Patent ID: 9167035
Filing Date: 2015-10-20
Classification: G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. One or more computer-readable hardware storage media having computer-readable instructions which, when executed, implement a method of transmitting contact data in a peer to peer communications network, the method comprising: processing, at a first contact store, the contact data, with a mathematical operation, a total number of key values produced by the mathematical operation being at least an order of magnitude less than a total number of users in the peer to peer communications network, to provide a degree of privacy for the contact data, to produce a first processed list of contacts comprising contact identifiers which identify contacts in the network, without transmitting any of the contact data; transmitting the first processed list of contacts from the first contact store to a first comparator; at the first comparator, comparing the first processed list of contacts from the first contact store with a second processed list of contacts from a second contact store, the second processed list of contacts having been produced by processing, at the second contact store, the contact data in the second contact store with the mathematical operation, to identify common contacts between the lists of contacts from the first and second contact stores, the first comparator outputting a contacts result based on the identification of the common contacts; at a second comparator, comparing the contacts result output from the first comparator with a third processed list of contacts from a third contact store, the third processed list of contacts having been produced by processing, at the third contact store, the contact data in the third contact store with the mathematical operation; and using an output of the second comparator to identify at least one contact to recommend as a new contact to a recommendee user in the network, wherein the first contact store is at a node of the network and the first comparator is at another node of the network, and the first processed list of contacts transmitted from the first contact store is transmitted over the network to the first comparator.