Managing communications with a content provider

• US 8,666,438 B1
• Filed: 09/22/2011
• Issued: 03/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Reeves, Raymond Emilio, Youngs, Simon, Koller, Gary Duane, Peden, Mark D.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, TIMOTHY X
• Application Number:
  US13/240,542
• Time in Patent Office: 894 Days
• Field of Search: 455/466, 455/435
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

The invention is directed to methods and systems for managing communications between a user of a mobile device and a content provider. Registration information is received from a mobile device indicating that a communications manager is authorized to communicate with the content provider and act on behalf of the mobile device with respect to blocking and unblocking certain messages received from the content provider. The content provider registers with the communications manager so that the communications manager knows specific codes and methods for communicating with the content provider. Modified user preferences are received from the mobile device, and these are communicated to the content provider by the communications manager.

Claims

1. Non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, enable a computing device to perform a method of managing communications between a user and a content provider, the method comprising:

receiving registration information from a mobile device indicating that a communications manager is authorized to act on behalf of the mobile device for certain communications between the mobile device and the content provider, wherein the communications manager communicates modified user preferences for content provider services based in part on an agreement established between the communications manager and the content provider for communicating user preferences;

registering the content provider with the communications manager thus allowing the communications manager to communicate with the content provider on behalf of the mobile device;

receiving the modified user preferences for the content provider from the mobile device; and

communicating to the content provider the modified user preferences, such that, the modified user preferences received from the mobile device are translated into mobile notification preference setting commands specific to the content provider.

2. The non-transitory media of claim 1, further comprising receiving a confirmation message from the content provider indicating that the user preferences have been modified.

3. The non-transitory media of claim 1, wherein the communications manager is not associated with a particular service provider.

4. The non-transitory media of claim 1, wherein the modified user preferences comprise one or more of the user opting in or the user opting out of receiving messages from the content provider.

5. The non-transitory media of claim 4, wherein the messages are short messaging services (SMS) text messages.

6. The non-transitory media of claim 1, wherein the user is provided with a user interface for communicating the user preferences for multiple content providers with the communications manager.

7. The non-transitory media of claim 1, wherein the modified user preferences comprise terminal identifiers and termination codes.

8. The non-transitory media of claim 1, wherein the modified user preferences comprise an identification associated with one or more of the user of the mobile device or the mobile device.

9. The non-transitory media of claim 1, wherein the communications manager tracks messaging subscriptions associated with the mobile device and various content providers.

10. A system for managing communications between a user and a content provider, the system comprising:

a communications server for receiving and processing alerts that are intended for a mobile device and that are sent from one or more content providers based on the mobile device'"'"'s subscription to the alerts associated with the one or more content providers content providers;

a communications manager for managing communications one or more content providers on behalf of the mobile device, based on an agreement established between the communications manager and each of the one or more content providers, the communications comprising user preferences regarding alerts received from the one or more content providers,

(1) wherein the mobile device is registered with the communications manager and provides the communications manager with a carrier identification, a list of accounts and access information for the one or more content providers, and notification services for each of the one or more content providers for which the communications manager is authorized to act on behalf of the mobile device, and

(2) wherein each of the one or more content providers is registered with the communications manager thus allowing the communications manager to communicate the user preferences that are specific to the content provider on behalf of the mobile device; and

the mobile device having a processor and a memory, the mobile device receiving alerts from the one or more content providers and communicating to the communications manager modified user preferences regarding the alerts received from the one or more content providers.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the alerts are short messaging services (SMS) text messages.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the communications manager stores the user preferences.

13. Non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, enable a computing device to perform a method of managing communications between a user and a content provider, the method comprising:

receiving registration information from a mobile device indicating the content providers with which a communications manager is authorized to communicate on behalf of the mobile device, wherein the mobile device has registered with the content provider and has provided the content provider with user preferences corresponding to alerts in the form of short messaging services (SMS) text messages received from the content provider;

establishing an agreement with the content provider allowing the communications manager to communicate with the content provider on behalf of the mobile device regarding the alerts, wherein the agreement is specific to the content provider such that it indicates how the communications manager is to communicate with the content provider;

receiving a request from the mobile device to modify the user preferences corresponding to the alerts received from the content provider;

translating the request from the mobile device to a content provider-specific format consistent with the agreement; and

communicating the request in the content provider-specific format to the content provider.

14. The non-transitory media of claim 13, wherein the request includes an identification of the mobile device.

15. The non-transitory media of claim 13, wherein the communications manager communicates the request comprising the modified user preferences to the content provider by way of one or more of an application programming interface (API) or a website associated with the content provider.

16. The non-transitory media of claim 13, wherein translating the request from the mobile device to the content provider-specific format comprises accessing a data store to determine a code specific to the content provider, the code corresponding to a particular modification to the user preferences.

17. The non-transitory media of claim 13, wherein the modified user preferences indicate that a user of the mobile device is unregistering from receiving all of the alerts from a particular content provider.

18. The non-transitory media of claim 13, wherein the modified user preferences indicate that a user of the mobile device is unregistering from receiving certain types of the alerts from a particular content provider.