System and method for contact management in a network

• US 9,325,657 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2013
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Talk.To Fzc
• Original Assignee: Talk.To Fzc
• Inventors: Turakhia, Bhavin
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates, Kevin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Ronak
• Application Number:
  US13/929,185
• Publication Number:
  US 20140289342A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,034 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

In various example embodiments, a system and method for managing contacts in a network are provided. In example embodiments, a value added by a user to a first contact in an address book of the user is detected. The first contact corresponds to an individual. A determination is made as to whether the value exists in a primary profile of the individual. Based on the value not existing in the primary profile, an assessment is made as to whether the individual previously deleted the value from the primary profile or the individual did not verify a previous notification for the same value. Based on the value not being previously deleted or not verified, a notification is provided to the individual that includes an option to verify the value.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, by a contact management system, a value added by a user to a first contact in an address book maintained on a user device of the user, the first contact corresponding to an individual that is different from the user;

determining whether the value exists in a primary profile of the individual maintained in a profile storage of the contact management system;

based on the value not existing in the primary profile of the individual, assessing, using a processor of the content management system, whether the individual previously deleted the value from the primary profile of the individual and whether the individual previously declined to verify the value in response to a previous notification; and

based on the value not being previously deleted and the individual not having previously declined to verify the value, providing a notification, by the content management system to the individual, that includes an option for the individual to verify the value.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the primary profile of the individual maintained in the profile storage of the contact management system to include the value in response to the individual verifying the value.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising automatically transmitting the value that updated the primary profile to address books maintained on user devices of socially connected users to which the individual is connected.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the individual, an indication of which other users are to be automatically provided the value, the indication comprising a permissions setting.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the permissions setting comprises a selection from the group consisting of anyone, no one, friends, a specific list of users, and a set of domain names.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising automatically transmitting the value to address books maintained on user devices of the other users indicated by the individual in the permissions setting.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the first contact in the address book corresponds to the individual based on a second value in the first contact that is also contained in the primary profile of the individual maintained in the profile storage of the contact management system and which uniquely identifies the individual.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second value is a selection from the group consisting of an e-mail address, a mobile number, a chat account, a handle, a telephone number, and a social network identifier.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the value is added to the first contact by a merge of a second contact into the first contract in the address book maintained on the user device of the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing of the notification to the individual is performed via at least one of a chat message, a text, or an e-mail.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining the value as unverified in the first contact in the address book maintained on the user device of the user until the individual verifies the value.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising allowing other users in a network to communicate with the individual using the unverified value without providing the unverified value to the other users.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the allowing of other users to communicate with the individual using the unverified value occurs based on a minimum number of users having added the value for the individual to their respective contacts.

14. A machine-readable storage medium having no transitory signals and storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

detecting a value added by a user to a first contact in an address book maintained on a user device of the user, the first contact corresponding to an individual that is different from the user;

determining whether the value exists in a primary profile of the individual maintained in a profile storage of a contact management system;

based on the value not existing in the primary profile of the individual, assessing whether the individual previously deleted the value from the primary profile of the individual and whether the individual previously declined to verify the value in response to a previous notification; and

based on the value not being previously deleted and the individual not having previously declined to verify the value, providing a notification to the individual that includes an option for the individual to verify the value.

15. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise updating the primary profile of the individual maintained in the profile storage of the contact management system to include the value in response to the individual verifying the value.

16. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise automatically transmitting the value that updated the primary profile to address books maintained on user devices of socially connected users to which the individual is connected.

17. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise receiving, from the individual, an indication of which other users are to be automatically provided the value, the indication comprising a permissions setting.

18. The machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise determining that the first contact in the address book corresponds to the individual based on a second value in the first contact that is also contained in the primary profile of the individual maintained in the profile storage of the contact management system and which uniquely identifies the individual.

19. A system comprising:

one or more processors of a machine configured to, at least;

detect a value added by a user to a first contact in an address book maintained on a user device of the user, the first contact corresponding to an individual that is different from the user;

determine whether the value exists in a primary profile of the individual maintained in a profile storage of a contact management system;

assess whether the individual previously deleted the value from the primary profile of the individual and whether the individual previously declined to verify the value in response to a previous notification based on the value not existing in the primary profile of the individual; and

provide a notification to the individual that includes an option for the individual to verify the value based on the value not being previously deleted and the individual not having previously declined to verify the value.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more processors is further configured to update the primary profile of the individual maintained in the profile storage of the contact management system to include the value in response to the individual verifying the value.