Call status sharing

• US 9,413,883 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2015
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Foster, Marcus
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US14/735,593
• Publication Number:
  US 20150281437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 426 Days
• Field of Search: 379/93.01, 379/93.17, 379/90.01, 379/93.05, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/466, 715/753
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/65 related to applications where calls are combined with other types of communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42374 where the information is provided to a monitoring entity such as a potential calling party or a call processing server
• 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 general, techniques are described for sharing information about a client device phone call to enhance other services. In one example, a method includes receiving, at a server device, voice call parameters that describe at least one characteristic of a voice call in which a user of a first device is participating wherein the first device is physically separate from the server device, and responsive to receiving the voice call parameters, determining, by the server device, a status of the user based on the received voice call parameters. The method further includes storing an account for the user on the server device, wherein the account includes a user profile for the user and identifies contacts of the user, and modifying, by the server device, the user profile to reflect the status of the user, and sending the modified user profile to a device associated with a contact of the user.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a client device, user input authorizing the client device to send voice call parameters to a server device, wherein the client device is physically separate from the server device;

displaying, by a user interface of the client device, settings options for selecting one or more online services to which the client device will provide details of calls made using the client device; and

responsive to determining that the client device is engaged in a voice call and has received the user input, sending, by the client device, a message to the server device indicating a voice call parameter associated with the voice call, wherein the voice call parameter describes at least one characteristic of the voice call in which the client device is engaged.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to determining that the client device is engaged in the voice call and has received the user input, sending messages to a plurality of server devices indicating the voice call parameter, wherein each of the server devices is associated with an online application service.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprises one of a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) message and a Short Message Service (SMS) message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the voice call parameter includes one or more of a telephone number associated with a device that initiated the voice call, a telephone number associated with a device to which the voice call was directed, a timestamp indicating at least one of a start time and an end time of the voice call, and an authentication token that identifies the user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying, by a user interface of the client device, a privacy notice indicating that if the privacy notice is accepted then the client device will send details of calls made using the client device to a server device,

wherein receiving the user input comprises receiving user input by the user interface of the client device, wherein the user input indicates acceptance of the privacy notice.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, by a user interface of the client device, settings options for inputting one or more online services to which the client device will provide details of calls made using the client device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the client device comprises a mobile phone, and wherein the voice call is made using a telephone network.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the voice call parameter, blocking incoming voice calls to a second device of the user, wherein the second device is physically separate from the first device and the server device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein blocking incoming voice calls to the second device comprises blocking the incoming voice calls responsive to determining that the voice call parameter indicates the user is participating in the voice call using the first device.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein blocking incoming voice calls to the second device comprises blocking the incoming voice calls by the server device.

11. A system comprising:

an interface to receive user input authorizing a client device to send a voice call parameter to a server device and display settings options for selecting one or more online services to which the client device will provide details of calls made using the client device, wherein the client device is physically separate from the server device; and

means for sending a message to the server device indicating a voice call parameter associated with the voice call, responsive to determining that the client device is engaged in a voice call and has received the user input, wherein the voice call parameter describes at least one characteristic of the voice call in which the client device is engaged.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the means for sending comprises a call status sharing module of the client device.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that cause one or more processors to:

receive user input authorizing a client device to send voice call parameters to a server device, wherein the client device is physically separate from the server device;

display, at a user interface, settings options for selecting one or more online services to which the client device will provide details of calls made using the client device; and

responsive to determining that the client device is engaged in a voice call and has received the user input, send a message to the server device indicating a voice call parameter associated with the voice call, wherein the voice call parameter describes at least one characteristic of the voice call in which the client device is engaged.