Owner privacy in a shared mobile device

• US 9,773,123 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2015
• Issued: 09/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Karlson, Amy, Brush, Alice Jane Bernheim, Schechter, Stuart Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Jung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ho, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US14/746,763
• Publication Number:
  US 20150286840A1
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/67 by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Systems and methods that regulate range of access to personal information of a mobile unit'"'"'s owner. The access control component can designate granularity for access levels and/or a spectrum of access modes—(as opposed to a binary choice of full access or no access at all). Such access can be based on a spectrum and/or discrete trust relationship between the owner and user of the mobile unit. A profile definition component can exploit an owner'"'"'s trust relationships to designate levels of security. The profile definition component can further define a profile based on a set of applications, such as entertainment mode, browser mode, and the like.

Claims

1. A mobile device comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory storing computer-executable instructions for execution by the one or more processors, the memory comprising;

an analysis component to analyze a plurality of applications stored on the mobile device to determine an amount of personal information of an owner of the mobile device that is accessible to each of the plurality of applications;

a profile definition component to define a profile for a non-owner user of the mobile device by specifying, based at least in part on the amount of the personal information of the owner of the mobile device that is accessible to each of the plurality of applications, one or more first applications of the plurality of applications stored on the mobile device that are not available to the profile; and

an access control component to provide, to the non-owner user, access to one or more second applications of the plurality of applications based at least in part on the profile, the one or more first applications being different than the one or more second applications.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the personal information comprises personal location information associated with the owner.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the profile is further configured to designate one or more trust relationships between the owner and the non-owner user.

4. The mobile device of claim 3, wherein the one or more trust relationships between the owner and the non-owner user are representable on a spectrum of trust levels.

5. The mobile device of claim 1, the memory further storing mapping information that maps a presence of the personal information in an application of the one or more first applications to one or more nodes of a non-owner network of non-owner users who can share the mobile device.

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the analysis component is further configured to provide a recommendation associated with an access mode specifying a range of access for the non-owner user, wherein the recommendation is based at least in part on one or more trust relationships indicated by the owner for one or more users other than the non-owner user.

7. The mobile device of claim 1, the memory further comprising an artificial intelligence component to infer one or more associations between the personal information and the one or more first applications or the one or more second applications stored on the mobile device.

8. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the profile definition component is configured to set, by default, the profile to block access by the non-owner user to the one or more first applications and to provide access by the non-owner user to the one or more second applications.

9. A computer-implemented method comprising:

analyzing one or more applications to determine an amount of personal information of an owner of a mobile device that is accessible to the one or more applications;

defining, by one or more processors, a profile for a non-owner user of the mobile device by designating the one or more applications as available to the profile, the designating based at least in part on the amount of the personal information of the owner of the mobile device that is accessible to the one or more applications; and

enabling, by at least one of the one or more processors, the non-owner user to access the one or more applications based at least in part on the profile.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the personal information comprises personal location information associated with the owner.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein the defining the profile is further based on one or more trust relationships between the owner and the non-owner user.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising providing a spectrum of choices for the one or more trust relationships to the owner.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising:

causing display, on the mobile device, of the spectrum for choosing a trust level associated with the non-owner user; and

adjusting a range of access for the non-owner user based at least in part on an indication of user-selection of the trust level.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising mapping an existence of the personal information associated with an application of the one or more applications to one or more nodes of a non-owner network of non-owner users who can share the mobile device.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising inferring an access mode for the non-owner user based at least in part on a social network of the owner.

16. A tangible computer-readable storage device storing instructions that enable actions for controlling access to a mobile device, the actions comprising:

analyzing one or more applications to determine an amount of personal information of an owner of the mobile device that is accessible to the one or more applications;

designating a profile for a non-owner user of the mobile device, the profile indicating that the one or more applications are accessible to the non-owner user of the mobile device based at least in part on the amount of personal information of the owner of the mobile device that is accessible to the one or more applications; and

enabling the non-owner user to access an application of the one or more applications based at least in part on the profile.

17. The tangible computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the personal information comprises personal location information associated with the owner.