Homomorphic Encryption for Privacy-Preserving Appointment Scheduling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing scheduling systems face challenges in preserving user privacy when determining common availability for appointment scheduling, as users are hesitant to share extensive personal information, especially with third-party service providers, which can lead to privacy concerns and reduced adoption of scheduling applications.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of homomorphic encryption and privacy-preserving scheduling algorithms that allow users to determine available time slots for appointments without revealing additional information to other users or the scheduling server, using a semi-trusted server to process encrypted availability information and recommend time slots using homomorphic functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users share availability information with scheduling servers to determine common availability, then scheduling functionality is improved, but user privacy is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces homomorphic encryption as an intermediary mechanism between users and the scheduling server. The server processes encrypted availability data without decrypting it, acting as a mediator that enables scheduling functionality while preserving user privacy. The server can compute on ciphertexts and return encrypted results, eliminating the need for users to share raw availability information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms availability information from plaintext to encrypted form using homomorphic encryption before processing. This parameter change allows the data to maintain mathematical properties needed for scheduling computations while being inaccessible to the server and other users. The encryption transforms the data representation without losing computational utility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If users provide detailed personal information for context-based services, then service functionality is improved, but privacy concerns increase
Solution Approach 1:
Homomorphic encryption serves as an intermediary that enables context-based services without requiring users to disclose detailed personal information. The server can process encrypted data to determine common availability and provide scheduling services while the data remains encrypted, preventing privacy breaches while maintaining service functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the necessary mathematical properties needed for scheduling computations from user availability data, while leaving the actual personal information encrypted and inaccessible. This extraction approach allows scheduling functionality to operate on minimal processed data rather than requiring full personal information disclosure.
3Ease of operation
If third-party services process user availability data to enable appointment scheduling, then scheduling capability is improved, but trust requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Homomorphic encryption acts as a trust-preserving intermediary between users and third-party scheduling services. The server processes only encrypted data and returns encrypted results, eliminating the need for users to trust that the server will not misuse their personal information. This cryptographic intermediary enables third-party services to function without requiring high levels of user trust.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is provided for preserving privacy for appointment scheduling. A scheduling platform receives a request to schedule an appointment among one or more users. The scheduling platform determines availability information for the one or more users from one or more respective devices, wherein the availability information is encrypted using homomorphic encryption. The scheduling platform then processes and/or facilitates a processing of the availability information using, at least in part, one or more homomorphic functions to determine one or more recommended time slots for the appointment.