Anonymous messaging conversation

• US 9,544,271 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2012
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: TeleCommunication Systems Inc (Comtech Telecommunications Corporation)
• Inventors: McFarland, Keith, Jain, Vishal
• Primary Examiner(s): Orgad, Edan
• Assistant Examiner(s): SONG, REBECCA E
• Application Number:
  US13/610,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20130070672A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/48 Message addressing, e.g. address format or anonymous messages, aliases
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2525 Translation at a client
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2539 Hiding addresses; Keeping addresses anonymous
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

An anonymous communication module that provides full conversational anonymous messaging and voice/video communication between two or more parties interacting over a wireless/landline network. An anonymous messaging module accepts an anonymous initiation message to a public address to trigger the start of an anonymous voice/video conversation between a message originator and a message recipient. An anonymous communication module performs intercept and address substitution on a message and/or voice/video call transmitted between two or more parties via an anonymous communication service. The anonymous communication module substitutes a real address in the source field of an intercepted message and/or voice/video call, with an anonymous address mapped to that real address, and substitutes an anonymous address in the destination field of an intercepted message and/or voice/video call with a real address mapped to that anonymous address. The anonymous communication module then forwards the newly formatted message and/or voice/video call to an intended message/call destination.

Claims

1. Apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another, comprising:

an anonymous digital communication module to form a digital packet gateway between an unregistered sender device and a registered recipient device of said at least two actively interacting digital communication devices, said anonymous digital communication module anonymizing said active two-way digital packet communication in real time, before delivery is completed to an anonymous addressed recipient user web page associated with said registered recipient device, by intercepting said active two-way digital packet communication and substituting for a real address associated with said unregistered sender device in source fields of digital packets associated with said active interaction passing therethrough with an anonymous address associated with said unregistered sender device, and substituting for an anonymous address associated with said registered recipient device in destination fields of digital packets associated with said active interaction passing therethrough with an affiliated real address associated with said registered recipient device, before said intercepted digital packet communication reaches its addressed destination;

wherein anonymity is maintained between said at least two individual user web pages vis-a-vis each other.

2. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 1, wherein said real address comprises:

a mobile directory number.

3. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 1, wherein said real address comprises:

an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

4. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 1, wherein said digital packet communication comprises:

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

5. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 1, wherein said digital packet communication comprises:

a short message.

6. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 1, wherein said digital packet communication comprises:

a multimedia message (MMS).

7. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 1, wherein said digital packet communication comprises:

an instant message (IM).

8. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 1, further comprising:

an internal address mapping database to affiliate real addresses to at least one anonymous address, for each of said at least two individual user web pages.

9. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 8, wherein:

said anonymous digital communication module intercepts said digital packet communication corresponding to said active two-way digital packet communication;

queries said internal address mapping database to determine said anonymous source address to substitute in for said real source address supplied in said digital packet communication, queries said internal address mapping database to determine said real destination address to substitute in for said anonymous destination address supplied in said digital packet communication, and routes a newly, anonymously-addressed digital packet communication to an intended destination individual user web page.

10. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 1, wherein said anonymous digital communication module mathematically selects said anonymous address based on time of communication, date of communication, and type of communication.

11. The apparatus to anonymize at least two individual user web pages actively interacting in two-way digital packet communication with one another according to claim 1, wherein said unregistered sender device engages in said active two-way digital packet communication in the absence of personal information uniquely identifying a user of said unregistered sender device, such that anonymity is maintained between said user of said unregistered sender device and said anonymous digital communication module.

12. A method of providing full conversational anonymous digital communication between two or more individual user web pages, comprising:

intercepting, in real time, before delivery is completed to an addressed one of a plurality of individual user web pages, an anonymously addressed digital packet transmitted from a first unregistered individual user web page of said plurality of individual user web pages;

substituting for a real source address associated with said digital packet with an anonymous source address, in said intercepted digital packet;

substituting for an anonymous destination address associated with said intercepted digital packet in a destination address field of said intercepted digital packet with a real destination address for an intended destination of a registered second individual user web page;

routing said intercepted digital packet to said real destination address associated with said registered second individual user web page.

13. The method of providing full conversational anonymous digital communication between two or more individual user web pages according to claim 12, further comprising:

querying an internal address mapping database to affiliate said real destination address with said anonymous destination address; and

querying said internal address mapping database to affiliate said real source address with said anonymous source address.