Selective Visibility Control for Social User Anonymity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems fail to effectively manage interactions between commercial and social users while maintaining user anonymity and controlling access to information, as users often remain non-anonymous and lack control over visibility of their identity or contact information.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that store social and commercial user records, allowing users to create customizable social user pages accessible to selected users, with content control to maintain anonymity, and update user lists based on user approvals, using a processor and data storage module to manage communications and item identifiers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If users share information on social platforms, then information accessibility and interaction are improved, but user anonymity and control over information visibility are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements different visibility levels for different pieces of information. Users can specify which users can see which content on their profile, allowing selective anonymity. For example, a user can display their profile content to selected commercial users while maintaining anonymity from other social users, or vice versa, resolving the contradiction between information sharing and anonymity control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the audience into different categories (social users, commercial users, selected users) and applies different visibility rules to each segment. This allows users to control information visibility on a per-audience basis, enabling them to share information with some users while maintaining anonymity from others, thus resolving the contradiction between information accessibility and anonymity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If commercial users access social user information, then interaction capability is improved, but user privacy and anonymity are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the selective visibility system) between commercial users and social user information. Commercial users can access and interact with social user content through controlled channels where anonymity is preserved, without direct exposure of personal identifying information. This intermediary layer enables interaction capability while protecting privacy from harmful exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different privacy protection levels to different types of information and different user categories. Commercial users can access certain non-identifying information for interaction purposes while identifying information remains protected. This localized quality control allows versatility in interaction while preventing harmful privacy exposure.
3Loss of information
If user profiles display detailed information, then user expressiveness and content richness are improved, but anonymity and privacy control are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic visibility controls where users can adjust who sees which parts of their profile content. The same rich content can be displayed to different audiences with different levels of anonymity. Users can create comprehensive profiles and then dynamically control visibility on a per-user or per-group basis, allowing content creation flexibility while maintaining anonymity control through selective disclosure.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, system, and computer program product allows users to manage brand interaction with other users. In one aspect, a plurality of social user records and a plurality of commercial user records, corresponding to a plurality of social users and a plurality of commercial users, respectively, are stored on a data storage module. A plurality of brand identifiers is also stored on the data storage module, wherein each brand identifier identifies a brand associated with a commercial user. A plurality of social user pages are generated, wherein each social user page displays content based on a social user record belonging to corresponding social user. Each social user page is controllable by the social user to be accessible to a set of selected users of interest to that social user. The content displayed by the social user page is controllable by the social user to maintain the social user's anonymity.