Selective privacy management in virtual social networks

Abstract

Systems and methods for privacy management of user content in virtual social networks are provided. A user of the virtual social network can designate user preferences to be associated with the content provided by the user. The user preference authorizes one or more individuals to access some or all of the user's content in the virtual social network. In various embodiments of the present invention, the user may authorize specific groups of individuals by designating a set permission associated with each group.

1 . A method for managing the privacy of user content in a virtual social network, the method comprising:
 receiving content specified by a first user of the social network;   associating a user preference with the content, the user preference limiting who is authorized to access the user content;   receiving a request from a second user for access to the user content; and   determining from the user preference whether the second user is authorized to access the user content.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein associating the user preference with the content includes associating a default user preference with the content. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein associating the user preference with the content includes receiving from the first user an indication of who is authorized to access the user content. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the indication of who is authorized to access the user content includes an individual. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the indication of who is authorized to access the user content includes the members of a friend set. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the indication of who is authorized to access the user content includes the members of a community. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising authenticating the identity of the second user prior to determining whether the second user is authorized to access the user content. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the user preference further limits who is authorized to post a comment associated with the user content. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the user preference further limits what type of content can be posted as a comment associated with the user content. 
   
   
       10 . A system for managing the privacy of user content in a virtual social network, the system comprising:
 an input module configured to receive content specified by a first user of the social network;   a database configured to store a user preference associated with the content, the user preference limiting who is authorized to access the user content; and   an access control module configured to determine from the user preference whether a second user is authorized to access the user content.   
   
   
       11 . The system of  claim 10  wherein the user preference comprises a default user preference. 
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the default user preference was previously designated by the user. 
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 10  further comprising an authentication module configured to authenticate an identity of an individual in the virtual social network. 
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 13  wherein the control module is further configured to determine that the individual is a member of at least one friend set associated with the user based on the authenticated identity of the individual. 
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 13  wherein the control module is further configured to determine that the individual is a member of at least one community based on the authenticated identity of the individual. 
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 10  further comprising a friend set database configured to store information concerning friend sets associated with the user. 
   
   
       17 . A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereupon executable computing instructions for performing a method comprising:
 receiving content specified by a first user of the social network;   associating a user preference with the content, the user preference limiting who is authorized to access the user content;   receiving a request from a second user for access to the user content; and   determining from the user preference whether the second user is authorized to access the user content.