Location tracking

• US 9,743,375 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2014
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wells Fargo Bank NA (Wells Fargo & Company)
• Original Assignee: Wells Fargo Bank NA (Wells Fargo & Company)
• Inventors: Anesi, Charles C., Mekjian, Wayne, Castain, Eric H., Hanafee, Brian J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gelin, Jean
• Application Number:
  US14/451,898
• Publication Number:
  US 20160044625A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• Field of Search: 455410, 455411, 455433, 4554351, 4554561, 4554562, 4554563, 4554565
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

One or more embodiments of techniques or systems for location tracking are provided herein. A system for location tracking may be utilized to track or determine one or more locations for one or more devices of one or more users. A tracking system or control component may be utilized to access or initiate requests for location tracking, such as for legitimate purposes or business reasons. For example, a system for location tracking may be implemented as an application or tracking application installed on a mobile device or a device or a user. A device may transmit a key to a third party and encrypted location data to a tracking entity. The application may have a front-end interface (e.g., for users being tracked) and a back-end interface (e.g., for users initiating tracking). In this manner, location tracking is provided while promoting privacy and safety.

Claims

1. A non-transitory system for location tracking, comprising:

a tracking entity determining a tracking scenario, the tracking scenario triggers a start of location tracking of at least one user device;

a request component receiving one or more requests for location tracking from the tracking entity, wherein one or more of the requests for location tracking comprise one or more criteria;

a notification component providing one or more notifications corresponding to one or more of the requests for location tracking;

an encryption component calculating an encryption key; and

a location component for;

determining a location of a user device associated with the system for location tracking, wherein the encryption component encrypts location data indicative of the location of the device based on the encryption key and the location of the device;

transmitting the encryption key to a third party storage component; and

transmitting the encrypted location data to the tracking entity, wherein the request component transmits a response to one or more of the requests to the tracking entity,

wherein the request component, the notification component, the encryption component, or the location component is implemented via a processing unit.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a management component implementing a timeout scheme to provide the response to one or more of the requests for location tracking in an absence of a user response to one or more of the requests within a timeout window.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the location component determines the location of the device based on one or more of the criteria associated with one or more of the requests.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the location component transmits the encrypted location data based on one or more of the criteria associated with one or more of the requests.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a management component having a profile associated with a user of the device, wherein the profile is indicative of one or more user attributes or one or more user preferences.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein one or more of the user preferences of the profile is indicative of a level of granularity, wherein the encrypted location data is encrypted based on the level of granularity.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the request component filters one or more of the requests for location tracking based on one or more of the corresponding criteria and the profile of the user.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of the requests comprises a notification area criteria.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the notification component provides one or more of the notifications based on the location of the device being within a scope of the notification area criteria.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising an interface component receiving the response to one or more of the requests for location tracking.

11. A method for location tracking, comprising:

determining a tracking scenario, the tracking scenario triggering a start of location tracking of at least one user device;

receiving one or more requests for location tracking, wherein one or more of the requests for location tracking comprise one or more criteria;

generating a notification to a user device;

providing a tracking application for installation on the user device;

transmitting the notification to the user device over a server, the server having a processor and a memory, wherein the notification activates the tracking application on the user device to request tracking;

rendering one or more notifications corresponding to one or more of the requests for location tracking;

determining a location of a device associated with the system for location tracking;

transmitting the location of the device to the tracking entity based on meeting one or more of the criteria of one or more of the requests;

wherein the receiving, the rendering, the determining, the encrypting, or the transmitting is implemented via a processing unit.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising transmitting the location of the device via a telecommunications channel.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein one or more of the requests comprises a notification area criteria.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising rendering one or more of the notifications based on the location of the device being within a scope of the notification area criteria.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving the response to one or more of the requests for location tracking from a user of the device.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving feedback pertaining to one or more of the requests for location tracking from a user of the device.

17. A non-transitory system for location tracking, comprising:

a non-transitory control component;

determining a tracking scenario, the tracking scenario triggering a start of location tracking of at least one user device;

transmitting one or more requests for location tracking associated with a tracking entity, wherein one or more of the requests for location tracking comprise one or more criteria;

receiving encrypted location data of a device associated with the system for location tracking;

transmitting one or more requests for an encryption key to a third party;

receiving the encryption key from the third party; and

determining a location of the device based on the encrypted location data and the encryption key,

wherein the control component is implemented via a processing unit.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein one or more of the requests comprises a notification area criteria.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the control component stores the encrypted location data.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the third party is an institution.