Information processing device and information processing method

Abstract

This invention provides an information processing apparatus and an information processing method capable of appropriately managing the recipients of personal information. The information processing apparatus includes a processor that performs the following processing: determining the association between a first user and a second user exchanging messages; determining the appropriateness of personal information contained in a message from the first user to the second user based on the determined association; and performing processing related to the personal information based on the determined appropriateness.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an information processing device and an information processing method. Background Technology

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a technique in which intimacy is calculated for each other user, the intimacy being based at least on the number of messages sent from the other user, and the user information about the other user is displayed in a manner that associates user information about the other user with the intimacy with that other user from the perspective of the end user.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 2014-067358 Summary of the Invention

[0004] A service is provided where users can exchange messages with each other. Within this service, messages containing personal information that can identify an individual can also be exchanged. However, even with the same personal information, users may share it with the other person if they have a close relationship with them, but not if they do not wish to share it with the other person if they are not close.

[0005] Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to properly manage the recipients of personal information.

[0006] The present invention involved in Scheme 1 is an information processing device, characterized in that it includes a processor, which performs the following processing: determining the correlation between a first user and a second user exchanging messages; determining the appropriateness of personal information contained in a message from the first user to the second user based on the determined correlation; and performing processing related to the personal information based on the determined appropriateness.

[0007] According to the method described in Scheme 1, the information processing apparatus involved in Scheme 2 of the present invention is characterized in that the processing is a process of prohibiting the sending of messages containing the personal information.

[0008] According to the method described in Scheme 1, the information processing device involved in Scheme 3 of the present invention is characterized in that the processing is the process of deleting the personal information and sending a message.

[0009] According to the method described in Scheme 1, the information processing apparatus involved in Scheme 4 of the present invention is characterized in that the processing is processing that replaces the personal information with other information.

[0010] According to the method described in Scheme 4, the information processing device involved in Scheme 5 of the present invention is characterized in that, in the processing, information after the personal information has been conceptualized at a higher level is used as the other information.

[0011] According to the method described in Scheme 1, the information processing apparatus involved in Scheme 6 of the present invention is characterized in that the processing is a process of asking the first user whether the personal information can be sent.

[0012] According to the method described in Scheme 1, the information processing apparatus involved in Scheme 7 of the present invention is characterized in that the processing is a process of asking the first user about the appropriateness of the use of the personal information.

[0013] According to the method described in Scheme 7, the information processing apparatus involved in Scheme 8 of the present invention is characterized in that the processor determines that the use of personal information contained in the message is appropriate when the determined correlation meets the determined benchmark, and changes the benchmark according to the judgment history of the appropriateness of use based on the first user.

[0014] According to the method described in Scheme 7, the information processing apparatus involved in Scheme 9 of the present invention is characterized in that the processor determines that the use of personal information contained in the message is appropriate when the determined correlation meets the determined benchmark, and changes the benchmark based on the judgment history of the appropriateness of use based on a plurality of users including the first user.

[0015] According to the manner described in any of the schemes 1 to 9, the information processing apparatus involved in scheme 10 of the present invention is characterized in that the processor determines the correlation based on the message exchange between the first user and the second user.

[0016] The present invention according to Scheme 11 is an information processing method, characterized by comprising the following steps: determining the association between a first user and a second user exchanging messages; determining the appropriateness of personal information contained in a message from the first user to the second user based on the determined association; and performing processing related to the personal information based on the determined appropriateness.

[0017] Invention Effects

[0018] According to the first and eleventh embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately manage the recipients of personal information.

[0019] According to the second aspect of the present invention, compared with the case where message sending is not prohibited, it is possible to more reliably prevent personal information from being transmitted to inappropriate recipients.

[0020] According to the third aspect of the present invention, compared with the case where personal information in the message is not deleted, it is possible to more reliably prevent personal information from being passed on to inappropriate recipients.

[0021] According to the fourth and fifth embodiments of the present invention, compared with the case where personal information in the message is not deleted, it is possible to more reliably prevent personal information from being passed on to inappropriate recipients.

[0022] According to the sixth and seventh embodiments of the present invention, the first user's attention can be drawn to the notification of personal information.

[0023] According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately manage the recipients of personal information based on reflecting the first user's judgment tendencies related to personal information.

[0024] According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately manage the recipients of personal information based on reflecting the judgment tendencies of multiple users regarding personal information.

[0025] According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the correlation can be determined even without information other than message exchange. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following figures.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating the overall structure of the personal information management auxiliary system involved in the embodiment;

[0028] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing the hardware structure of the server device;

[0029] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing the hardware structure of the user terminal;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the functional structure implemented in a personal information management auxiliary system;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a diagram representing an example of the first association table;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a diagram representing another example of the second association table;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a diagram representing an example of a personal information form;

[0034] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the action steps in the instruction processing;

[0035] Figure 9 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a variation of processing related to personal information;

[0036] Figure 10 This is a diagram illustrating another example of a modified version of the processing related to personal information;

[0037] Figure 11 This is a diagram illustrating another example of a modified version of the processing related to personal information;

[0038] Figure 12 This is a diagram illustrating another example of a modified version of the processing related to personal information;

[0039] Figure 13 This is a diagram representing an example of a modified personal information form.

[0040] Symbol Explanation

[0041] 1-Personal Information Management Auxiliary System, 10-Server Device, 20-User Terminal, 101-Message Acquisition Unit, 102-Registration Information Acquisition Unit, 103-Relevance Determination Unit, 104-Suitability Determination Unit, 105-Personal Information Processing Unit, 201-Message Processing Unit, 202-Message Storage Unit, 203-Registration Information Storage Unit. Detailed Implementation

[0042] [1] Example

[0043] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates the overall structure of the personal information management auxiliary system 1 involved in the embodiment. The personal information management auxiliary system 1 is a system for processing personal information contained in messages exchanged between users. Message exchange is conducted via email, online chat, and posting on SNS (social networking service), etc.

[0044] Personal information is information that can identify a user, such as name, date of birth, address, name of company and department, name of school and class, occupation, workplace, annual income, interests, photos of the user, and photos taken by the user. Although there are cases where an individual can be identified by a single piece of personal information (such as when only one person lives at a certain address), it is usually done by combining two or more pieces of personal information.

[0045] The personal information management auxiliary system 1 includes a communication line 2, a server device 10, and a plurality of user terminals 20-1, 20-2, 20-3, ... (referred to as "user terminal 20" when not distinguished). The communication line 2 is a communication system including mobile communication networks and the Internet, relaying data exchange between devices accessing the system. The server device 10 accesses the communication line 2 via wired communication, and the user terminals 20 access the communication line 2 via wireless communication. Furthermore, access to the communication line 2 can be either wired or wireless.

[0046] Server device 10 is an information processing device that performs processing related to messages exchanged between users and processing related to personal information based on acquired information. User terminal 20 is a terminal used by users of this system, such as a smartphone, tablet, or personal computer. Each user uses user terminal 20 to exchange messages.

[0047] Figure 2 This describes the hardware structure of the server device 10. The server device 10 is a computer equipped with a processor 11, a memory 12, a storage device 13, and a communication device 14. The processor 11 includes, for example, an arithmetic unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), registers, and peripheral circuits. The memory 12 is a recording medium that the processor 11 can read, and includes RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory).

[0048] Storage device 13 is a recording medium that the processor 11 can read, such as a hard disk drive or flash memory. The processor 11 uses RAM as its working area to execute programs stored in ROM or storage device 13, thereby controlling the operation of various hardware components. Communication device 14 includes an antenna and communication circuitry, and is a communication unit that performs communication via communication line 2.

[0049] Figure 3 This describes the hardware structure of user terminal 20. User terminal 20 is a computer equipped with a processor 21, memory 22, storage device 23, communication device 24, UI device 25 (UI = User Interface), and sensor device 26. The components from processor 21 to communication device 24 are... Figure 2 The hardware shown is of the same type from processor 11 to communication device 14.

[0050] UI device 25 is an interface provided to users utilizing this device. UI device 25 includes, for example, a touchscreen that displays images and receives user input. The touchscreen has a display unit (shown as a display) and a touch panel disposed on the surface of the display unit. Furthermore, in addition to the touchscreen, UI device 25 also includes keyboard and other operating components, and receives input from these components.

[0051] Sensor device 26 includes various sensors such as a positioning sensor, a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and a light sensor. In the personal information management auxiliary system 1, the processors of the aforementioned devices execute programs to control each part, thereby realizing the functions described below. The actions performed by each function are also represented by the actions performed by the processors of the devices that implement that function.

[0052] Figure 4 This describes the functional structure implemented in the personal information management auxiliary system 1. The server device 10 includes a message acquisition unit 101, a registration information acquisition unit 102, a correlation determination unit 103, a suitability determination unit 104, and a personal information processing unit 105. The user terminal 20 includes a message processing unit 201, a message storage unit 202, and a registration information storage unit 203.

[0053] The message processing unit 201 of the user terminal 20 performs processing related to message exchange with the user. For example, the message processing unit 201 performs processing such as generating messages (emails or SNS posts, etc.) based on user input, modifying generated messages based on user input, sending generated or modified messages, and displaying received messages.

[0054] If the message processing unit 201 sends a message to another user terminal 20, it supplies the sent message to the message storage unit 202. Similarly, if the message processing unit 201 receives a message from another user terminal 20, it supplies the received message to the message storage unit 202.

[0055] The message storage unit 202 stores the supplied messages, namely, messages sent to other user terminals 20 via the message processing unit 201 and messages received from other user terminals 20 via the message processing unit 201. The message storage unit 202 establishes a corresponding association between the message and the identification information (e.g., terminal ID) of the user terminal 20 that identifies the destination or source of the message.

[0056] The registration information storage unit 203 of the user terminal 20 stores registration information associated with the user using the terminal. Registration information includes, for example, the user's name, age, date of birth, address, occupation, interests, special skills, and a photograph. The registration information includes information registered for email services and information registered for SNS services. Furthermore, in addition to these, the registration information may also include information registered for other services or applications. In short, any information registered as information associated with the user can be included in the registration information.

[0057] The message acquisition unit 101 of the server device 10 acquires messages exchanged between users. For example, based on an instruction from the correlation determination unit 103 (described later), the message acquisition unit 101 sends message request data requesting messages stored within a certain past period to the user terminal 20. The message storage unit 202 of the user terminal 20 reads the messages stored within the period indicated by the received message request data and sends them to the server device 10. The message acquisition unit 101 acquires the sent messages and supplies them to the correlation determination unit 103.

[0058] The registration information acquisition unit 102 of the server device 10 acquires the user's registration information. For example, based on an instruction from the association determination unit 103 (described later), the registration information acquisition unit 102 sends registration information request data requesting updates to registration information within a certain past period to the user terminal 20. The registration information storage unit 203 of the user terminal 20 reads the registration information updated within the period indicated by the received registration information request data and sends it to the server device 10. The registration information acquisition unit 102 acquires the sent registration information and provides it to the association determination unit 103.

[0059] The association determination unit 103 of the server device 10 determines the association (hereinafter referred to as "user association") between the first user and the second user exchanging messages. User association is, for example, the degree of intimacy between users or the degree of trust between users. In this embodiment, the association determination unit 103 indicates that the deeper the association between users (the closer the relationship or the higher the level of trust), the higher the level.

[0060] Furthermore, the first user and the second user do not refer to specific users; any user can become the first user and the second user as long as they are exchanging messages. When the message processing unit 201 of the user terminal 20 generates a message based on the user's input, it sends a request data to the server device 10 requesting whether the personal information contained in the generated message (hereinafter also referred to as "appropriateness of personal information") can be used directly.

[0061] The correlation determination unit 103 determines user correlation by designating the user who is the destination of the message shown in the received request data as the second user and the user terminal 20, which is the source of the request data, as the first user. In this embodiment, the correlation determination unit 103 determines user correlation using two methods. In the first method, the correlation determination unit 103 determines user correlation based on the number of messages exchanged between the first user and the second user within a certain period (hereinafter referred to as the "determination period").

[0062] The correlation determination unit 103 uses a first correlation table to establish corresponding correlations between the number of messages and user correlations.

[0063] Figure 5 This represents an example of the first association table. Figure 5 In the example, the number of messages “less than Th1”, “Th1 and less than Th2” and “Th2 and above” are associated with user relationships of “Lv1”, “Lv2” and “Lv3” respectively.

[0064] If the correlation determination unit 103 receives a request from the message processing unit 201 of the user terminal 20, it instructs the message acquisition unit 101 to send the aforementioned message request data to the requesting user terminal 20. At this time, the correlation determination unit 103 instructs the sending of message request data that only requests messages from the aforementioned first and second users. The message acquisition unit 101 sends the instructed message request data and provides the correlation determination unit 103 with the message sent in response.

[0065] The correlation determination unit 103 counts the number of messages exchanged between the first user and the second user during the aforementioned determination period, and determines the user correlation that corresponds to the counted number of messages in the first correlation table as the user correlation between the first user and the second user. Furthermore, as a method for counting the number of messages, for example, a weighted sum can be applied based on the number of sentences in the message (the more sentences, the greater the additional weight, etc.). Also, different weighted sums can be applied to messages from the first user to the second user and messages from the second user to the first user.

[0066] In the second method, the correlation determination unit 103 determines user correlation based on the number of common registration information in the registration information of the first user and the registration information of the second user. The correlation determination unit 103 uses a second correlation table to establish corresponding correlations based on the number of common registration information items and user correlation.

[0067] Figure 6 This represents another example of the second association table. Figure 6 In the example, the number of common registration information items for "less than Th11", "Th11 and less than Th12", and "Th12 and above" are associated with user associations of "Lv1", "Lv2", and "Lv3". If the association determination unit 103 receives a request from the message processing unit 201 of the user terminal 20, it instructs the registration information acquisition unit 102 to send the aforementioned registration information request data to the requesting user terminal 20.

[0068] At this time, the association determination unit 103 instructs the sending of message request data requesting only the registration information of the aforementioned first user and second user. The registration information acquisition unit 102 sends the registration information request data as instructed, and provides the registration information sent in response to it to the association determination unit 103. The association determination unit 103 counts the number of registration information items that are common to both the first user and the second user's registration information provided from the registration information storage unit 203.

[0069] The association determination unit 103 determines the user association between the counted items and the user association established with the corresponding association in the second association table as the user association between the first user and the second user. Furthermore, as a method for counting the number of shared registration information items, different weighted sums can be applied to specific registration information and other registration information. For example, the association determination unit 103 can assign weights to registration information such as shared interests and special skills that make it easier for users to become close, and count the number of shared registration information items.

[0070] When determining different user relevance using the first method and the second method, the relevance determination unit 103 may, for example, use a higher level of user relevance (if one of the user relevances contains "Lv3", it is determined to be "Lv3"; if neither contains "Lv3" but one of the user relevances contains "Lv2", it is determined to be "Lv2"). Alternatively, the relevance determination unit 103 may also use a lower level of user relevance. The relevance determination unit 103 then supplies the user relevance determination result to the suitability determination unit 104.

[0071] The suitability determination unit 104 determines the suitability (i.e. whether the personal information contained in the message from the first user to the second user can be used directly) based on the user relevance determined by the relevance determination unit 103. The suitability determination unit 104 uses a personal information table that establishes a corresponding association between user relevance and personal information that is not suitable to be included in the message from the first user to the second user (i.e., unsuitable message).

[0072] Figure 7 This is an example of a personal information form. Figure 7 In the example, the user associations for "Lv1", "Lv2", and "Lv3" correspond to personal information that is not suitable for the message, such as "address, phone number, occupation, interests, special skills", "address, phone number", and "none". If the association determination unit 103 provides the user association determination result, the suitability determination unit 104 extracts the personal information that is not suitable for the message and is associated with the provided user association in the personal information table.

[0073] Furthermore, the suitability determination unit 104 extracts personal information from the message (a message from the first user to the second user) shown in the request data sent from the message processing unit 201 of the user terminal 20. The suitability determination unit 104 may pre-store keywords that are expected to be included in the personal information. These keywords may include, for example, place names, numbers with a specific number of digits ("090XXXXXXXX", etc.), occupational names, hobby names, and special skills names.

[0074] The appropriateness determination unit 104 segments the strings contained in the message, for example, into phrases or segments, and extracts the strings containing keywords from the segmented strings as personal information. Furthermore, regarding the personal information contained in messages from the first user to the second user, it is generally avoided to arbitrarily transmit another person's personal information to others; therefore, it is mostly the first user's own personal information. However, in cases of extremely high necessity or with the individual's permission, there are also cases where the message contains personal information of users other than the first user. That is, the personal information contained in the message is not limited to the personal information of a specific user.

[0075] The suitability determination unit 104 determines whether the extracted personal information contains the aforementioned personal information that is unsuitable for the message. The suitability determination unit 104 provides the determination result to the personal information processing unit 105. The personal information processing unit 105 performs processing related to the personal information based on the suitability of the personal information determined by the suitability determination unit 104. When the personal information processing unit 105 determines that the personal information does not contain personal information that is unsuitable for the message, it sends the instruction data for directly using the personal information contained in the message to the user terminal 20.

[0076] Furthermore, when the personal information processing unit 105 determines that the message contains personal information unsuitable for sending, in this embodiment, as a process related to personal information, it performs the process of sending instruction data indicating that the sending of a message containing such personal information is prohibited to the user terminal 20. The message processing unit 201 of the user terminal 20 sends the message when it receives the instruction to send the message, and stops sending the message when it receives the instruction to prohibit sending the message.

[0077] The devices included in the Personal Information Management Assistance System 1, through the above structure, perform instruction processing based on the processing of personal information contained in the user association instruction message.

[0078] Figure 8 This describes an example of the action steps in the instruction processing. First, the user terminal 20 (registration information storage unit 203) stores the registration information of the user using this terminal (step S11). Then, the user terminal 20 (message processing unit 201) sends and receives messages with other user terminals 20 (step S21).

[0079] Next, user terminal 20 (message storage unit 202) stores the messages exchanged between user terminals 20 and other user terminals 20 (step S22). Furthermore, the execution order of steps S11 and S21 and S22 can be reversed or executed in parallel. Afterwards, assume that user terminal 20 (message processing unit 201) generates a message to be sent to other user terminals 20 (step S31).

[0080] In this case, user terminal 20 (message processing unit 201) sends request data requesting indication of the appropriateness of personal information to server device 10 (step S32). Server device 10 (registration information acquisition unit 102) sends registration information request data to user terminal 20, the source of the request data (step S33). User terminal 20 (registration information storage unit 203) reads the registration information shown in the received registration information request data and sends it to server device 10 (step S34). Server device 10 (registration information acquisition unit 102) acquires the sent registration information (step S35).

[0081] Furthermore, the server device 10 (message acquisition unit 101) sends the message request data to the user terminal 20, the source of the request data (step S41). The user terminal 20 (message storage unit 202) reads the message shown in the received message request data and sends it to the server device 10 (step S42). The server device 10 (message acquisition unit 101) acquires the sent message (step S43).

[0082] Furthermore, the execution order of steps S33, S34, S35 and steps S41, S42, S43 can be reversed or executed in parallel. Next, the server device 10 (association determination unit 103) determines the user association between the first user and the second user exchanging messages (step S51). Next, the server device 10 (appropriateness determination unit 104) determines the appropriateness of the personal information contained in the message from the first user to the second user based on the determined user association (steps S52, S53).

[0083] If, in step S53, it is determined that the message does not contain personal information unsuitable for sending to the second user (yes), the server device 10 (personal information processing unit 105) sends instruction data to the user terminal 20 instructing that the message be sent directly using the personal information contained in the message (step S61). The user terminal 20 (message processing unit 201) sends the message according to the instruction (step S62).

[0084] If, in step S52, it is determined that the message contains personal information unsuitable for sending to the second user (No), the server device 10 (personal information processing unit 105) sends instruction data indicating that the message should not be sent to the user terminal 20 (step S71). The user terminal 20 (message processing unit 201) stops sending the message according to the instruction (step S72).

[0085] As described above, in this embodiment, when the user association level with the second user is low, messages containing personal information are not sent. The higher the user association level with the first user, the more likely the object is to value its trust in the first user; therefore, even if it knows the personal information, it is unlikely to be misused (e.g., known by others). Thus, according to this embodiment, appropriate management is implemented to prevent the object that provides personal information from being the object that misuses that personal information.

[0086] In this embodiment, sending messages containing personal information to a second user with a low level of user affinity is prohibited. Therefore, compared to not prohibiting message sending, this method more reliably prevents personal information from being transmitted to inappropriate recipients. Furthermore, in this embodiment, user affinity is determined based on the message exchange between the first and second users, so user affinity can be determined even without information other than message exchange.

[0087] [2] Variation Example

[0088] The above embodiments are merely examples of the present invention and can be modified as follows. Furthermore, the embodiments and their modifications can be combined and implemented as needed.

[0089] [2-1] Processing of personal information

[0090] The personal information processing unit 105 may also implement a different process than the embodiment (processing to prohibit message sending) as a personal information-related process. For example, the personal information processing unit 105 may perform a process of deleting personal information and sending a message as a personal information-related process. For example, the personal information processing unit 105 may delete personal information by replacing the string identified as personal information with a specific symbol (space or "○" etc.).

[0091] Figure 9 This represents an example of processing related to personal information in this variation. Figure 9 In (a), the message processing unit 201 displays message M1 of an email containing personal information strings A1 and A2. For example... Figure 9 As shown in (b), the personal information processing unit 105 generates a message M2 containing the strings A1 and A2 of deleted personal information and blank spaces B1 and B2 represented by spaces (= blank).

[0092] The personal information processing unit 105 sends message data representing the generated message M2 to the user terminal 20. The message processing unit 201 of the user terminal 20 displays the message M2 shown in the sent message data. In this way, by deleting personal information from the message, the transmission of personal information to inappropriate recipients is more reliably prevented compared to not performing the deletion.

[0093] Furthermore, in this modified example, the personal information processing unit 105 performs processing related to personal information, such as replacing personal information with other information. Specifically, the personal information processing unit 105 may, for example, replace the aforementioned other information with information that has been conceptualized at a higher level regarding personal information.

[0094] Figure 10 This represents another example of processing related to personal information in this variation. Figure 10 In (a), message M3 of an email containing the personal information string A3 of “Yokohama City, Nishi Ward” and the personal information string A4 of “Tokaido Line” is shown.

[0095] The Personal Information Processing Unit 105 generates message M4, which includes string B3 replacing "Kanagawa Prefecture" (a generalized concept of "Yokohama City, Nishi Ward" as shown in personal information string A3) and replacement string B4 replacing "JR Line" (a generalized concept of "Tokaido Line" as shown in personal information string A4). Thus, by generalizing the personal information in the message, detailed personal information is more reliably prevented from being delivered to inappropriate recipients compared to not doing so.

[0096] Furthermore, in this modified example, the personal information processing unit 105 performs the process of asking the first user whether personal information can be sent as a personal information-related process.

[0097] Figure 11 This represents another example of processing related to personal information in this variation. Figure 11 In, it is shown Figure 9 The image shown is a message M1 containing personal information, a string "Contains personal information. Send?", and an action object image C1 containing "Yes" and "No" buttons.

[0098] When the "Yes" button is pressed, the message processing unit 201 directly sends message M1. Conversely, when the "No" button is pressed, the message processing unit 201 stops sending message M1. In this way, by asking the first user whether a message containing personal information can be sent, the first user's attention is drawn to the possibility of providing personal information.

[0099] Furthermore, in this modified example, the personal information processing unit 105 performs a process of inquiring with the first user about the appropriateness of the use of personal information as a process related to personal information.

[0100] Figure 12 This represents another example of processing related to personal information in this variation. Figure 12 In (a), it is shown Figure 9 The image shown is a message M1 containing personal information, a string asking "Send with personal information?", and an action object image C2 containing "Yes" and "No" buttons.

[0101] When the "Yes" button is pressed, the message processing unit 201 directly sends message M1. When the "No" button is pressed, the personal information processing unit 105 generates a message M2 indicating that personal information has been deleted, and the message processing unit 201 sends message M2. In this way, by asking the first user about the appropriateness of the use of personal information, the first user's attention is drawn to the disclosure of personal information.

[0102] [2-2] Criteria for judging the appropriateness of the use of personal information 1

[0103] In an embodiment, it can be said that the appropriateness determination unit 104 determines that the use of personal information contained in the message is appropriate when the user relevance determined by the relevance determination unit 103 meets the determined criteria. This is based on the type of personal information determined according to the determined user relevance. Figure 7 The personal information table shown satisfies the benchmark in the embodiment when the types of personal information that are associated with the user are not included in the message.

[0104] Here, as in the variation described above, assume that the personal information processing unit 105 processes the inquiry into the appropriateness of the use of the first user's personal information. In this case, in this variation, the appropriateness determination unit 104 changes the benchmark based on the first user's history of judging the appropriateness of the use of their personal information. For example, the appropriateness determination unit 104 determines the first user's tendency to disclose their personal information (=disclosure tendency) based on the first user's history of judging the appropriateness of the use of their personal information.

[0105] The suitability determination unit 104, for example, judges disclosure tendency using three stages: positive, neutral, and negative. The suitability determination unit 104, for example, uses a method based on each disclosure tendency... Figure 7 The personal information table shown establishes a corresponding personal information table linking user associations and personal information unsuitable for messages.

[0106] Figure 13 This represents an example of a personal information form in this variation. Figure 13 In the example, the public tendency towards "middle" corresponds to the relationship with... Figure 7 The same user association and personal information that is not suitable for the message.

[0107] In the "positive" disclosure tendency, a corresponding association is established that reduces the amount of personal information unsuitable for the message compared to the "intermediate" tendency. Furthermore, in the "negative" disclosure tendency, a corresponding association is established that increases the amount of personal information unsuitable for the message compared to the "intermediate" tendency. For example, when the proportion of times a first user judges the use of personal information as appropriate relative to the number of times they judge the use of personal information as inappropriate is less than a first threshold, the appropriateness determination unit 104 judges the disclosure tendency as "negative."

[0108] Furthermore, the suitability determination unit 104 determines the disclosure tendency as "intermediate" when the aforementioned proportion is above the first threshold and below the second threshold, and determines the disclosure tendency as "positive" when the aforementioned proportion is above the second threshold. The suitability determination unit 104 performs the determination in the same manner as in the embodiment, using personal information that is not suitable for establishing a corresponding association between the determined disclosure tendency and the determined user association in the personal information table.

[0109] Figure 13 In the example, in the appropriateness determination unit 104, the more likely the first user is to actively disclose personal information, the less personal information is unsuitable for the message, and therefore the easier it is to send a message containing personal information. Thus, according to this modified example, the recipients of personal information are appropriately managed based on reflecting the first user's judgment tendency related to personal information. Furthermore, in the above example, only the first user's disclosure tendency was determined, but the disclosure tendencies of multiple users, including other users besides the first user, could also be determined.

[0110] The plurality of users may be, for example, a plurality of users belonging to the group described by the first user. In this case, the suitability determination unit 104 changes the benchmark based on the suitability judgment history of the plurality of users' personal information, including the first user. For example, the suitability determination unit 104 determines the tendency of these plurality of users to disclose their personal information based on the suitability judgment history of the plurality of users' personal information belonging to the aforementioned group.

[0111] As a method for determining the number of users, for example, the average of the aforementioned ratios for each user (the ratio of the number of times personal information was deemed appropriate to the number of times it was deemed inappropriate) can be used. Furthermore, the same method can be applied as when the user is a single individual. When using the judgment history of multiple users as described above, the recipients of personal information can be appropriately managed based on reflecting the judgment tendencies of these multiple users regarding personal information.

[0112] [2-3] Functional Structure

[0113] Implemented in Personal Information Management Auxiliary System 1 Figure 4 The methods shown are not limited to those described in the embodiments. For example, the server device 10 may have all the components in one frame, or it may have the components distributed in two or more frames, as is the case with computer resources provided through cloud services.

[0114] Furthermore, while the relevance determination unit 103 in this embodiment determines user relevance using a first method (based on the number of messages) and a second method (based on registration information), these methods can also be used by other functions for the determination process. Additionally, the actions performed by the suitability determination unit 104 and the personal information processing unit 105 can be performed by a single function. In summary, as long as it is implemented as a whole as a personal information management support system... Figure 4 The functions shown allow for free configuration of the structure of the device that implements each function and the range of actions performed by each function.

[0115] [2-4] Processor

[0116] In the above embodiments, processor refers to a processor in a broad sense, including general-purpose processors (e.g., CPU: Central Processing Unit, etc.) or dedicated processors (e.g., GPU: Graphics Processing Unit, ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit, FPGA: Field Programmable Gate Array, Programmable Logic Device, etc.).

[0117] Furthermore, the operation of the processor in the above embodiments can be performed not only by a single processor, but also by multiple processors located physically far apart working together. Moreover, the order of the processor's actions is not limited to the order described in the above embodiments and can be appropriately changed.

[0118] [2-5] Invention Category

[0119] This invention can be understood not only as information processing devices such as server device 10 and user terminal 20, but also as an information processing system equipped with these information processing devices (personal information management auxiliary system 1 is one example). Furthermore, this invention can be understood as an information processing method for implementing the processing performed by each information processing device, or as a program for enabling the computer controlling each information processing device to perform its functions. This program can be provided in the form of a recording medium such as an optical disc containing the program, or it can be provided by downloading it to a computer via a communication line such as the Internet and installing the program to make it usable.

[0120] The embodiments of the present invention described above are provided for illustrative purposes. Furthermore, these embodiments do not encompass the entirety of the invention, nor do they limit the invention to the disclosed methods. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations will be readily understood. These embodiments were chosen and described to most readily explain the principles and applications of the invention. Thus, those skilled in the art can understand the invention through various modifications that are assumed to be optimized for specific uses of various embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the foregoing claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising a processor, the processor performs the following processing: determining an association of a first user and a second user from a plurality of associations based on a number of messages exchanged between the first user and the second user within a certain period in the past; determining a disclosure tendency of the first user to disclose personal information from a plurality of disclosure tendencies based on a judgment history of appropriateness of use of personal information of the first user; acquiring a prescribed information inappropriate to be included in a message from the first user to the second user according to the determined disclosure tendency and the determined association, wherein each of the plurality of disclosure tendencies corresponds to the plurality of associations, and each combination of the disclosure tendency and the association corresponding thereto corresponds to one of a plurality of prescribed information; extracting personal information from a message from the first user to the second user; automatically modifying the personal information determined as the acquired prescribed information in the message while leaving the remaining part of the message unchanged.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to perform processing of deleting the personal information and transmitting the message.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to perform processing of replacing the personal information with other information.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein in the processing, information obtained by generalizing the personal information is replaced as the other information.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to perform processing of inquiring the first user whether the personal information can be transmitted.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to perform processing of inquiring the first user of appropriateness of use of the personal information.

7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the processor determines that use of personal information included in the message is appropriate when the determined association satisfies a determined criterion, and changes the criterion according to a judgment history of the appropriateness of use based on the first user.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the processor determines that use of personal information included in the message is appropriate when the determined association satisfies a determined criterion, and changes the criterion according to a judgment history of the appropriateness of use based on a plurality of users including the first user.

9. An information processing method comprising the steps of: determining an association of a first user and a second user from a plurality of associations based on a number of messages exchanged between the first user and the second user within a certain period in the past; determining a disclosure tendency of the first user to disclose personal information from a plurality of disclosure tendencies based on a judgment history of appropriateness of use of personal information of the first user; based on the determined public tendencies and the determined relevancies, obtaining a prescribed information unsuitable for inclusion in a message from the first user to the second user, wherein each of the plurality of public tendencies corresponds to one of the plurality of relevancies, and wherein each combination of one of the public tendencies and its corresponding one of the relevancies corresponds to one of a plurality of prescribed information; extracting personal information from the message from the first user to the second user; automatically modifying the personal information in the message determined to be the obtained prescribed information, while leaving the rest of the message unchanged.

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