Providing social-network information to third-party systems

• US 8,799,304 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2010
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lunt, Christopher, Galbreath, Nicholas, Winner, Jeffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Cheyne D
• Application Number:
  US12/980,221
• Publication Number:
  US 20110093709A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,316 Days
• Field of Search: 707/722, 707/732, 707/727, 707/784, 707/781, 707/758, 705/319, 705/219, 715/283
• US Class Current: 707/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24578 using ranking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/284 Relational databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/338 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9536 Search customisation based on social or collaborative filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles

Abstract

Particular embodiments receive, at a first computing device associated with a social-networking system and from a second computing device associated with a third-party system, a query comprising a first identifier corresponding to a user of the third-party system, wherein the first identifier is computed by applying a hash algorithm to a user credential associated with the user of the third-party system; determine, by the first computing device, whether the user of the third-party system matches any member of the social-networking system; and if the second identifier corresponding to a member of the social-networking system matches the first identifier, then send, by the first computing device to the second computing device, social-network information of the member of the social-networking system in response to the query.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a first computing device associated with a social-networking system and from a second computing device associated with a third-party system, a query comprising a first identifier corresponding to a user of the third-party system, wherein the first identifier is computed by applying a hash algorithm to a user credential associated with the user of the third-party system, wherein the third-party system is separate from and external to the social-networking system, wherein the social-networking system comprises a graph comprising a plurality of nodes and edges connecting the nodes, wherein at least some of the nodes correspond to members of the social-networking system;

determining, by the first computing device, whether the user of the third-party system matches a member of the social-networking system by comparing the first identifier with each of one or more second identifiers that each correspond to one of a plurality of members of the social-networking system, wherein the second identifier is computed by applying the hash algorithm to a user credential associated with the member of the social-networking system that the second identifier corresponds to; and

if one of the second identifiers computed by applying the hash algorithm matches the first identifier computed by applying the hash algorithm, then transmitting, by the first computing device associated with the social-networking system to the second computing device associated with the third-party system, social-network information of the member of the social-networking system corresponding to the second identifier matching the first identifier in response to the query.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user credential is an e-mail address.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user credential is a personal name comprising a first name and a last name.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user credential is a telephone number.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the hash algorithm is a one-way hash algorithm.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the hash algorithm is an MD5 one-way hash algorithm.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the hash algorithm is an SHA-1 one-way hash algorithm.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the hash algorithm is a Message Authentication Code (MAC) one-way hash algorithm.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the query further comprises a user-credential type identifying the user credential and a hash-algorithm type identifying the hash algorithm.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising computing and storing, by the social-networking system, the second identifier corresponding to each member of the social-networking system.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising, if one of the second identifiers computed by applying the hash algorithm matches the first identifier computed by applying the hash algorithm, then determining the social-network information of the member of the social-networking system corresponding to the second identifier, wherein determining the social-network information comprises:

identifying one or more other members of the social-networking system that are connected to the member of the social-networking system within a pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation;

computing a third identifier for each other member of the social-networking system by applying the hash algorithm to the user credential associated with the other member of the social-networking system; and

constructing the social-network information of the member of the social-networking system as comprising one or more third identifiers respectively computed for the other members of the social-networking system.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the query specifies the pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein identifying the other members of the social-networking system that are connected to the member of the social-networking system within the pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation comprises:

access the graph of the social-networking system;

identify in the graph at least one first node corresponding to the member of the social-networking system;

identify in the graph one or more second nodes, wherein a minimum number of edge hops required to traverse from each second node to the first node in the graph is less than or equal to the pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation; and

determine the other members based on the one or more second nodes.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein identifying the other members of the social-networking system that are connected to the member of the social-networking system within the pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation comprises determining the other members based on one or more adjacency lists associated with members of the social-networking system.

15. A first computing system associated with a social-networking system, comprising:

a memory comprising instructions executable by one or more processors; and

the one or more processors coupled to the memory and operable to execute the instructions, the one or more processors being operable when executing the instructions to;

receive, from a second computing system associated with a third-party system, a query comprising a first identifier corresponding to a user of the third-party system, wherein the first identifier is computed by applying a hash algorithm to a user credential associated with the user of the third-party system, wherein the third-party system is separate from and external to the social-networking system, wherein the social-networking system comprises a graph comprising a plurality of nodes and edges connecting the nodes, wherein at least some of the nodes correspond to members of the social-networking system;

determine whether the user of the third-party system matches a member of the social-networking system by comparing the first identifier with each of one or more second identifiers that each correspond to one of a plurality of members of the social-networking system, wherein the second identifier is computed by applying the hash algorithm to a user credential associated with the member of the social-networking system that the second identifier corresponds to; and

if one of the second identifiers computed by applying the hash algorithm matches the first identifier computed by applying the hash algorithm, then transmit, to the second computing system associated with the third-party system, social-network information of the member of the social-networking system corresponding to the second identifier matching the first identifier in response to the query.

16. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the user credential is an e-mail address.

17. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the user credential is a personal name comprising a first name and a last name.

18. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the user credential is a telephone number.

19. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the hash algorithm is a one-way hash algorithm.

20. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the hash algorithm is an MD5 one-way hash algorithm.

21. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the hash algorithm is an SHA-1 one-way hash algorithm.

22. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the hash algorithm is a Message Authentication Code (MAC) one-way hash algorithm.

23. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the query further comprises a user-credential type identifying the user credential and a hash-algorithm type identifying the hash algorithm.

24. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further operable when executing the instructions to compute and store, by the social-networking system, the second identifier corresponding to each member of the social-networking system.

25. The first computing system of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further operable when executing the instructions to, if one of the second identifiers computed by applying the hash algorithm matches the first identifier computed by applying the hash algorithm, then determine the social-network information of the member of the social-networking system corresponding to the second identifier, wherein determining the social-network information comprises:

identifying one or more other members of the social-networking system that are connected to the member of the social-networking system within a pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation;

computing a third identifier for each other member of the social-networking system by applying the hash algorithm to the user credential associated with the other member of the social-networking system; and

constructing the social-network information of the member of the social-networking system as comprising one or more third identifiers respectively computed for the other members of the social-networking system.

26. The first computing system of claim 25, wherein the query specifies the pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation.

27. The first computing system of claim 25, wherein identifying the other members of the social-networking system that are connected to the member of the social-networking system within the pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation comprises:

accessing the graph of the social-networking system;

identifying in the graph at least one first node corresponding to the member of the social-networking system;

identifying in the graph one or more second nodes, wherein a minimum number of edge hops required to traverse from each second node to the first node in the graph is less than or equal to the pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation; and

determining the other members based on the one or more second nodes.

28. The first computing system of claim 25, wherein identifying the other members of the social-networking system that are connected to the member of the social-networking system within the pre-determined threshold number of degrees of separation comprises determining the other members based on one or more adjacency lists associated with members of the social-networking system.