Image Content Privacy Control Through Selective Application Access

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing image processing systems grant applications unrestricted access to image sensor data, allowing access to both necessary and unnecessary content, potentially exposing private information.

Innovation Solution

Implementing content detection models to identify and process image content based on application requests, obscuring or removing unnecessary information before providing the image to the application.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If applications are granted unrestricted access to image sensor data, then application functionality is improved, but user privacy is worsened

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapplication functionalityVSAvoiduser privacy

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the image data into different content categories (e.g., QR codes, text, faces, landscapes) and controls access to each segment independently. The system detects content types in images and selectively shares only the relevant portions with applications based on their requested categories, rather than providing unrestricted access to the complete image data.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts only the necessary content portions from the complete image data and provides these extracted segments to applications. The system identifies and separates specific content elements (such as QR codes or text regions) from the rest of the image, allowing applications to access only the extracted relevant portions rather than the entire image.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If content detection models process images to remove unnecessary information, then user privacy is improved, but processing time is worsened

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser privacyVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs content detection and categorization as a preliminary action before image processing and sharing. The system pre-identifies content types and their locations in images, enabling subsequent processing steps to focus only on relevant portions rather than processing the entire image, thus reducing overall processing time while maintaining privacy protection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies partial action by processing only the portions of images that contain relevant content categories rather than processing the entire image uniformly. The system identifies specific regions of interest and applies processing operations only to these partial regions, reducing computational overhead and processing time while still ensuring comprehensive privacy protection where needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS20250225275A1Privacy control of images based on content

Publication Date: 2025.07.10 QUALCOMM INC

AI summary

The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for image processing. An example method includes receiving, from an application, a request to access an image, wherein the application is enabled access to one or more categories of image content, processing the image to modify one or more portions of the image that include content not within the one or more categories, and providing, to the application, the processed image.