Caller ID Blocking Control via Contact List Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current solutions fail to adequately address the issue of blocked telephone numbers during calls, leading to communication barriers between individuals who know each other, as callers' numbers are often automatically blocked, preventing recipients from identifying the caller and potentially resulting in unanswered calls.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a processor to identify contact information and determine whether to disable caller ID blocking for specific calls, allowing the caller's number to be presented to the recipient based on pre-defined criteria, such as past communications and contact status, enabling the caller's number to be unblocked during a call.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If caller ID blocking is enabled for all calls, then privacy protection is improved, but communication effectiveness deteriorates when calling known contacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the caller ID blocking function by contact, allowing different blocking behaviors for different contacts in the address book. The system divides contacts into groups (e.g., family, friends, colleagues) and applies selective unblocking rules to each group, enabling privacy protection for unknown callers while ensuring communication effectiveness with known contacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic caller ID blocking that automatically adjusts based on the called contact. The system dynamically determines whether to block or unblock the caller ID by checking if the contact exists in the address book and applying predefined unblocking rules, making the blocking behavior adaptive rather than static.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If caller ID blocking is automatically applied to all calls, then security is improved, but the ability to identify known callers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses feedback from the address book lookup to control caller ID blocking. The system checks whether the called number exists in the contact list and uses this feedback information to determine whether to unblock the caller ID, creating a closed-loop control system that balances security and information availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring unblocking rules for contacts in the address book before calls are made. The system pre-identifies trusted contacts and pre-establishes unblocking policies, so that when a call is initiated to a known contact, the caller ID is automatically unblocked without requiring real-time decision-making during the call setup.
3Reliability
If caller ID blocking is maintained for every call, then anonymity is improved, but the likelihood of call answer deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating caller ID blocking behavior based on the specific contact being called. Instead of applying a uniform blocking policy, the system applies different quality levels of anonymity to different contacts - full anonymity for unknown numbers, partial anonymity for acquaintances, and no anonymity for close contacts - thereby optimizing call answer rates for known contacts while maintaining anonymity for strangers.
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, a first device includes a processor and storage accessible to the processor. The storage bears instructions executable by the processor to identify contact information for a person associated with a second device and determine, based on the identification, whether to disable a caller identification (ID) blocking function associated with making calls from the first device. The instructions are also executable by the processor to, responsive to a determination to disable the caller ID blocking function, disable the caller ID blocking function while facilitating a call from the first device to the second device.