DYNAMIC ENFORCEMENT OF PRIVACY SETTINGS BY A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM ON INFORMATION SHARED WITH AN EXTERNAL SYSTEM

• US 20110023129A1
• Filed: 07/23/2009
• Published: 01/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cheever, Charles Duplain, Sanghvi, Ruchi, Leszczenski, James M., Vernal, Michael Steven, Morin, David Brookes, Elman, Joshua E., Zhu, Wei
• Granted Patent: US 8,752,186 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

An external system (such as a website) that interacts with users communicates with a social networking system to access information about the users, who may also be users of the social networking system. If a privacy setting is changed in the social networking system, and the change applies to information that has been shared with an external system, the change is enforced at the external system. For example, the external system may be notified that the information is invalid and must be deleted, or the external system may periodically request the information so that changes to the privacy settings are eventually experienced at the external systems. When an external system again needs the information, whether expired naturally or actively invalidated by the social network, the external system sends a new request for the information, which is subject to the (possibly revised) privacy settings.

Claims

10. A computer implemented method for using by an external system, social network information shared by a social networking system subject to privacy settings, the method comprising:

interacting with a user of a social networking system;

sending a request to the social networking system for information associated with the user of the social networking system;

receiving a response from the social networking system, the response comprising information responsive to the request for information associated with the user and privacy settings governing the use of the information responsive to the request for information associated with the user; and

using the information from the received response in accordance with the privacy settings.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving updated privacy settings from the social networking system; and

using information received from the social networking system in accordance with the updated privacy settings.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the response from the social networking system comprises information associated with the user subject to privacy settings maintained by the social networking system.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the response from the social networking system comprises information associated with the user subject to privacy settings maintained by the social networking system, the privacy settings containing rules for sharing social network information outside of the social networking system.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the response from the social networking system comprises information associated with the user, wherein the social networking system requires the external system to use information associated with the user subject to privacy settings maintained by the social networking system.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the response from the social networking system comprises information associated with the user, and using the information from the received response comprises determining a subset of the information associated with the user subject to privacy settings maintained by the social networking system.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving a communication from the social networking system requesting the external system to cease using the information in the previously transmitted response.

17. The computer implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

enforcing a policy of using social network information for no more than a predetermined time period after receiving the social network information and sending a request to the social networking system for the social network information after the predetermined time period after receiving the social network information.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 11, wherein the external system receives updated privacy settings from the social networking system, wherein the privacy settings were updated in response to a request from a user.

19. The computer implemented method of claim 11, wherein the external system receives updated privacy settings from the social networking system, wherein the privacy settings were updated in response to a request from a connection of the user to update privacy settings of the connection.

20. The computer implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

enforcing a policy to use social network information for no more than a predetermined time period after receiving the social network information.

21. The computer implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

expunging any social network information received from the social networking system after a predetermined period of time.

22. A computer implemented method for sharing social network information with an external system subject to privacy settings, the method comprising:

maintaining privacy settings by a social networking system, the privacy settings containing rules governing access to social network information;

receiving a request from an external system for information associated with a user of the social networking system;

responding to the external system, the response comprising information responsive to the request and privacy settings governing access to the information responsive to the request.

1. A computer implemented method for providing social network information to an external system subject to privacy settings, the method comprising:

maintaining privacy settings by a social networking system, the privacy settings containing rules for access to social network information;

receiving a request from the external system for information associated with a user of the social networking system;

transmitting a response to the external system, the response comprising information responsive to the request for information associated with the user based on the privacy settings;

updating the privacy settings affecting one or more of the rules for access to information responsive to the request for information; and

communicating information responsive to the request for information to the external system based on the updated privacy settings.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the response to the external system comprises information associated with the user subject to privacy settings.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the response to the external system comprises information associated with the user and associated privacy settings.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the response to the external system comprises information associated with the user, wherein the social networking system requires use of the information associated with the user by the external system to be subject to privacy settings.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein communicating with the external system to enforce the updated privacy settings comprises sending a request to the external system to cease using the information in the previously transmitted response.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein communicating with the external system to enforce the updated privacy settings comprises receiving a subsequent request from the external system for information associated with the user, wherein the social networking system requires that the social network information will be used by the external system for no more than a predetermined time period after receiving the social network information.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein updating the privacy settings is responsive to a request from the user to update privacy settings associated with the user.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein updating the privacy settings is responsive to a request from a connection of the user to update privacy settings.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

requiring the external system to use social network information for no more than a predetermined time period after receiving the social network information.

23. The computer implemented method of claim 22, further comprising:

updating the privacy settings affecting one or more of the rules for access to information responsive to the request for information; and

communicating the updated privacy settings to the external system.

24. The computer implemented method of claim 22, wherein the response to the external system comprises information associated with the user, wherein the social networking system requires the external system to use the information associated with the user subject to privacy settings.

25. The computer implemented method of claim 22, wherein the information responsive to the request comprises information identifying a subset of the information subject to privacy settings maintained by the social networking system.

26. The computer implemented method of claim 22, further comprising:

updating the privacy settings; and

sending a request to the external system to cease using the information in a previously transmitted response.

27. The computer implemented method of claim 22, further comprising:

updating the privacy settings; and

receiving a subsequent request from the external system for information associated with the user, wherein the social networking system requires the external system to use social network information for no more than a predetermined time period after receiving the social network information

28. The computer implemented method of claim 23, wherein updated privacy settings are communicated responsive to receiving a request to update privacy settings associated with the user.

29. The computer implemented method of claim 23, wherein updated privacy settings are communicated responsive to receiving a request to update privacy settings associated with a connection of the user.

30. The computer implemented method of claim 22, further comprising:

requiring the external system to use social network information for no more than a predetermined time period after receiving the social network information

25-1. The computer implemented method of claim 22, wherein the information responsive to the request is required by the social networking system to be used by the external system in accordance with the privacy settings