Retroactive shared content item links

• US 9,977,917 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2017
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Subramani, Anand, Delamere, Mark, Vincent, Jonathan, Rha, Philip, Ibrishimov, Emil, Carriero, Thomas, Allain, Francois Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Arani, Taghi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Naghdali, Khalil
• Application Number:
  US15/639,795
• Publication Number:
  US 20170300710A1
• Time in Patent Office: 326 Days
• Field of Search: 726 1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A content management system implementing methodologies providing retroactive shared content item links is disclosed. The content management system and methodologies allow a team administrator of a team to configure a team-wide shared link policy that determines whether non-team members can access content items associated with team accounts using shared links generated for the content items by team members. The team shared link policy has two settings. In a first setting, the content management system allows non-team members to use shared links generated by team members to access content items associated with team accounts. In a second setting, the content management system blocks access to the content items by non-team members. Shared links are retroactive in the sense they do not need to be regenerated after the team shared link policy has been changed from the second setting back to the first setting.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method performed by a computing system comprising one or more processors, storage media, and one or more programs stored in the storage media and executed by the one or more processors to perform the method, the method comprising:

receiving an input that selects, for a team, a first setting of at least two different setting options for a team shared link policy of the team;

in response to receiving the input that selects the first setting, configuring the team shared link policy with the first setting;

wherein the team comprises a plurality of user accounts held with a content management system, each of the plurality of user accounts being a member of the team;

wherein the plurality of user accounts is associated with a plurality of shared content items hosted with the content management system;

wherein each shared content item of the plurality of shared content items is shared via a corresponding shared link to said each shared content item;

based at least in part on the team shared link policy being configured with the first setting, rejecting non-member shared link requests for the plurality of shared content items while the team shared link policy is configured with the first setting;

wherein a request for a specific shared content item is a non-member shared link request for the specific shared content item if the request is via a specific corresponding shared link to the specific shared content item and the request is not associated with a user account that is a member of the team;

receiving an input that selects, for the team, a second setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy of the team;

in response to receiving the input that selects the second setting, configuring the team shared link policy with the second setting; and

based at least in part on the team shared link policy being configured with the second setting, allowing non-member shared link requests for the plurality of shared content items while the team shared link policy is configured with the second setting.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the plurality of user accounts includes at least one administrative account as a member of the team;

wherein the input to select the first setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy is received from a client device associated with the at least one administrative account; and

wherein the input to select the second setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy is received from the client device associated with the at least one administrative account.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending one or more commands, to a user client device associated with at least one user account of the team, that cause the user client device to display on a user interface, of the user client device, a first user interface control for selecting the first setting for the team shared link policy and a second user interface control for selecting the second setting for the team shared link policy.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first user interface control and the second user interface control are part of a toggle control on the user interface of the user client device.

5. The method of claim 3,

wherein receiving a selection of the first user interface control at the user client device causes the user client device to send the input that selects, for the team, the first setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy;

and

wherein receiving a selection of the second user interface control at the user client device causes the user client device to send the input that selects, for the team, the second setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the content management system, a request from a user client device associated with a user account of the team to generate a particular shared link for a particular shared content item from the plurality of shared content items;

in response to receiving the request to generate the particular shared link, generating the particular shared link and associating the particular shared content item with the particular shared link.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing each shared link in a plurality of shared links in an association with an identifier of a corresponding shared content item of the plurality of shared content items.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein if a setting of the team shared link policy is the second setting of the at least two different setting options, then the content management system hosting the plurality of shared content items permits an access to the plurality of shared content items, in response to the request that is not associated with a user account that is a member of the team only after determining that no other access controls prohibit the access to the plurality of shared content items.

9. A content management system comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more computer programs for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more computer programs comprising instructions for;

receiving an input that selects, for a team, a first setting of at least two different setting options for a team shared link policy of the team;

in response to receiving the input that selects the first setting, configuring the team shared link policy with the first setting;

wherein the team comprises a plurality of user accounts held with the content management system, each of the plurality of user accounts being a member of the team;

wherein the plurality of user accounts is associated with a plurality of shared content items hosted with the content management system;

wherein each shared content item of the plurality of shared content items is shared via a corresponding shared link to said each shared content item;

based at least in part on the team shared link policy being configured with the first setting, rejecting non-member shared link requests for the plurality of shared content items while the team shared link policy is configured with the first setting;

wherein a request for a specific shared content item is a non-member shared link request for the specific shared content item if the request is via a specific corresponding shared link to the specific shared content item and the request is not associated with a user account that is a member of the team;

receiving an input that selects, for the team, a second setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy of the team;

in response to receiving the input that selects the second setting, configuring the team shared link policy with the second setting; and

based at least in part on the team shared link policy being configured with the second setting, allowing non-member shared link requests for the plurality of shared content items while the team shared link policy is configured with the second setting.

10. The system of claim 9,

wherein the plurality of user accounts includes at least one administrative account as a member of the team;

wherein the input to select the first setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy is received from a client device associated with the at least one administrative account; and

wherein the input to select the second setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy is received from the client device associated with the at least one administrative account.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions for sending one or more commands, to a user client device associated with at least one user account of the team, that cause the user client device to display on a user interface, of the user client device, a first user interface control for selecting the first setting for the team shared link policy and a second user interface control for selecting the second setting for the team shared link policy.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first user interface control and the second user interface control are part of a toggle control on the user interface of the user client device.

13. The system of claim 11,

wherein receiving a selection of the first user interface control at the user client device causes the user client device to send the input that selects, for the team, the first setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy;

and

wherein receiving a selection of the second user interface control at the user client device causes the user client device to send the input that selects, for the team, the second setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions for:

receiving, at the content management system, a request from a user client device associated with a user account of the team to generate a particular shared link for a particular shared content item from the plurality of shared content items;

in response to receiving the request to generate the particular shared link, generating the particular shared link and associating the particular shared content item with the particular shared link.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more programs further comprise instructions for storing each shared link in a plurality of shared links in an association with an identifier of a corresponding shared content item of the plurality of shared content items.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein if a setting of the team shared link policy is the second setting of the at least two different setting options, then the content management system hosting the plurality of shared content items permits an access to the plurality of shared content items, in response to the request that is not associated with a user account that is a member of the team only after determining that no other access controls prohibit the access to the plurality of shared content items.

17. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more computer programs for execution by one or more processors of a content management system, the one or more computer programs comprising instructions for:

receiving an input that selects, for a team, a first setting of at least two different setting options for a team shared link policy of the team;

in response to receiving the input that selects the first setting, configuring the team shared link policy with the first setting;

wherein the team comprises a plurality of user accounts held with the content management system, each of the plurality of user accounts being a member of the team;

wherein the plurality of user accounts is associated with a plurality of shared content items hosted with the content management system;

wherein each shared content item of the plurality of shared content items is shared via a corresponding shared link to said each shared content item;

based at least in part on the team shared link policy being configured with the first setting, rejecting non-member shared link requests for the plurality of shared content items while the team shared link policy is configured with the first setting;

wherein a request for a specific shared content item is a non-member shared link request for the specific shared content item if the request is via a specific corresponding shared link to the specific shared content item and the request is not associated with a user account that is a member of the team;

receiving an input that selects, for the team, a second setting of the at least two different setting options for the team shared link policy of the team;

in response to receiving the input that selects the second setting, configuring the team shared link policy with the second setting; and

based at least in part on the team shared link policy being configured with the second setting, allowing non-member shared link requests for the plurality of shared content items while the team shared link policy is configured with the second setting.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, wherein the one or more computer programs further comprise instructions for sending one or more commands, to a user client device associated with at least one user account of the team, that cause the user client device to display on a user interface, of the user client device, a first user interface control for selecting the first setting for the team shared link policy and a second user interface control for selecting the second setting for the team shared link policy.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, wherein the one or more computer programs further comprise instructions for storing each shared link in a plurality of shared links in an association with an identifier of a corresponding shared content item of the plurality of shared content items.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17, wherein if a setting of the team shared link policy is the second setting of the at least two different setting options, then the content management system hosting the plurality of shared content items permits an access to the plurality of shared content items, in response to the request that is not associated with a user account that is a member of the team only after determining that no other access controls prohibit the access to the plurality of shared content items.