distance between the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to receive, at a first mobile device, a notification that a second mobile device associated with a buddy of a user of the first mobile device is going to detect a location of the first mobile device;

instructions to receive, in response to the notification, a visibility designation, wherein the visibility designation specifies a desired visibility of the first mobile device by the second mobile device; and

instructions to provide the visibility designation to a server that is in communication with the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the visibility designation controls privacy of the first mobile device by preventing the second mobile device from receiving the location of the first mobile device.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the visibility designation prevents the second mobile device from receiving an identity of the user of the first mobile device.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, further comprising instructions to receive a distance designation at the first mobile device, wherein the distance designation includes a threshold distance at which the first mobile device is to receive the notification, and wherein the threshold distance comprises a distance between the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the notification is triggered based on a zoom operation or a pan operation performed on a map screen of the second mobile device.