Message filtering system using profiles

• US 8,538,466 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2009
• Issued: 09/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gupta, Shekhar, Gustafson, Pamela K.
• Primary Examiner(s): MATHARU, MANPREET S
• Application Number:
  US12/363,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20100035639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,691 Days
• Field of Search: 455/466, 455/410, 455/418, 455/412.2
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

In one embodiment of the present invention, a system and method of filtering messages may be provided that includes receiving an SMS message intended for a recipient and receiving a user-restriction profile. The system and method includes determining whether the SMS message contains content that is indicated to be restricted by the user-restriction profile and, in response to the determination that the SMS message contains restricted content, delivering the SMS message to an authorized secondary receiver. Alternatively, in response to the determination that the SMS message does not contain restricted content, the SMS message may be delivered to the recipient.

Claims

1. A method for analyzing SMS messages for restricted content, said method comprising:

receiving an SMS message intended for a recipient;

receiving a user-restriction profile;

determining whether the SMS message contains content that is indicated to be restricted by the user-restriction profile, wherein determining whether the SMS message contains restricted content further includes determining which portions of the SMS message contains restricted content and which portions do not contain restricted content;

in response to the determination that the SMS message does not contain restricted content, delivering the SMS message to the recipient; and

in response to the determination that the SMS message contains at least a portion of restricted content and a portion of nonrestricted content, separating the SMS message into the portion of restricted content and the portion of nonrestricted content, delivering the portion of nonrestricted content of the SMS message to the recipient, while restricting delivery of the portion of restricted content of the SMS message to the recipient and delivering the SMS message to an authorized secondary receiver.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving a user-restriction profile includes receiving a user-restriction profile associated with a sender of the SMS message.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining whether the SMS message contains restricted content includes determining whether any words within the SMS message are indicated as restricted by the user-restriction profile.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising populating the user-restriction profile by the authorized secondary receiver with identifiers that are to be restricted.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining whether the SMS message includes images that have been indicated as restricted.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein determining whether the SMS message includes restricted images further includes analyzing the images with software able to detect features of the image and comparing the features to items marked as restricted within the user-restriction profile.

7. The method according to claim 1, further including determining an SMS content rating for the SMS message that was received.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein determining whether the SMS message contains content that is indicated to be restricted by the user-restriction profile includes determining an SMS content rating and comparing the SMS content rating to the user profile rating.

9. A message filtering system comprising:

a message management unit including a processor and memory; and

a message monitoring unit, including a processor and memory, in communication with the message managements unit, wherein the message monitoring unit is configured to;

receive at least one SMS message intended for a recipient;

receive a user-restriction profile;

determine whether the SMS message contains content that is indicated to be restricted by the user-restriction profile, wherein determining whether the SMS message contains restricted content further includes determining which portions of the SMS message contains restricted content and which portions do not contain restricted content;

in response to the determination that the SMS message does not contain restricted content, deliver the SMS message to the recipient; and

in response to the determination that the SMS message contains at least a portion of restricted content and a portion of nonrestricted content, separate the SMS message into the portion of restricted content and the portion of nonrestricted content, delivering the portion of nonrestricted content of the SMS message to the recipient, while restricting delivery of the portion of restricted content of the SMS message to the recipient and delivering the SMS message to an authorized secondary receiver.

10. The message filtering system according to claim 9, wherein, in receiving a user-restriction profile, the message monitoring unit is further configured to receive a user-restriction profile associated with a sender of the SMS message.

11. The message filtering system according to claim 9, wherein, in determining whether the SMS message contains restricted content, the message monitoring unit is further configured to determine whether any words within the SMS message are indicated as restricted by the user-restriction profile.

12. The message filtering system according to claim 9, wherein the message monitoring system is further configured to populate the user-restriction profile by the authorized secondary receiver with identifiers that are to be restricted.

13. The message filtering system according to claim 9, wherein the message monitoring system is further configured to determine whether the SMS message includes images that have been indicated as restricted.

14. The message filtering system according to claim 13, wherein, in determining whether the SMS message includes restricted images, the message monitoring system is further configured to analyze the images with software able to detect features of the image and comparing the features to items marked as restricted within the user-restriction profile.

15. The message filtering system according to claim 9, wherein the message monitoring system is further configured to determine an SMS content rating for the SMS message that was received.

16. The message filtering system according to claim 15, wherein, in determining whether the SMS message contains content that is indicated to be restricted by the user-restriction profile, the message monitoring system is further configured to determine an SMS content rating and compare the SMS content rating to the user profile rating.