Rating personal care products based on ingredients

Abstract

Techniques for scanning products and providing information about those products are provided. In one technique, ingredient names in a digital image are recognized, the ingredients are analyzed for their respective toxicity ratings, and one or more ingredient names in the digital image are highlighted to show which ingredients are considered safe or unsafe. In another technique, an overall rating for a product is calculating solely based on information about ingredients found in the product and that overall rating is displayed on a computing device. In another technique, a user provides input that indicates one or more products that the user has scanned or allegedly purchased or used. Other users are allowed to view those products if, for example, the user gives his/her permission. In another technique, geographic information of a mobile device is used to identify a product that may be relevant to a user of the mobile device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving a digital image that is generated on a mobile device and that depicts a list of ingredients in a product;   identifying, within the digital image, text that contains the list of ingredients;   in response to identifying the text, determining whether a particular ingredient in the list of ingredients satisfies one or more criteria;   in response to determining that the particular ingredient satisfies the one or more criteria, causing a portion, of the text within the digital image, that corresponds to the particular ingredient to be highlighted while the digital image is displayed on a screen of the mobile device;   wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a safeness attribute of the particular ingredient;   wherein the one or more criteria includes the safeness attribute being above a threshold;   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the particular ingredient is a first ingredient;   the portion of the text is a first portion of the text;   the method further comprising:
 determining whether a second ingredient that is different than the first ingredient and that is in the plurality of ingredients satisfies the one or more criteria; 
 in response to determining that the second ingredient satisfies the one or more criteria, causing a second portion, of the text within the digital image, that corresponds to the second ingredient to be highlighted while the digital image is displayed on the screen of the mobile device. 
   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein:
 a first safeness attribute of the first ingredient is different than a second safeness attribute of the second ingredient;   the first portion, of the text, is highlighted differently than the second portion of the text based on the first safeness attribute being different than the second safeness attribute.   
     
     
         5 . A method comprising:
 receiving, from a plurality of mobile devices, data about a plurality of personal care products;   storing, for each user of a plurality of users of the mobile devices, product data that indicates a set of personal care products that have been scanned by said each user;   storing, for each user of the plurality of users, friend data that indicates one or more other users that are allowed to view the product data of said each user;   after storing the product data and the friend data, receiving, from a first mobile device that is associated with a first user of the plurality of users, a request to view the product data of a second user of the plurality of users;   in response to receiving the request, determining, based on the friend data of the second user, that the first user is allowed to view the product data of the second user;   in response to determining, based on the friend data of the second user, that the first user is allowed to view the product data of the second user, sending, to the first mobile device, at least a subset of the product data of the second user;   wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising, after sending the subset of the product data of the second user to the first mobile device:
 receiving, from a second mobile device that is associated with the second user, non-share data that indicates that the product data of the second user is not to be viewed by one or more other users;   in response to receiving the non-share data, updating the friend data of the second user to indicate that the one or more other users are not allowed to view the product data of the second user.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 receiving, from the first mobile device that is associated with the first user, a rating request to view multiple ratings, each associated with a different user of multiple users of the plurality of users;   in response to receiving the rating request:
 identifying the multiple users as friends of the first user; 
 for each user of the multiple users, determining an overall product rating for product data of said each user; 
 generating rating display data that indicates the overall product rating for each user of the multiple users; 
 sending, to the first mobile device, the rating display data. 
   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 receiving, from a third mobile device that is associated with a third user of the plurality of users, challenge request data that indicates a challenge issued by the third user to reduce the overall toxicity of a set of products owned by friends of the third user;   in response to receiving the challenge request data:
 identifying a set of users that are friends of the third user; 
 sending, to each mobile device of a set of mobile devices of the set of users, challenge data that indicates the challenge. 
   
     
     
         9 . A method comprising:
 receiving, over a network, from a mobile device, scanned product data that represents a scan of a first product;   receiving, over the network, from the mobile device, location data that indicates a geographical location of the mobile device;   based on the location data, identifying a store that is located at or near the location data;   after identifying the store, identifying inventory data that indicates an inventory of the store;   based on the scanned product data, identifying, within the inventory, a second product that is different than the first product;   sending, to the mobile device, product identification data that identifies the second product;   wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 based on the scanned product data, determining a first safeness attribute of the first product, wherein the first safeness attribute indicates a first level of toxicity of one or more ingredients of the first product;   wherein identifying the second product is performed based on the first safeness attribute of the first product;   wherein the second product is associated with a second safeness attribute that is different than the first safeness attribute and that indicates a second level of toxicity that is less than the first level of toxicity.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 generating, based on the second safeness attribute, rating display data for the second product;   sending, to the mobile device, rating display data to be displayed concurrently with the product identification data.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the store is a second store, the method further comprising:
 determining that the mobile device is within a first store that is different than the second store;   wherein identifying the second store comprises identifying the second store that is located near the location data.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein:
 identifying the second product comprises analyzing the inventory data to identify a plurality of products that are within a class of products that includes the first product;   the second product is in the plurality of products.   
     
     
         14 . A method comprising:
 based on digital scan data, by a mobile device, of a personal care product, determining a plurality of ingredients in the personal care product;   for each ingredient of the plurality of ingredients, determining a toxicity metric of said each ingredient;   generating, based solely on each toxicity metric of the plurality of ingredients, a safeness rating of the personal care product;   generating rating data based on the safeness rating;   causing the rating data to be displayed on a screen of the mobile device in association with data that identifies the personal care product;   wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein generating the safeness rating comprises:
 calculating an average toxicity metric of based on the toxicity metric for each ingredient of the plurality of ingredients, wherein the safeness rating is based solely on the average toxicity metric; or   identifying a particular toxicity metric, of the plurality of toxicity metrics, that is highest, wherein the safeness rating is based solely on the particular toxicity metric.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving scanned product data that represents a scan, by a second mobile device, of a particular product;   determining, based on the scanned product data and a database of product information, whether the particular product is identified in the database of product information;   in response to determining that the particular product is not identified in the database of product information;   storing failed scan data that associates the second mobile device with the particular product;   after storing the failed scan data:
 updating the database of product information to include information about the particular product; 
 determining that the failed scan data identifies the particular product; 
 in response to determining that the failed scan data identifies the particular product, sending the information to the second mobile device. 
   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, from a second mobile device, physical information about a user of the second mobile device;   storing profile data that associates the physical information with the user of the second mobile device;   after storing the profile data:
 for each product of one or more products:
 identifying one or more ingredients of said each product; 
 based on the one or more ingredients and the physical information, determining whether said each product is classified as safe for the user. 
 
   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 after storing the profile data, identifying the one or more products as having been scanned by the second mobile device;   wherein identifying the one or more ingredients is performed for only products that have been scanned by the second mobile device;   in response to determining that a particular product of the one or more products is classified as unsafe for the user, sending, to the second mobile device, warning data that indicates that the particular product is unsafe for the user.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, from a first computing device, one or more search criteria that indicates an ingredient or an ingredient rating;   identifying one or more products that satisfy the one or more search criteria.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein:
 the one or more search criteria also indicates a category or class of products;   identifying the one or more products comprises searching for products that do not include the ingredient or that include only ingredients that have ratings that are higher than the ingredient rating.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, from a first mobile device that is associated with a first user, first scanned product data that indicates a first number of products that the first mobile device has scanned or that the first user has purchased;   receiving, from a second mobile device that is different than the first mobile device and that is associated with a second user than is different than the first user, second scanned product data that indicates a second number of products that the second mobile device has scanned or that the second user has purchased;   comparing the first number and the second number to determine which number is higher;   in response to determining that the first number is higher than the second number, sending, to the first mobile device, badge data that indicates that the first user has scanned or purchased more products of a certain type than any other user in a plurality of users.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, over a network, from a first mobile device, first scanned product data that indicates a plurality of products that the first mobile device has scanned;   determining an expiration date for a particular product of the plurality of products;   comparing the expiration date with a current date to determine whether the current date is after the expiration date;   in response to determining that the current date is after the expiration date, sending, to the first mobile device, expiration data that identifies the particular product and indicates that the expiration date of the particular product has passed.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, over a network, from a first mobile device that is associated with a first user, first scanned product data that indicates a plurality of products that the first mobile device has scanned;   receiving, from the first mobile device, date information that indicates when the first user began using a particular product of the plurality of products;   based on the date information, sending, to the first mobile device, warning data that indicates that the first user should replace the particular product.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, over a network, from a first mobile device that is associated with a first user, first scanned product data that indicates a plurality of products that the first mobile device has scanned;   for each product of the plurality of products, identifying a manufacturer of said each product;   determining that ownership of a particular manufacturer, of a particular product of the plurality of products, has changed and that a new owner of the particular manufacturer is an owner that is known to use one or more particular ingredients in one or more products, one of which corresponds to the particular product;   in response to determining that the ownership of the particular manufacturer has changed, sending, to the first mobile device, warning data that indicates that ownership with respect to the particular product has changed.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 storing mobile device data that identifies a plurality of mobile devices;   receiving, from a sponsor, a request to issue a challenge to multiple mobile devices to scan products of a particular brand that the sponsor owns;   based on the mobile device data, sending, to each mobile device, of the plurality of mobile devices, challenge data that indicates the challenge;   after sending the challenge data, receiving, from a first mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices, first scanned product data that indicates a first plurality of products, of the particular brand, that the first mobile device has scanned;   after sending the challenge data, receiving, from a second mobile device that is different than the first mobile device and that is of the plurality of mobile devices, second scanned product data that indicates a second plurality of products, of the particular brand, that the second mobile device has scanned.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving, from a first mobile device, scanned product data that indicates a particular product that the first mobile device has scanned;   in response to receiving the scanned product data, determining that ingredient information about the particular product is not found in a product database;   in response to determining that ingredient information about the particular product is not found in the product database, sending, to the first mobile device, response data that indicates that no ingredient information is known about the particular product;   after sending the response data, receiving, from the first mobile device, ingredient data that identifies one or more ingredients of the particular product;   in response to receiving the ingredient data, determining a safeness attribute for each of the one or more ingredients;   sending, to the first mobile device, information about the safeness attribute of each of the one or more ingredients.   
     
     
         27 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of the method recited in  claim 1 . 
     
     
         28 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of the method recited in  claim 4 . 
     
     
         29 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of the method recited in  claim 9 . 
     
     
         30 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of the method recited in  claim 14 .