Privacy protection method and apparatus for mobile terminal

• US 9,986,429 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2017
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Sang Ho
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Chuck
• Application Number:
  US15/811,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20180070229A1
• Time in Patent Office: 197 Days
• Field of Search: 4554321, 455411, 455415, 455418
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A privacy protection method and apparatus for a mobile terminal are provided. The method includes specifying basic information, privacy protection indication, and fictitious information of a contact item to be recorded in a contact list, determining, when a contact is received from an external terminal, whether a privacy protection function is activated for the external terminal, and outputting, when the privacy protection function is activated for the external terminal, a contact reception screen and a contact handling screen that include pre-specified fictitious information of the external terminal and exclude pre-specified basic information thereon. As a result, when a contact is received from a counterpart, information on the counterpart can be prevented from being displayed on the screen. Hence, it is possible to prevent inadvertent disclosure of counterpart information.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device comprising:

a memory configured to store contact information corresponding to a contact, the contact information including a name, a telephone number and a nickname corresponding to the contact;

communication circuitry;

a touchscreen display; and

a processor configured to;

receive, via the communication circuitry, a message corresponding to a specified application from an external electronic device corresponding to the contact,

display, via the touchscreen display, the nickname as associated with at least part of the message in a user interface corresponding to the specified application, the displaying including refraining from displaying the name or the telephone number as associated with the at least part of the message in the user interface,

receive an input with respect to the user interface while the at least part of the message is displayed in the user interface, and

display, in response to the receiving of the input, the nickname, the name, and the telephone number concurrently in the user interface, as associated with the at least part of the message.

2. The portable electronic device of claim 1,

wherein the memory is further configured to store an email address corresponding to the contact as part of the contact information,

wherein the specified application includes an email application,

wherein the message includes identification information corresponding to the contact and to be used by the email application, and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

perform the displaying of the nickname based at least in part on a determination that the identification information included in the message corresponds to the email address stored in the memory as part of the contact information.

3. The portable electronic device of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to:

refrain from displaying the email address as associated with the at least part of the message in relation with the performing of the displaying of the nickname.

4. The portable electronic device of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to:

display the email address concurrently with the nickname, the name, and the telephone number in response to the receiving of the input.

5. The portable electronic device of claim 1,

wherein the specified application includes a short message service application,

wherein the message includes identification information corresponding to the contact and to be used by the short message service application, and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

perform the displaying of the nickname based at least in part on a determination that the identification information included in the message corresponds to the telephone number stored in the memory as part of the contact information.

6. The portable electronic device of claim 1,

wherein the user interface includes a name field to receive or present the name, and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

perform the displaying of the nickname such that the nickname is to be displayed in the name field.

7. The portable electronic device of claim 1,

wherein the contact information is generated using a contact application, and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

perform the displaying of the nickname based at least in part on a determination that use of the nickname is activated with respect to the contact application.

8. The portable electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:

activate the use of the nickname with respect to the contact application in response to a user input, and

display, based at least in part on the activating, a nickname field to receive the nickname from a user.

9. The portable electronic device of claim 8,

wherein the contact application supports another user interface including a name field to receive the name from the user and a telephone number field to receive the telephone number from the user, and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

display the nickname field concurrently with the name field and the telephone number field in the other user interface.

10. The portable electronic device of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to:

display the name or the telephone number as associated with the at least part of the message in the user interface based at least in part on a determination that the use of the nickname is deactivated.

11. A portable electronic device comprising:

a memory configured to store contact information corresponding to a contact, the contact information including a name and a telephone number corresponding to the contact;

communication circuitry;

a touchscreen display; and

a processor configured to;

receive, via the touchscreen display, an input to activate use of a nickname with respect to a user interface corresponding to a contact application,

display a screen to receive the nickname in the user interface in response to the receiving of the input,

store the nickname received via the screen as associated with the contact information,

receive, via the communication circuitry, a message corresponding to a specified application from an external electronic device corresponding to the contact, and

display, via the touchscreen display, the nickname as associated with at least part of the message in another user interface corresponding to the specified application based at least in part on a determination that the use of the nickname is activated, the displaying including refraining from displaying the name or the telephone number as associated with the at least part of the message in the other user interface.

12. The portable electronic device of claim 11,

wherein the user interface includes a name field to receive the name from the user and a telephone number field to receive the telephone number from the user, and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

display, in response to the receiving of the input, a nickname field to receive the nickname concurrently with the name field and the telephone number field in the user interface.

13. The portable electronic device of claim 11,

wherein the memory stores an email address corresponding to the contact as part of the contact information,

wherein the specified application includes an email application,

wherein the message includes identification information corresponding to the contact and to be used by the email application, and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

perform the displaying of the nickname based at least in part on a determination that the identification information included in the message corresponds to the email address stored in the memory as part of the contact information.

14. The portable electronic device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to:

refrain from displaying the email address as associated with the at least part of the message in relation with the performing of the displaying of the nickname.

15. The portable electronic device of claim 11,

wherein the specified application includes a short message service application,

wherein the message includes identification information corresponding to the contact and to be used by the short message service application, and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

perform the displaying of the nickname based at least in part on a determination that the identification information included in the message corresponds to the telephone number stored in the memory as part of the contact information.

16. The portable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:

display the name or the telephone number as associated with the at least part of the message in the other user interface based at least in part on a determination that the use of the nickname is deactivated.

17. The portable electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive another input with respect to the other user interface while the at least part of the message is displayed in the user interface, and

display, in response to the receiving of the other input, the name and the telephone number concurrently in the other user interface, as associated with the at least part of the message.

18. A non-transitory machine-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

receiving, using communication circuitry operatively coupled with the one or more processors, a message corresponding to a specified application from an external electronic device corresponding to a contact;

displaying, using a touchscreen display operatively coupled with the one or more processors, a nickname corresponding to the contact as associated with at least part of the message in a user interface corresponding to the specified application, the displaying including refraining from displaying a name or a telephone number corresponding to the contact as associated with the at least part of the message in the user interface;

receiving an input with respect to the user interface while the at least part of the message is displayed in the user interface; and

displaying, in response to the receiving of the input, the nickname, the name, and the telephone number concurrently in the user interface, as associated with the at least part of the message.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the displaying of the nickname is to be performed based at least in part on a determination that use of the nickname is activated.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage device of claim 19, wherein the operations further comprise:

displaying the name or the telephone number as associated with the at least part of the message in the user interface based at least in part on a determination that the use of the nickname is deactivated.