Account linking

• US 8,701,014 B1
• Filed: 11/18/2003
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Appelman, Barry, Wick, Andrew L., Keister, Alan, Odell, James A., Zhang, Xiaopeng, Schlegel, Heather Allison, Chung, Chris Chih-Shen, McNally, Barbara, Enloe, Michael Robert, Wu, Pei-Lin, Richards, Russell William, Inch, Alexis, Cox, David, Cypes, Gregory, McCormick, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Pillai, Namitha
• Application Number:
  US10/715,213
• Time in Patent Office: 3,801 Days
• Field of Search: 715/751, 715/752, 715/753, 715/758, 715/733, 715/741, 715/971
• US Class Current: 715/741
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

Linking multiple identities from a single service includes for a user of a single service having multiple identities within the single service, authenticating a primary identity having a first buddy list associated with an account, authenticating a secondary identity having a second buddy list associated with the account, and creating an association between the primary identity and the secondary identity, where the primary identity and the secondary identity simultaneously share a common graphical user interface such that the primary identity interacts with the first buddy list and the secondary identity interacts with the second buddy list using the common graphical user interface.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from a user, login information to a communications service for a first account of the user;

in response to receiving the login information to the communications service for the first account of the user, and using at least one processor, logging the user in to the first account and a second account of the user using only the received login information for the first account, wherein the second account differs from the first account;

using a graphical user interface to enable selection, by the user from among the first account and the second account, of a particular source account from which to initiate an electronic communication;

sending, the electronic communication to a second user; and

identifying the electronic communication sent to the second user as having been sent from the particular source account selected by the user.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the first account and the second account of the user are linked using linking logic based on a remote server.

3. The method as in claim 2, further comprising offering the user a list of potential accounts to which a link from the first account may be created, wherein the list of potential accounts is created based on relationships between the potential accounts and the first account known to exist within the remote server.

4. The method as in claim 1, further comprising receiving a response to the electronic communication and addressed to the particular source account.

5. The method as in claim 1, further comprising displaying indications of the first account and the second account of the user in the graphical user interface.

6. The method as in claim 5, further comprising displaying lists of screen names associated with each of the first account and the second account of the user in the graphical user interface.

7. The method as in claim 1, further comprising, responsive to an addition of a new screen name to the list for the first account of the user, adding the new screen name to the second account of the user.

8. The method as in claim 1, further comprising displaying a single graphical user interface configured to accommodate multiple lists of screen names with whom the user communicates electronically, wherein the single graphical user interface is configured to:

enable the user to select a particular list corresponding to one of the first account or the second account of the user; and

in response to a selection by the user of the particular list, display the particular list that corresponds to the account selected by the user.

9. The method as in claim 8, wherein displaying the single graphical user interface configured to accommodate multiple lists of screen names corresponding to users with whom the user communicates electronically comprises concurrently displaying lists corresponding to each of the first account and the second account of the user.

10. A graphical user interface comprising:

one or more window interfaces that are structured and arranged, using at least one processor, to enable;

a sign on of a secondary account of a user in response to a sign on of a primary account of the user, the sign on of the secondary account of the user using only login information for the primary account of the user;

a display portion configured to make perceivable the primary account of the user and the secondary account of the user;

one or more visual indicators that are configured to display the current logon status of other users associated with the primary and secondary accounts of the user; and

wherein at least a first user associated with the primary account of the user and represented by a first screen name is selectable as an intended recipient of a message from the user, and

wherein at least a second user associated with the secondary account of the user and represented by a second screen name is selectable as an intended recipient of a message from the user.

11. The graphical user interface of claim 10, wherein the window interfaces are structured and arranged to enable the user to designate preferences for each of the primary account and the secondary account of the user.

12. The graphical user interface of claim 10, wherein the window interfaces are structured and arranged to enable the user to designate preferences for the primary account of the user, wherein the preferences are applied to the secondary account of the user.

13. A method comprising:

maintaining, for a user who has multiple accounts that are hosted by a single communications service provider for use in communicating electronically with other users, a first contacts list corresponding to a first account of the user, the first contacts list including screen names that each represent another account hosted by the single communications service provider and correspond to another user, and the first contacts list enabling the user to communicate electronically with the other users corresponding to the screen names included within the first contacts list;

maintaining, for the user, a second contacts list corresponding to a second account of the user, the second contacts list being separate from the first contacts list and including additional screen names that each represent an additional account hosted by the single communications service provider and correspond to an additional user, and the second contacts list enabling the user to communicate electronically with the additional users corresponding to the additional screen names included within the second contacts list, wherein a particular screen name representing a particular account hosted by the single communications service provider and corresponding a particular user is listed in both the first contacts list corresponding to the first account of the user and the second contacts list corresponding to the second account of the user;

receiving, from the user, login information to the single communications service for the first account of the user;

in response to receiving the login information to the single communications service for the first account of the user, using at least one processor, logging the user in to the first account and the second account of the user using only the received login information for the first account, wherein the second account differs from the first account; and

creating an association between the first account of the user and the second account of the user, wherein the association between the first account of the user and the second account of the user triggers display of a single graphical user interface for both the first account of the user and the second account of the user in response to authentication of both the first account of the user and the second account of the user, the single graphical user interface being configured to display the first contacts list corresponding to the first account of the user separately from the second contacts list corresponding to the second account of the user such that;

the first contacts list includes a contiguous listing of the screen names representing the other accounts hosted by the single communications service provider and corresponding to the other users and the second contacts list includes a contiguous listing of the screen names representing the additional accounts hosted by the single communications service provider and corresponding to the additional users, and

the single graphical user interface enables the user to interact with the first contacts list to communicate with the other users using the first account of the user and to interact with the second contacts list to communicate with the additional users using the second account of the user.

14. The method as in claim 13, wherein receiving login information for the first account comprises receiving a first password to log in to the first account.

15. The method as in claim 13, wherein receiving login information for the first account comprises receiving a SecureID to log in to the first account.

16. The method as in claim 13, wherein creating the association between the first account and the second account comprises using a one-way link configuration to create the association between the first account and the second account.

17. The method as in claim 13, wherein creating the association between the first account and the second account comprises using a bi-directional-link configuration to create the association between the first account and the second account.

18. The method as in claim 13, wherein creating the association between the first account and the second account comprises using a star-link configuration to create the association between the first account and the second account.

19. The method as in claim 13, wherein creating the association between the first account and the second account comprises using a mesh-link configuration to create the association between the first account and the second account.

20. The method as in claim 13, further comprising setting preferences for the first account, wherein setting the preferences for the first account also sets the preferences for the second account.

21. The method as in claim 13, further comprising:

setting first preferences for the first account; and

setting second preferences for the second account.

22. The method as in claim 13, wherein the single communications service enables linking multiple accounts hosted by the single communications service so as to enable presence of one account to be reflected based on a login of another account of the multiple accounts.

23. A method comprising:

receiving, from a user, login information to a service provider for a first account of the user;

in response to receiving the login information for the first account of the user, logging the user in to the first account and a second account of the user using only the received login information for the first account, wherein the second account differs from the first account;

displaying, using at least one processor, to the user a graphical user interface that comprises;

a first contacts list that corresponds to the first account of the user and that comprises a first contiguous listing of screen names, each of the screen names included in the first contiguous listing representing, an account also hosted by the service provider, and

a second contacts list that is separated from the first contacts list, that corresponds to the second account of the user, and that comprises a second contiguous listing of screen names, each of the screen names included in the second contiguous listing representing an account also hosted by the service provider;

receiving an indication of a selection by the user from within the graphical user interface of a particular screen name from the first contacts list;

in response to receiving the indication of the selection of the particular screen name from the first contacts list, enabling the user to compose a first electronic communication to the particular screen name; and

based on the selection of the particular screen name from the first contacts list that corresponds to the first account of the user, sending the first electronic communication composed by the user to the particular screen name in a manner that identifies the first electronic communication as having been sent from the first account.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising collapsing the first contacts list within the graphical user interface such that the contiguous listing of the screen names is not visible within the graphical user interface after collapsing the first contacts list.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein displaying the graphical user interface that comprises both the first contacts list and the second contacts list comprises concurrently displaying both the contiguous listing of the screen names associated with the first contacts list and the contiguous listing of the screen names associated with the second instant messaging contacts list within the graphical user interface on a single display screen.