Privacy preservation platform

• US 9,894,479 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2011
• Issued: 02/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Guha, Saikat, Padmanabhan, Venkata N., Jain, Mudit
• Primary Examiner(s): Banks Harold, Marsha D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cosme, Natasha W
• Application Number:
  US13/103,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20120282945A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,473 Days
• Field of Search: 455420, 455457, 4554566, 4554563, 455567, 455418, 718 1, 726 34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/16 selectively restricting mobility data tracking

Abstract

A platform that facilities preservation of user privacy with respect to location-based applications executing on mobile computing devices is described. The platform registers triggers that are set forth by location-based applications, where a trigger specifies one or more rules and includes a location constraint. The platform causes a sensor on the mobile computing device to output location data, and the platform determines if the trigger has been satisfied by comparing the location constraint with the location data. If the trigger is satisfied, the platform transmits a callback to the application. Accordingly, the application does not receive location data from the sensor.

Claims

1. A computer-executable method, comprising:

at an operating system executing on a mobile computing device;

receiving a plurality of triggers, each trigger includes a respective location constraint, each location constraint defined by a respective location-based application installed on the mobile computing device;

acquiring, from a sensor on the mobile computing device, location data that is indicative of a location of the mobile computing device;

converting the location data to a format specified in a location constraint in a trigger in the plurality of triggers, the location constraint defined by an instance of a location-based application installed on the mobile computing device;

comparing the location constraint with the formatted location data;

determining that the formatted location data satisfies the location constraint of the trigger, the determining based upon the comparing of the location constraint with the formatted location data, wherein the instance of the location-based application is prevented from acquiring the location data from the sensor that outputs the location data; and

issuing a callback to the instance of the location-based application responsive to determining that the formatted location data satisfies the location constraint of the trigger, the callback indicates to the instance of the location-based application that the trigger has been satisfied.

2. The computer-executable method of claim 1, wherein the trigger that includes the location constraint is received from the location-based application.

3. The computer-executable method of claim 1, wherein the trigger that includes the location constraint is received from a second instance of the location-based application that is executing on another mobile computing device.

4. The computer-executable method of claim 1, wherein the location trigger comprises a value for at least one other attribute in addition to the location constraint, and further comprising issuing the callback to the instance of the application based upon the value for the at least one other attribute.

5. The computer-executable method of claim 1, further comprising:

at the operating system of the mobile computing device;

issuing callbacks to a plurality of different instances of different applications installed on the mobile computing device based upon the comparing of each location constraint with the location data.

6. The computer-executable method of claim 1, wherein the location-based application is one of a location-based social networking application, a location-based content tagging application, a location-based search application, a location-based recommender application, a location-based advertising application, or a navigation application.

7. The computer-executable method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to receiving the trigger, exposing an application programming interface to the location-based application, wherein the application programming interface supports calls by the location-based application to specify the trigger.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a GPS receiver.

8. A mobile computing device, comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing an operating system for the mobile computing device, wherein when the operating system is executed by the processor, the processor performs acts comprising;

receiving location data output by a sensor on the mobile computing device, the location data is indicative of a geographic location of the mobile computing device, the location data being in a first format;

converting the location data into formatted location data, wherein the formatted location data has a second format, and further wherein the second format is specified in a location trigger predefined by an application installed on the mobile computing device;

comparing the formatted location data with a location constraint set forth in the application trigger, wherein the location constraint is in the second format;

ascertaining that the application trigger is triggered based upon the comparing of the formatted location data with the location constraint, the application trigger predefined by the application; and

issuing a callback to the application only responsive to ascertaining that the application trigger is triggered, wherein the application is prevented from acquiring the location data or the formatted location data.

9. The mobile computing device of claim 8, wherein the mobile computing device is one of a mobile telephone, a mobile gaming device, a portable media player, a portable gaming console, or a laptop computer.

10. The mobile computing device of claim 8, the acts further comprising requesting the location data from the sensor at time intervals that are dependent upon estimated remaining charge of a battery that provides electric power to the mobile computing device.

11. The mobile computing device of claim 8, the acts further comprising receiving the application trigger from the application and causing the application trigger to be retained in a data repository.

12. The mobile computing device of claim 8, the acts further comprising:

receiving second location data from a second mobile computing device;

comparing the second location data with a second location constraint in a second application trigger specified by a second application installed on the mobile computing device;

ascertaining that the second application trigger is triggered based upon the comparing of the second location data with the location data; and

transmitting a callback to the second application only responsive to ascertaining that the second application trigger is triggered.

18. The mobile computing device of claim 8, wherein the sensor is a GPS receiver.

13. A computer-readable data storage device comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising:

receiving, from a first instance of an application executing on a first mobile computing device, a trigger that has a location constraint, the location constraint defining a location-based rule to be satisfied prior to the first instance of the application performing a location-based function, the location-based constraint being in a first format specified in the trigger by the instance of the application;

receiving location data that is indicative of a geographic location of a second mobile computing device, the location data being in a second format;

converting the location data into formatted location data, the formatted location data being in the first format

based at least in part upon a comparison between the location constraint and the formatted location data, determining that the trigger has been satisfied, wherein determining that the trigger has been satisfied comprises determining that the location-based rule has been satisfied; and

transmitting a callback to the first instance of the application only responsive to determining that the trigger has been satisfied, the first instance of the application configured to perform the location-based function responsive to receiving the callback, wherein the application is prevented from obtaining the location data or the formatted location data.

14. The computer-readable data storage device of claim 13, wherein the location-based function comprises generating a notification that indicates that the second mobile computing device is within a threshold distance of the first mobile computing device.

15. The computer-readable data storage device of claim 13, wherein the first instance of the application is prevented from requesting location data from a location sensor of the first mobile computing device or the second mobile computing device.

17. The computer-readable data storage device of claim 13, wherein the first format is latitude/longitude coordinates.

19. The computer-readable data storage device of claim 13 comprised by a mobile telephone.

20. The computer-readable data storage device of claim 19, wherein the instructions are set forth by an operating system of the mobile telephone.