Shared Album Privacy Model for Social Networking Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional social networking systems limit users' ability to share complete photo albums and manage access, preventing sharing with indirectly connected users and not allowing authorization for others to add content or manage interactions within shared content groups.
Innovation Solution
A social networking system allows users to create 'shared albums' with customizable privacy settings, enabling owners to invite and authorize access, manage members, and regulate actions, with notifications for authorized users and the option to create or merge albums based on user actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional privacy settings are used to protect user content, then user privacy is maintained, but users cannot share complete photo albums with indirectly connected users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the album sharing capability by creating distinct roles (owner and members) with different permission levels. The owner maintains full control including privacy settings, while members have limited permissions to add content or invite others. This segmentation allows the album to be shared with indirectly connected users through member invitations without exposing the entire album to public access, thus resolving the contradiction between sharing versatility and privacy protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by allowing different users to have different access levels to the same album. The owner retains full control over privacy settings and album management, while members receive localized permissions to add photos or invite connections. This differentiated access structure enables selective sharing where specific portions of the album functionality are opened to indirectly connected users without compromising overall privacy control.
2Ease of operation
If conventional access control is implemented, then album owner maintains full control, but other users cannot add content or manage interactions within the album
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic access control where permissions are not fixed but can be adjusted by the owner. The owner can add or remove members, change their permission levels, and modify album settings as needed. This dynamic structure allows the album to evolve from a strictly private collection to a collaborative space with indirectly connected users, while maintaining the ability to revert to full control when necessary, thus balancing collaboration ease with manageable complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing a clear permission framework before sharing begins. The owner pre-configures member permissions and invitation settings, creating a structured access management system that simplifies subsequent collaboration. This preliminary setup prevents chaotic access management by defining roles and permissions in advance, making it easy for members to add content and invite connections without creating administrative overhead.
3Reliability
If strict privacy settings are enforced, then user data protection is ensured, but user experience and sharing flexibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces members as intermediaries between the owner and indirectly connected users. Members receive invitation links that allow them to add photos and invite their connections to the album, acting as a buffer that enables flexible sharing while maintaining the owner's privacy control. This intermediary layer provides sharing flexibility for trusted connections without requiring the owner to relax strict privacy settings, thus resolving the contradiction between data protection reliability and sharing flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A social networking system user creates an album including a shared collection of content (a “shared album”) and associates a privacy model with the shared album. The privacy model specifies additional users of the social networking system authorized to access content items in the shared album and specifies types of actions users authorized to access content items in the shared album are permitted to perform to content items in the shared album. Notifications describing actions associated with content items in a shared album may be presented to users authorized to access the shared album. The social networking system may prompt a user to create a shared album containing based on actions performed by the user or performed by connected to the user.