Privacy Sphere for Narrowcast Recipient Selection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
As online communication tools expand their functionality and utilize location-based services, users face increasing privacy concerns due to uncontrolled sharing of personal information, leading to potential issues such as nuisance or fraud, and existing privacy measures are limited in restricting access to communications effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for narrowcasting communications that allow senders to define a privacy sphere with specific attributes, selecting recipients based on shared qualities or group membership rather than explicit lists, using meta-data to determine eligibility and enabling dynamic recipient lists and message expiration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users restrict access to their information through explicit friends lists, then online privacy is improved, but device complexity and system complexity increase due to the need for managing explicit recipient lists and privacy settings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a privacy sphere as an intermediary construct that mediates between the sender and recipients. Instead of directly managing explicit recipient lists, the system uses a privacy sphere defined by attributes that indirectly identifies eligible recipients through metadata matching, thereby reducing the complexity of direct list management while maintaining privacy control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of explicit friends list management with an automated attribute-based filtering mechanism. The privacy sphere uses metadata comparison algorithms to automatically identify eligible recipients, eliminating the need for manual list creation and updating by users
2Adaptability or versatility
If online communication tools expand functionality with location-based services, then adaptability and versatility are improved, but online privacy deteriorates due to uncontrolled sharing of personal information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different privacy attributes to be assigned to different aspects of communication. The privacy sphere can specify location-based attributes selectively, enabling location-based services to function while controlling which location information is shared with whom through attribute-based filtering
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of recipient identification from static explicit lists to dynamic attribute-based filtering. By changing how recipients are identified (through metadata matching rather than explicit listing), the system enables expanded functionality while maintaining privacy control through parameter-based selection
3Ease of operation
If the system uses attribute-based recipient selection instead of explicit lists, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates because it is harder to determine exactly who will receive the communication
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the system can evaluate and adjust the privacy sphere attributes based on matching results. The attribute-based selection system provides feedback loops that allow senders to refine their privacy sphere definitions to achieve more precise recipient identification while maintaining ease of operation through iterative improvement
Data Source
AI summary
Narrowcast communication to one or more narrowcast communication recipients is provided through the use of an extensible method and apparatus. A narrowcast communication sender determines a set of attributes that define who will be eligible to receive a narrowcast communication. The set of attributes characterize potential recipients according to qualities such as interests, location, or another descriptor of a potential narrowcast communication recipient. Through the use of a privacy sphere, attributes associated with the narrowcast communication are matched to the qualities of potential recipients to identify the network addresses of the narrowcast communication recipients. The narrowcast communication is then transmitted to those network addresses. The narrowcast communication can be then expired from recipients who are no longer eligible to receive it and transmitted to recipients who become eligible to receive the narrowcast communication.