Selective Connection Sharing for Privacy Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current social network services require users to share all or most of their connections to facilitate connections with others, which can be intrusive and unnecessary, as users may only want to share specific connections that match certain criteria without disclosing their entire network.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that allow users to determine the correspondence between their connections and a given description, ranking them based on relevance and importance, and providing an option to share only those connections that meet a predetermined threshold, maintaining exclusive control over their data and connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users share all their connections to facilitate connections with others, then the ability to connect with potential contacts is improved, but user privacy and data security deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the user's connections into multiple groups based on different criteria (e.g., professional, personal, family). Users can selectively share specific groups rather than their entire network, enabling targeted connection facilitation while protecting privacy. This segmentation allows users to maintain control over which portions of their network are visible to different contexts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by allowing different privacy settings and sharing permissions for different connection groups. Each group can have customized visibility rules, meaning users can apply different quality levels of privacy protection to different segments of their network. This enables fine-grained control where highly sensitive connections remain private while less sensitive ones can be shared selectively.
2Quantity of substance
If users share their entire connection network, then the completeness of connection data is improved, but the complexity of data management and user control increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by automatically organizing connections into groups based on predefined criteria before the user needs to share them. The system proactively structures the data, creating ready-to-share segments without requiring users to manually manage each connection. This reduces the complexity of data management while maintaining the ability to access complete connection information when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by allowing users to share only the necessary portion of their connection network for each specific context, rather than requiring management of the entire network as a single unit. Users can select and share specific groups based on current needs, reducing the immediate management burden while keeping the full network available for future use.
3Ease of operation
If users selectively share only specific connections, then user privacy control is improved, but the effectiveness of leveraging connections for opportunities decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that track the effectiveness of selective sharing. The system monitors which connection groups are shared, how many opportunities arise from them, and adjusts recommendations for future sharing decisions. This feedback loop ensures that selective sharing remains effective by learning from past successes and optimizing which connections to share in different contexts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows dynamic adjustment of sharing parameters based on context and performance. Users can modify which groups are shared, to whom, and under what conditions based on feedback about what works. The system can change parameters like visibility scope, duration of sharing, and target audiences to optimize both privacy protection and connection-leveraging effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for sharing. An exemplary method includes receiving, by a user equipment (UE) having a plurality of connections, a description, and determining, by the UE, a correspondence between the description and the plurality of connections. The method further includes providing, by the UE, an option to share a subset of the plurality of connections that have a correspondence above a predetermined threshold.