Spam control for sharing content on mobile devices

• US 20050227678A1
• Filed: 04/09/2004
• Published: 10/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Sullivan, Bryan, Agrawal, Anuraag
• Granted Patent: US 7,295,833 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.300
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 the source of the received data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

Sharing content among users of mobile devices is facilitated and controlled by a system and method that employs a content sharing application to receive and process requests to share content among users of devices such as mobile devices and personal computers. Recipients receive share content messages from the content sharing application indicating that they have been selected to access shared content. Such messages may provide direct or indirect access to the shared content via the recipient mobile device. Recipients can specify privacy management schemes to limit or control the receipt of such messages. The content sharing application may also provide various spam filtering techniques that prevent users from abusing the system, including restricting the number or type of requests to share content that may be effectuated over time.

Claims

1. In a telecommunications system having at least one network coupled among multiple mobile devices, wherein a content sharing system and a content provider are also coupled to the network, a method of limiting the sharing of content between a user and a recipient, wherein the content is shared using a share content message that is initiated by the user and that is to be received on a mobile device of the recipient, and wherein the share content message, when received, encourages the recipient to access the content using the mobile device, the method comprising:

tracking a history of share content messages initiated by the user;

in response to receiving a share content request from a device of the user, providing a recipient information form for display to the user, wherein the recipient information form includes a request for the user to designate one or more recipients to receive the share content message;

receiving, over a network link associated with the network, user input information submitted by the user via the provided recipient information form, wherein the user input information identifies the one or more recipients; and

determining whether to generate a share content message to send to the one or more recipients, wherein the determining is based on analyzing the received user input information and the history of share content requests initiated by the user to determine if a threshold for sharing content will be exceeded if one or more share content messages are generated as requested by the user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the threshold for sharing content is associated with a predetermined number of share content messages that can be generated on behalf of the user during a given time frame.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the threshold for sharing content is exceeded if, within a specified time frame, the user requests to share the same content a second time by submitting input information via a second recipient information form.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the content sharing system is associated with a wireless carrier and wherein the wireless carrier provides mobile service for the mobile devices of the one or more recipients.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the content sharing system is associated with a wireless carrier and wherein the wireless carrier does not provide mobile service for the mobile devices of the one or more recipients.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing access to an address book application coupled to the content sharing system, wherein the address book application facilitates the user'"'"'s identification of the one or more recipients.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the tracking a history of share content requests initiated by the user includes recording a submission number associated with a request to share content.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the tracking a history of share content requests associated with the user includes recording a user identifier associated with a device of the user.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the tracking a history of share content requests associated with the user includes recording a recipient identifier associated with a device of each of the one or more recipients with whom the user is requesting to share content.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the recipient information form provided for display to the user includes a listing of a predetermined number of recipients with whom the user recently shared content.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating a share content message to send to the one or more recipients, wherein the share content message is in the form of a WAP push message.

12. A mobile device registered with a mobile service provider including a content sharing system, the mobile device comprising:

means for receiving user input;

means for providing output;

memory means;

radio transceiver and processing means coupled to the memory means;

means for presenting privacy management options via an output component, wherein the privacy management options allow the user of the mobile device to specify the extent to which the user would like to receive share content messages initiated by another user, as facilitated by the content sharing system;

means for inputting a set of privacy management settings associated with the privacy management options;

means for transmitting the inputted set of privacy management settings associated with the privacy management options to the content sharing system; and

means for receiving share content messages in accordance with the inputted set of privacy management settings.

13. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein the privacy management options include a privacy management option that allows the mobile device to receive all share content messages that are not explicitly blocked.

14. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein the privacy management options include a privacy management option that blocks all share content messages that are not explicitly allowed.

15. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein the privacy management options include a privacy management option that allows the mobile device to receive all share content messages that are not explicitly blocked, and wherein the privacy management options further include an option for the user of the mobile device to designate a list of explicitly blocked senders.

16. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein the privacy management options include a privacy management option that allows the mobile device to receive all share content messages that are not explicitly blocked, and wherein the privacy management options further include an option for the user of the mobile device to designate a list of explicitly blocked content.

17. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein the privacy management options include a privacy management option that blocks all share content messages that are not explicitly allowed, and wherein the privacy management options further include an option for the user of the mobile device to designate a list of allowed senders.

18. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein the privacy management options include a privacy management option that blocks all share content messages that are not explicitly allowed, and wherein the privacy management options further include an option for the user of the mobile device to designate a list of allowed content.

19. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein the share content messages include WAP push messages that, when received on the mobile device, allow the user of the mobile device to access the content via the mobile device.

20. The mobile device of claim 12 wherein the share content messages include WAP push messages that, when received on the mobile device, allow the user of the mobile device to access the content via the mobile device, and wherein the content is an executable application.

21. A wireless telecommunications service provider system for facilitating the sharing of content among wireless device users via one or more networks, the system comprising:

a server computer;

a database coupled to the server computer; and

a share content application running on the server computer and having access to the database, wherein the share content application receives and processes requests to share content among the wireless device users, and wherein the processing of requests to share content among the wireless device users includes;

in response to a share content request initiated by a first one of the wireless device users, providing an input page for display to the first one of the wireless device users, wherein the input page includes a request for the first one of the wireless device users to designate one or more recipients with whom to share content;

receiving, over a network link associated with the network, user input information submitted by the first one of the wireless device users via the provided input page, wherein the user input information identifies the one or more recipients; and

determining whether to generate a share content message to send to the one or more recipients, wherein the determining is based, at least in part, on analyzing the received user input information.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the processing of requests to share content further includes tracking a history of the requests to share content, and wherein the determining of whether to generate a share content message to send to the one or more recipients is further based on the history of requests to share content.

23. The system of claim 21 wherein the processing of requests to share content further includes blocking the requests to share content if more than a threshold number of recipients were identified using the recipient identification form.

24. The system of claim 21 wherein the processing of requests to share content further includes assessing a spam score for the first one of the wireless device users.

25. The system of claim 21 wherein the server computer is configured for IP filtering to restrict access by users other than users of wireless devices registered with the telecommunications service provider.

26. The system of claim 21 wherein the processing of requests to share content further includes evaluating a session variable associated with the request to share content, and wherein the session variable includes a time stamp.

27. The system of claim 21 wherein the provided input page depicts a code, and wherein the user input information submitted by the first one of the wireless device users includes a reiteration of the depicted code, as inputted by the first one of the wireless device users.

28. A computer-readable medium containing a data structure for limiting the sharing of content among users of mobile devices in a telecommunications system having at least one network coupled among multiple mobile devices, wherein a content sharing system and a content provider are also coupled to the network, the data structure comprising:

an indication of a first privacy management setting, wherein the first privacy management setting corresponds to an extent to which a first user of a mobile device would like to receive share content messages initiated by other users attempting to share content via the content sharing system, and wherein the share content messages, when received by the first user, allow the first user to access content provided by the content provider via the mobile device; and

an indication of a second privacy management setting, wherein the second privacy management setting relates to exceptions to the first privacy management setting.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of the telecommunications mobile device.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the computer-readable medium is a logical node in a computer network receiving the contents.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the computer-readable medium is a computer-readable disk.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the computer-readable medium is a data transmission medium carrying a generated data signal containing the contents.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of a computer system.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the indication of the second privacy management setting is based, at least in part, on information provided by an address book application associated with the content sharing application.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the first privacy management setting indicates that the first user wishes either to block all share content messages that are not explicitly allowed or to allow all share content messages that are not explicitly blocked.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the first privacy management setting indicates that the first user wishes to block all share content messages that are not explicitly allowed, and wherein the second privacy management setting includes a list of explicitly allowed senders.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the first privacy management setting indicates that the first user wishes to allow all share content messages that are not explicitly blocked, and wherein the second privacy management setting includes a list of explicitly blocked senders.