Systems and methods for communicating privacy and marketing preferences

Abstract

Systems and methods of managing and communicating privacy and marketing preferences are described. In particular, a system for managing and communicating comprises a central user preference center that is configured to store at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of a user in association with account information identifying an account of the user. The central preference center is configured to publish at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of a user to at least one entity preference center, and the at least one entity preference center is configured to communicate the user's entity preference center privacy and marketing preference dataset to the central user preference center.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a server configured to store at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of a user in association with account information identifying an account of the user, wherein:
 the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset includes privacy and marketing preferences from a plurality of entities, 
 the server is configured to publish at least one personal privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user to at least one entity preference center, and 
 the at least one entity preference center is configured to communicate an entity privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user to the server; and 
   a rule engine configured to:
 connect to one or more remote computing systems associated with one or more of the plurality of entities, wherein the one or more remote computing systems store user privacy and marketing preference settings associated with the one or more of the plurality of entities; 
 identify differences between the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user with the user privacy and marketing preference settings associated with the one or more of the plurality of entities; and 
 reconcile the differences between the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user with the user privacy and marketing preference settings associated with the one or more of the plurality of entities, including:
 updating the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user stored by the server with the user privacy and marketing preference settings associated with the one or more of the plurality of entities based on the reconciled differences; and 
 applying the updated at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user globally across the plurality of entities, 
 wherein the server is further configured to control communication with the user by third-party systems, based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein applying the updated at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user globally across the plurality of entities includes providing the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset in a machine readable format readable by at least one of the one or more remote computing systems. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein applying the updated at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user globally across the plurality of entities is performed at set intervals. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein, to control communication with the user by third-party systems, the server is further configured to:
 determine third-party access to user information based on an entity type of at least one of the plurality of entities; and   based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset, block sharing of information with other entities.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the entity type of one of the plurality of entities is a social networking type, and wherein the server is further configured to, based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset, perform at least one of:
 controlling viewability of social media posts of the user;   limiting access to personal information of the user;   linking social networking posts of the user to a search engine;   controlling sharing of user location information; or   controlling transmission of login notifications.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the entity type of one of the plurality of entities is a business networking type, and wherein the server is further configured to, based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset, perform at least one of:
 controlling sharing of activity broadcasts of the user;   controlling viewability of a profile of the user; or   selecting other users to block by default.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user is divided into categories. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user is divided into a plurality of preference datasets. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server further includes a database configured to identify each of the plurality of entities with which the user has an account. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is further configured to, based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset, manage storage of cookies. 
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 storing, by a server, data representing a privacy and marketing preference dataset of a user in association with account information identifying an account of the user, wherein the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset includes privacy and marketing preferences from a plurality of entities;   communicating, by the server, the privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user to an entity in response to an interaction between the user and the server or the entity, where the entity stores data about the user and the privacy and marketing preference dataset controls storage and usage of the data about the user;   providing, by the server, a communication channel between the user and the entity to customize the privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user for the data about the user stored by the entity;   connecting, by a rules engine and through a web portal, to one or more remote computing systems associated with one or more of the plurality of entities, wherein the one or more remote computing systems store user privacy and marketing preference settings associated with the one or more of the plurality of entities;   identifying, by the rules engine, differences between the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user with the user privacy and marketing preference settings associated with the one or more of the plurality of entities; and   reconciling, by the rules engine, the differences between the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user with the user privacy and marketing preference settings associated with the one or more of the plurality of entities, including:   updating, by the rules engine, the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user stored on the server with the user privacy and marketing preference settings associated with the one or more of the plurality of entities based on the reconciled differences; and   applying, by the rules engine, the updated at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user globally across the plurality of entities; and   controlling, by the server, communication with the user by third-party systems, based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein applying the updated at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user globally across the plurality of entities includes providing the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset in a machine readable format readable by at least one of the one or more remote computing systems. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein applying the updated at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user globally across the plurality of entities is performed at set intervals. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein controlling, by the server, communication with the user by third-party systems, based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset, includes:
 determining third-party access to user information based on an entity type of at least one of the plurality of entities; and   blocking, by the server and based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset, sharing of information with other entities.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the entity type of one of the plurality of entities is a social networking type, and the method further comprising performing, based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset, at least one of:
 controlling viewability of social media posts of the user;   limiting access to personal information of the user;   linking social networking posts of the user to a search engine;   controlling sharing of user location information; or   controlling transmission of login notifications.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the entity type of one of the plurality of entities is a social networking type, and the method further comprising performing, based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset, at least one of:
 controlling sharing of activity broadcasts of the user;   controlling viewability of a profile of the user; or   selecting other users to block by default.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user is divided into categories. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset of the user is divided into a plurality of preference datasets. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising identifying, by a database, each of the plurality of entities with which the user has an account. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising managing, based on the at least one privacy and marketing preference dataset, storage of cookies.