IDENTIFYING AND USING IDENTITIES DEEMED TO BE KNOWN TO A USER

• US 20120233269A1
• Filed: 02/13/2012
• Published: 09/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: BEN-YOSEPH, Roy
• Granted Patent: US 8,874,672 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

The people a user is presumed to know or be associated with may be determined using a number of techniques. This information about people that the user knows is used in relation to the user'"'"'s communications. For example access to a user'"'"'s online presence may be restricted based on the known people such that access to presence is provided only to those people that the user knows.

Claims

1-45. -45. (canceled)

46. A method of providing presence information comprising:

maintaining, in a storage device, a list of people that is known to a user;

determining, using at least one processor, that a person is known to the user based, at least in part, on one or more actions performed by the user on one or more messages received by the user from the person, the actions including one or more of (a) saving the one or more messages from the person;

(b) printing the one or more messages from the person;

(c) moving the one or more messages from the person from an inbox to a folder; and

(d) leaving the one or more messages from the person open for a predetermined period of time;

in response to determining that the person is known to the user, updating the list maintained in the storage device to reflect that the person is known by the user; and

communicating, to the user, presence information based on the updated list of people known to the user.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising determining to communicate the presence information to the potential receiver when the potential receiver is included in the list.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein the presence information is communicated to an instant messaging application of the potential receiver.

49. The method of claim 46, further comprising displaying the presence information on a web page.

50. The method of claim 46, further comprising displaying the presence information in a member profile.

51. The method of claim 46, wherein the presence information is communicated in response to a request for online presence information from the potential receiver.

52. The method of claim 46, wherein at least one of the one or more messages comprises an e-mail.

53. The method of claim 46, wherein the folder is a folder other than a delete folder or a spam folder.

54. The method of claim 46, further comprising detecting one or more user actions that mitigate against factors that otherwise indicate a person is known to the user.

55. The method of claim 46, further comprising:

enabling the user to expressly designate a person as known to the user; and

adding the designated person to the list.

56. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the following steps:

maintaining a list of people that is known to a user;

determining that a person is known to the user based, at least in part, on one or more actions performed by the user on one or more messages received by the user from the person, the actions including one or more of (a) saving the one or more messages from the person;

(b) printing the one or more messages from the person;

(c) moving the one or more messages from the person from an inbox to a folder; and

(d) leaving the one or more messages from the person open for a predetermined period of time;

in response to determining that the person is known to the user, updating the list maintained in the storage device to reflect that the person is known by the user; and

communicating presence information based on the updated list of people known to the user.

57. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56, further comprising instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the following step:

determining to communicate the presence information to the potential receiver when the potential receiver is included in the list.

58. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56, further comprising instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the following step:

displaying the presence information on a web page.

59. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56, further comprising instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the following step:

displaying the presence information in a member profile.

60. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 56 wherein the presence information is communicated in response to a request for online presence information from the potential receiver.

61. A system for providing presence information, the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

at least one computer-readable storage medium storing a set of instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the following steps;

maintaining a list of people that is known to a user;

determining that a person is known to the user based, at least in part, on one or more actions performed by the user on one or more messages received by the user from the person, the actions including one or more of (a) saving the one or more messages from the person;

(b) printing the one or more messages from the person;

(c) moving the one or more messages from the person from an inbox to a folder; and

(d) leaving the one or more messages from the person open for a predetermined period of time;

in response to determining that the person is known to the user, updating the list maintained in the storage device to reflect that the person is known by the user; and

communicating presence information based on the updated list of people known to the user.

62. The system of claim 61, further comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the following step:

determining to not communicate the presence information to the potential receiver when the potential receiver is not included in the list.

63. The system of claim 61, further comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the following step:

displaying the presence information on a web page.

64. The system of claim 61, further comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the following step:

displaying the presence information in a member profile.

65. The system of claim 61, wherein the presence information is communicated in response to a request for online presence information from the potential receiver.