Method and apparatus for accessing and displaying private user information

For accessing and displaying private user information, a privacy-preserving overlay platform determines a request, from at least one application, for user data. The privacy-preserving overlay platform processes and/or facilitates a processing of the data to generate at least one index value of the data. Further, the privacy-preserving overlay platform causes, at least in part, a return of the at least one index value to the at least one application in response to the request.

BACKGROUND

Service providers and device manufacturers (e.g., wireless, cellular, etc.) are continually challenged to deliver value and convenience to consumers by, for example, providing compelling network services capable of personalization. Such personalization may be dependent on applications being granted some level of access to user data. One area of interest has been the development of services and technologies for privacy overlays, wherein an application may access a rich personal data store via an obfuscation protection technique functioning as a conduit to application function while preserving user data privacy. However, the existing methods for preserving user privacy are prone to security breaches, limited functionality, and burdensome verification processes that may not be clearly understood by a user. Accordingly, service providers and device manufacturers are challenged to develop new mechanisms for effectively and efficiently preserving user privacy without sacrificing application functioning and personalization that many users have become dependent on.

SOME EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Therefore, there is a need for an approach for accessing and displaying private user information.

According to one embodiment, a method comprises determining a request, from at least one application, for user data. The method also comprises processing and/or facilitating a processing of the data to generate at least one index value of the data. The method further comprises causing, at least in part, a return of the at least one index value to the at least one application in response to the request.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code for one or more computer programs, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause, at least in part, the apparatus to determine a request, from at least one application, for user data. The apparatus is also caused to process and/or facilitate a processing of the data to generate at least one index value of the data. Further, the apparatus causes, at least in part, a return of the at least one index value to the at least one application in response to the request

According to another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium carries one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause, at least in part, an apparatus to determine a request, from at least one application, for user data. The apparatus is also caused to process and/or facilitate a processing of the data to generate at least one index value of the data. Further, the apparatus causes, at least in part, a return of the at least one index value to the at least one application in response to the request.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises means for determining a request, from at least one application, for user data. The apparatus also comprises means for processing and/or facilitating a processing of the data to generate at least one index value of the data. The apparatus further comprises means for causing, at least in part, a return of the at least one index value to the at least one application in response to the request.

For various example embodiments, the following is applicable: An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of originally filed claims1-10,21-30, and46-48.

DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1is a diagram of a system capable of accessing and displaying private user information, according to one embodiment. As discussed above, users have adopted highly capable and complex mobile communication devices due in part to the many functions available to enhance the daily life activities of a user. Much of this functionality is implemented via both native and third party applications running on such devices. As such, these mobile companions are a rich personal data store including but not limited to, contacts, schedules/calendars, pictures, video, location, location tags, etc. Application usage, implemented over a rich personal data store, creates a serious risk to user security; applications may access user data and transmit it elsewhere to be shared and/or mined without user consent or even user awareness. Such security risks may limit user adoption of current and future applications and application functions to the detriment of users and user communities.

To address this problem, a system100ofFIG. 1introduces the capability to allow applications to access user personal data while preserving privacy. Such obfuscation techniques employ various anonymization approaches while preserving the ability of applications to manipulate user data. However, applications only gain access to anonymized user data indexes derived from raw personal data—not the actual data contents. Limiting access to indexes effectively breaks the linkage of information accessed by different applications belonging to and/or developed by the same entity to provide a further layer of user privacy preservation.

In one embodiment, a privacy-preserving overlay module103provides user data to an application. In such an example, without privacy preservation technique, an exemplary application programming interface may appear as:

request→contacts(*)//returns a list with all contact names and details

request→contacts( )//returns a contact name specified by the user

request→photo( )//returns a picture specified by the user

In such an example, access to the list of contacts (request→contacts(*)) potentially enables the application to infer user profile information via data mining techniques. For instance if most of the names in the list are indicative of a given religion, it is likely that the user follows this religion. Such information, even seemingly innocuous information, would likely be private and worthy of privacy-preserving measures. In a further example, in such a scenario where the most frequently contacted person (chosen by request→contacts( ) is listed as contact Alice (for example), then an application may be able to determine that the contact Alice may be of particular importance, such as the user's spouse. In a similar exemplary embodiment, if an application asks a user to tag a person in a picture (accessed using request→photo( ) using the user's contacts list (request→contacts( ), the application can then determine contact identity and the associated image derived from a user's picture(s).

If such information is limited to a user's device, it may not raise any privacy concerns for the user. However, there is no practical way to detect if such information is encrypted and sent over the network to remote servers for possible data manipulation and/or mining. Therefore, it is highly desirable to enable applications to perform their functions without access to the raw user data.

In one embodiment, application obfuscation is achieved via a privacy-preserving application programming interface that ensures application access grants to user data is limited while allowing full application functionality. Such an example may appear as:

PPrequest→contacts(*)//returns a list of identifiers of the contacts

PPrequest→contacts( )//returns an identifier of a contact specified by the user

PPrequest→photo( )//returns an identifier of a picture specified by the user

The UE101may execute one or more applications111a-111n(collectively referred to as applications111). The applications111may be any type of application, such as one or more social networking applications, one or more navigational applications, one or more organizational applications, one or more browsing applications (e.g., Internet browser), one or more sensor applications, etc., or a combination thereof. Further, a UE101may include the privacy-preserving overlay module103for providing user data privacy and/or security when the applications111request for data associated with a user and/or a user device.

The system100may also include a services platform107that includes one or more services109a-109n(collectively referred to as services109). The services109may be any type of service, such as one or more social networking services, one or more navigational services, one or more organizational services, one or more sensor services, etc., or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, one or more services109may perform one or more functions of the privacy-preserving overlay module103. In one embodiment, the privacy-preserving overlay module103may provide processed information (e.g., substantially without revealing raw data) pertaining to personal detail information and/or reference contextual information via user data115to one or more of the services109so that the services109may provide personalized services to the user. In various embodiments, one or more functions of the privacy-preserving overlay module103may be performed by the one or more services109, for example, by implementing the one or more functions such that user data is processed according to the privacy-preserving overlay module103methods before the user data is shared with any applications, service providers, content providers, and/or any other entity of the system100.

The system100may also include one or more content providers113a-113n(collectively referred to as content providers113). The content providers113may provide any type of content, such as content related to social networking services, one or more navigational services, one or more organizational services, one or more sensor services, etc., or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the privacy-preserving overlay module103may provide information pertaining to personal detail information and/or reference contextual information via user data115to one or more of the content providers113so that the content providers113may provide personalized services to the user.

The system100may also include user data115functioning, in part, as user data storage. The user data101may include contacts, user events, user content items, and location-based context data (e.g., time stamps, etc.). For example, the context data contains environment data, weather data, traffic data, event data, commuter data, etc. Services platform107may collect, assemble, store, update, and/or supply the context data and user context data. In one embodiment, user context data, such as, but not limited to user events may be extracted from calendars, emails, voice messages, text messages, blogs, bulletin boards, discussion forums, geographic information systems, and social network websites. In another embodiment, user content items may be used to infer context data and may be retrieved from, for instance, personal photo albums, media libraries, playlists, etc. In one embodiment, a privacy-preserving overlay module103processes the context data and user context data of different formats and types including data derived from various forms of communication such as emails, text messages, voice messages, calls, video/audio clips, etc.

FIG. 2is a diagram of the components of privacy-preserving overlay module103, according to one embodiment. By way of example, the privacy-preserving overlay module103includes one or more components for accessing and displaying private user information. It is contemplated that the functions of these components may be combined in one or more components or performed by other components of equivalent functionality. In this embodiment, the privacy-preserving overlay module103includes a request determination module201, processing module203, index module205, display module207, matching operation module209, and granularity module211.

The request determination module201, functions in part to determine application requests for user data by coordinating with privacy-preserving overlay module103. In some embodiments, request determination module201may determine another application request to perform an operation associated with the user data. In one embodiment, request determination module201functions coordinately with index module205to specify an index value. Request determination module201functions coordinately with privacy-preserving overlay module103to determine one or more display parameters according to an action via display module207.

The processing module203, functions coordinately with at least the privacy-preserving overlay module103to process and/or facilitate a processing of data to generate at least one index value representative of and/or embodying data, such as, but not limited to user data. In some embodiments, such processing employs encryption methodologies, anonymization approaches, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, processing via processing module203functions according to encryption parameters, hash functions, cryptographic functions, or a combination thereof to determine an index value. Such parameters and functions may be employed via a level of granularity to maximize user function and/or privacy preservation thresholds at no cost to application function.

The index module205functions coordinately with the privacy-preserving overlay module103to generate at least one data index value via processing module203to return the index value to an application in response to a request. In some embodiments, one or more applications manipulate an index value. In some embodiments, for user privacy preservation, index module205generates index values on a per application basis, at least in part, by a randomization operation, an index calculation operation specific to the at least one application, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, an index value may impart an initiation of at least one operation on the user data on behalf of an application. In some embodiments, such an operation may include a matching operation.

The display module207functions coordinately with the privacy-preserving overlay module103via one or more operations. In some embodiments, an operation may include, at least in part, a display operation according to display parameters. Such a display operation may derive from any available user information including, but not limited to, a multimedia application/function (e.g., images, videos, etc.) according to one or more index values.

The matching operation module209functions coordinately with the privacy-preserving overlay module103via an operation. In some embodiments an operation may include, at least in part, a matching operation. In some embodiments, matching operation module209may cause, at least in part, an initiation of a matching operation on at least one index value, one or more other index values, user data, other user data, or a combination thereof to determine one or more matched data items.

The granularity module211determines at least one index value based, at least in part, on a level of granularity. In one embodiment, a level of granularity may be defined according to the nature of the data to be indexed according to user and/or system needs. In some embodiments, data fields are subdivided according one or more anonymization approaches.

FIGS. 3A-3Iare flowcharts of processes for accessing and displaying private user information, according to various embodiments. In one embodiment, the privacy-preserving overlay module103performs the process300and is implemented in, for instance, a chip set including a processor and a memory as shown inFIG. 6.

Referring toFIG. 3A, in step301, request determination module201determines a request, from at least one application, for user data. Such a request may derive from any application, such as, but not limited to an application native to the device, a third party application, a service provider application, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, user data may include any data of a personal and/or private nature used in any process of an application action, operation, or a combination thereof. In step303, index module205processes and/or facilitates a processing of the data to generate at least one index value of the data. In some embodiments, such index values represent any data derivative of, and indicative of, user data. Such data may embody an anonymized representational form of the raw data, such as, but not limited to, labels, identifiers, or a combination thereof. Such index data may be returned to one or more applications without exposing the underlying data representative of a user's rich personal data store. In one embodiment, the index module205may determine if the data has already been processed and whether it is associated with existing index values prior to further processing. In step305, privacy-preserving overlay module103causes, at least in part, a return of the at least one index value to the at least one application in response to a request. In one embodiment, the privacy-preserving overlay module103functions between an application requesting user data and personal data store so the at least one application manipulates the at least one index value in place of the user data.

Referring toFIG. 3B, in step307, index module205determines the at least one index value on a per application basis. In some embodiments, such a per application basis may include, at least in part, a randomization operation, an index calculation operation specific to the at least one application, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, such a per application basis effectively breaks the linkage of information accessed by different applications belonging to and/or developed by the same entity to provide a further layer of user privacy preservation.

Referring toFIG. 3C, in step309, request determination module201coordinates with privacy-preserving overlay module103to determine another request, from the at least one application, to perform at least one operation associated with the user data, the another request specifying the at least one index value. In one embodiment, any operation wherein raw personal data may be exposed by the action of one or more applications may trigger privacy-preserving overlay module103action, including, but not limited to, limiting access to only user index values. In step311, privacy-preserving overlay module103functions coordinately to cause, at least in part, an initiation of the at least one operation on the user data associated with the at least one index value on behalf of the at least one application. In some embodiments, such applications function cooperatively with privacy-preserving overlay module103. In some embodiments, such applications do not function cooperatively with privacy-preserving overlay module103; however, applications are still only granted access to user information via indexes derived from privacy-preserving overlay module103.

Referring toFIG. 3D, in step313, request determination module201functions coordinately with privacy-preserving overlay module103to determine one or more display parameters according to an action via display module207from the another request. In step315, display module207causes, at least in part, an initiation of the display operation on the user data based on the display parameters in response to the another request. Such display parameters may be application derived, user derived, system derived, or a combination thereof.

Referring toFIG. 3E, in step317, index module205determines one or more other index values for other user data associated with one or more other users. In step319, matching operation module209causes, at least in part, an initiation of the matching operation on the at least one index value, the one or more other index values, the user data, the other user data, or a combination thereof to determine one or more matched data items. Such matching operation module209actions may be utilized to connect and/or locate associated users according to application, user, and/or systems parameters without exposing underlying rich data stores to enhance application functionality. In step321, index module205causes, at least in part, a return of the at least one index value associated with the one or more matched data items in response to the another request.

Referring toFIG. 3F, in step323, granularity module211functions coordinately with privacy-preserving overlay module103to determine a level of granularity of the user data for the at least one application. In some embodiments, the level of granularity may be user defined, application defined, system defined, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, a level of granularity may be defined according to the nature of the data to be indexed according to user needs. In some embodiments, data fields are subdivided according one or more anonymization approaches. In step325, index module205functions coordinately with granularity module211to determine the at least one index value based, at least in part, on the level of granularity. In step327ofFIG. 3G, granularity module211determines the level of granularity based, at least in part, in part, a level of specificity for conveying the location information

Referring toFIG. 3H, in step329, processing and/or facilitating a processing to user data, one or more encryption parameters, or a combination according to one or more random functions, one or more hash functions, one or more cryptographic functions, or a combination thereof to determine the at least one index value.

Referring toFIG. 3I, in step331, privacy-preserving overlay module103causes, at least in part, a monitoring of the at least one application for at least one application operation acting on the at least one index value. In step333, request determination module201functions coordinately with privacy-preserving overlay module103to cause, at least in part, an interception of the at least one application operation. In some embodiments, such an interception of an application operation may be triggered by the privacy-preserving overlay module103and may function cooperatively or independently of the application. In step335, privacy-preserving overlay module103causes, at least in part, a substitution of the at least one application operation with an operation acting on the user data associated with the at least one index value

FIGS. 4A-4Dare diagrams of platform schematics utilized in the processes ofFIGS. 3A-3I, according to various embodiments.FIG. 4Ais a schematic depicting Applications (A_i) access to the data sources (S_j) to obtain requested information, and display the result without any “privacy interfaces”. Applications using such a “legacy” application programming interface, as illustrated inFIG. 1, request the user data in order to display it to a user in some (application-specific) way. In some embodiments, display employs a list of previously contacted people via an application, displaying a small picture next to a contact name. To preserve such displaying functionality in a privacy-preserving way, the new application programming interface should support displaying functions such as:

PPshow→contact(d, coordinates, format)//displays the name of the contact identified by id, at specific coordinates of the screen, using a specific format

PPshow→photo(id, coordinates, format)//displays the photo identified by id, at specific coordinates of the screen, using a specific format

Content identifiers (picture ID, or contact ID) must reveal no information about the contents such as the alphabetical order in the list, or the chronological order. One way to remove such information leakage from IDs is to apply non-reversible hash functions to the (content+password), such as:id=hash(contact_name∥password)
where hash can be sha256sum, ∥ is string concatenation, and password is a system password, inaccessible to an application, such as, but not limited to a 3rdparty applications.

In some embodiments, to add an additional layer of privacy-preservation, the linkage of information passed to different applications is broken, so that applications from the same entity, or developed by the same company/parties may be prohibited from inferring particular user connections. If for instance application1accesses the user's contacts list, and application2manages a user's pictures, passing consistent contact identifiers to both reveals sensitive private information typically useless for the functioning of the applications but worthy of privacy preservation if passed to other parties and/or servers. In an exemplary data mining inference approach, if most of the people in the pictures are tagged with the same person's id, then it is likely that this id corresponds to a family member (or a very close person of particular interest/import). Such data mining approaches can be avoided by introducing application-specific entries to the hash function:id=hash(contact_name∥password∥application_name)
so that identifiers remain consistent for a given application, but totally unrelated between different applications. Further cryptographic primitives can be applied to strengthen the non-reversibility such as:id=hash(pass1∥contact_name∥application_name∥pass2)

FIG. 4Bis a schematic depicting identifiers with their corresponding applications, that are stored in a lookup-table/database (as illustrated inFIG. 4B) accessible only to the trusted overlay in order to facilitate reverse-lookups. Instead of using hashes as specified above, id_i,j can be also computed as random numbers, from a wide range to avoid collisions. In such an example, the application employs hashed identifiers of the elements in the contacts list. When such an application displays a list of previous calls it may display the pictures and next to such a list the names of the persons the user called last. In such an example, the non-privacy-preserving solution is that the application reads the picture files, then reads the contacts names, and displays all information accordingly. The privacy-preserving option utilizing a privacy-preserving overlay asks the application programming interface: “display the picture of contact number722at coordinates x,y of the screen, size W×L”, and “display the name of contact number722at coordinates x+d,y, font size 12”. As such, the user's privacy is preserved, in that the application cannot determine a contact's name, and has no real access to the image contents (only index values), at no, or limited, cost to application functionality.

In some embodiments, a Gallery application (e.g., for displaying photos) may employ face recognition capability and may ask the user to point out which contact-person is displayed. It would be beneficial for user functionality for the application to display “Alice” (contact name identifier) next to the image of the person's face, but the user prefers that this application is not granted access to such personal information. In one example, the application knows that the person in the picture is contact number523. For displaying the name next to the face, the application uses such an approach to ask the application programming interface: “display the name of contact523at coordinates x,y of the screen, font12”. Such an approach offers full functionality at limited cost to privacy.

FIG. 4Cis a schematic depicting a trusted overlay interfacing between sources of personal information and untrusted applications. From a conceptual point of view, such a privacy-preserving application programming interface can be considered and implemented as a secure/trusted “privacy-preserving” overlay that displays user data (from sources51, . . . , Sn) upon requests from applications (A1, . . . , Am), without access or sharing actual data. For instance, an application, using such an application programming interface, would (request to) show friends' names, next to their pictures, without actually accessing neither the names nor the picture contents. All privacy-sensitive data (e.g. contacts, photos) are displayed using the secure/trusted “privacy-preserving” overlay, keeping the privacy records of “well-behaved” (e.g., trusted) applications at high levels, while enabling the full application functionalities, without granting unlimited access rights to user data.

Although embodiments discussed above have defined approaches to managing access to contacts and display approaches this methodology can be applied to any kind of user data exposed to any application—third party applications, system applications, service provider application, native device applications, or a combination thereof. As such, various privacy-preserving application programming interfaces can be conceived in a similar manner. For instance, consider an application that applies auto-completion while typing contact names. The legacy solution would require the application to read the whole contacts list (such as request→contacts(*)), and perform auto-completion while the user inputs the name (to the application directly). This reveals the whole contacts list to the application, and the associated information detailing user communication with such contacts. Whereas the privacy-preserving alternative would consist of the application asking the trusted privacy-preserving overlay to intercept the user input, perform and display the auto-completion based on the actual list of contacts without passing neither the user-input nor the auto-completions to the application, but only offering the resulting hashed contact identifier to such an application.

FIG. 4Dis a schematic depicting Private Set Intersection performed at the overlay level. It is contemplated that such a privacy-preserving application programming interface would complicate “matching” techniques like friend-finding, where the actual names are typically used for matching. Cryptographic solutions based on Private Set Intersection (PSI) typically solve the matching problem in a privacy-preserving way. Such approaches may be adapted to the trusted overlay as follows: Alice has contacts Ca1, . . . , Can. Bob has contacts Cb1, . . . , Cbm. Both installed an application for common friend-finding. The application typically accesses the clear lists of contacts on both sides for match finding. The privacy-preserving version adapts PSI and layers the trusted overlay in between the application and the data to be matched.

In one embodiment a “Match-making” application on a user device asks the privacy-preserving overlay to provide it with contacts “indexes”. This action can be user-triggered or not. The overlay reads the contacts (Ca_i) and computes x_i=H1(Ca_i)^r_i, where H1is a public non-reversible hash function, and r_i is a random number known to a user's overlay only. In some embodiments, the overlay passes all x_i's to the match-making application. The match-making application on the user device sends the x_i's to its counterpart on another user's device. The match-making application on the other device passes the x_i's to the overlay, which computes y_i=x_i^ a, where a is a random number known to the other device's overlay only. In the example embodiment, an overlay further reads contacts Cb_i and computes z_i=H2(H1(Cb_i)^ a), where H2is another public non-reversible hash function. Further, another device's overlay sends the y_i and z_i's to the match-making application. As such, y_i and z_i are sent to the match-making application on a device, and y_i and z_i are passed to the overlay which computes H2(y_i^1/r_i). Further, the overlay compares the z_i's to the H2(y_i^/r_i), and informs the overlay of the corresponding matches. In such embodiments, friend-finding is therefore performed by 3rd party applications without any access to the actual contacts list, with the support of the trusted overlay application programming interface. In some embodiments, a like technique can be used for privacy preserving searches of other private information.

In some embodiments, applications require location information from a mobile device, where the returned (GPS) values include excess information uncritical for the application purpose. Such a privacy-preserving overlay may apply to an application that changes the profile (ringtone/vibrate, wallpaper, locking etc.) based on whether the user is at home, or at work. Providing the application precise GPS coordinates excess information whereas “home” and “work” would be sufficient for proper application functioning. Instead of giving the applications GPS coordinates, the proposed trusted overlay offers the application a privacy-preserving location application programming interface that returns specific location tags (e.g. “home”, “work”, “gym”, “bar” etc.). As such, location tagging can be either automatically done by the trusted overlay, or manually input by the user, as opposed to being left to the applications to infer from the precise GPS coordinates and the timestamps.

The processes described herein for accessing and displaying private user information may be advantageously implemented via software, hardware, firmware or a combination of software and/or firmware and/or hardware. For example, the processes described herein, may be advantageously implemented via processor(s), Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), etc. Such exemplary hardware for performing the described functions is detailed below.

A bus510includes one or more parallel conductors of information so that information is transferred quickly among devices coupled to the bus510. One or more processors502for processing information are coupled with the bus510.

Computer system500also includes a memory504coupled to bus510. The memory504, such as a random access memory (RAM) or any other dynamic storage device, stores information including processor instructions for accessing and displaying private user information. Dynamic memory allows information stored therein to be changed by the computer system500. RAM allows a unit of information stored at a location called a memory address to be stored and retrieved independently of information at neighboring addresses. The memory504is also used by the processor502to store temporary values during execution of processor instructions. The computer system500also includes a read only memory (ROM)506or any other static storage device coupled to the bus510for storing static information, including instructions, that is not changed by the computer system500. Some memory is composed of volatile storage that loses the information stored thereon when power is lost. Also coupled to bus510is a non-volatile (persistent) storage device508, such as a magnetic disk, optical disk or flash card, for storing information, including instructions, that persists even when the computer system500is turned off or otherwise loses power.

Information, including instructions for accessing and displaying private user information, is provided to the bus510for use by the processor from an external input device512, such as a keyboard containing alphanumeric keys operated by a human user, a microphone, an Infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a stylus pen, a touch screen, or a sensor. A sensor detects conditions in its vicinity and transforms those detections into physical expression compatible with the measurable phenomenon used to represent information in computer system500. Other external devices coupled to bus510, used primarily for interacting with humans, include a display device514, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (OLED) display, a plasma screen, or a printer for presenting text or images, and a pointing device516, such as a mouse, a trackball, cursor direction keys, or a motion sensor, for controlling a position of a small cursor image presented on the display514and issuing commands associated with graphical elements presented on the display514. In some embodiments, for example, in embodiments in which the computer system500performs all functions automatically without human input, one or more of external input device512, display device514and pointing device516is omitted.

Computer system500also includes one or more instances of a communications interface570coupled to bus510. Communication interface570provides a one-way or two-way communication coupling to a variety of external devices that operate with their own processors, such as printers, scanners and external disks. In general the coupling is with a network link578that is connected to a local network580to which a variety of external devices with their own processors are connected. For example, communication interface570may be a parallel port or a serial port or a universal serial bus (USB) port on a personal computer. In some embodiments, communications interface570is an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a digital subscriber line (DSL) card or a telephone modem that provides an information communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. In some embodiments, a communication interface570is a cable modem that converts signals on bus510into signals for a communication connection over a coaxial cable or into optical signals for a communication connection over a fiber optic cable. As another example, communications interface570may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN, such as Ethernet. Wireless links may also be implemented. For wireless links, the communications interface570sends or receives or both sends and receives electrical, acoustic or electromagnetic signals, including infrared and optical signals, that carry information streams, such as digital data. For example, in wireless handheld devices, such as mobile telephones like cell phones, the communications interface570includes a radio band electromagnetic transmitter and receiver called a radio transceiver. In certain embodiments, the communications interface570enables connection to the communication network105for accessing and displaying private user information to the UE101.

Network link578typically provides information communication using transmission media through one or more networks to other devices that use or process the information. For example, network link578may provide a connection through local network580to a host computer582or to equipment584operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISP equipment584in turn provides data communication services through the public, world-wide packet-switching communication network of networks now commonly referred to as the Internet590.

A computer called a server host592connected to the Internet hosts a process that provides a service in response to information received over the Internet. For example, server host592hosts a process that provides information representing video data for presentation at display514. It is contemplated that the components of system500can be deployed in various configurations within other computer systems, e.g., host582and server592.

At least some embodiments of the invention are related to the use of computer system500for implementing some or all of the techniques described herein. According to one embodiment of the invention, those techniques are performed by computer system500in response to processor502executing one or more sequences of one or more processor instructions contained in memory504. Such instructions, also called computer instructions, software and program code, may be read into memory504from another computer-readable medium such as storage device508or network link578. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in memory504causes processor502to perform one or more of the method steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hardware, such as ASIC520, may be used in place of or in combination with software to implement the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software, unless otherwise explicitly stated herein.

The signals transmitted over network link578and other networks through communications interface570, carry information to and from computer system500. Computer system500can send and receive information, including program code, through the networks580,590among others, through network link578and communications interface570. In an example using the Internet590, a server host592transmits program code for a particular application, requested by a message sent from computer500, through Internet590, ISP equipment584, local network580and communications interface570. The received code may be executed by processor502as it is received, or may be stored in memory504or in storage device508or any other non-volatile storage for later execution, or both. In this manner, computer system500may obtain application program code in the form of signals on a carrier wave.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequence of instructions or data or both to processor502for execution. For example, instructions and data may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer such as host582. The remote computer loads the instructions and data into its dynamic memory and sends the instructions and data over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local to the computer system500receives the instructions and data on a telephone line and uses an infra-red transmitter to convert the instructions and data to a signal on an infra-red carrier wave serving as the network link578. An infrared detector serving as communications interface570receives the instructions and data carried in the infrared signal and places information representing the instructions and data onto bus510. Bus510carries the information to memory504from which processor502retrieves and executes the instructions using some of the data sent with the instructions. The instructions and data received in memory504may optionally be stored on storage device508, either before or after execution by the processor502.

In one embodiment, the chip set or chip600includes a communication mechanism such as a bus601for passing information among the components of the chip set600. A processor603has connectivity to the bus601to execute instructions and process information stored in, for example, a memory605. The processor603may include one or more processing cores with each core configured to perform independently. A multi-core processor enables multiprocessing within a single physical package. Examples of a multi-core processor include two, four, eight, or greater numbers of processing cores. Alternatively or in addition, the processor603may include one or more microprocessors configured in tandem via the bus601to enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining, and multithreading. The processor603may also be accompanied with one or more specialized components to perform certain processing functions and tasks such as one or more digital signal processors (DSP)607, or one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC)609. A DSP607typically is configured to process real-world signals (e.g., sound) in real time independently of the processor603. Similarly, an ASIC609can be configured to performed specialized functions not easily performed by a more general purpose processor. Other specialized components to aid in performing the inventive functions described herein may include one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), one or more controllers, or one or more other special-purpose computer chips.

In one embodiment, the chip set or chip600includes merely one or more processors and some software and/or firmware supporting and/or relating to and/or for the one or more processors.

The processor603and accompanying components have connectivity to the memory605via the bus601. The memory605includes both dynamic memory (e.g., RAM, magnetic disk, writable optical disk, etc.) and static memory (e.g., ROM, CD-ROM, etc.) for storing executable instructions that when executed perform the inventive steps described herein to access and display private user information. The memory605also stores the data associated with or generated by the execution of the inventive steps.

Pertinent internal components of the telephone include a Main Control Unit (MCU)703, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)705, and a receiver/transmitter unit including a microphone gain control unit and a speaker gain control unit. A main display unit707provides a display to the user in support of various applications and mobile terminal functions that perform or support the steps of accessing and displaying private user information. The display707includes display circuitry configured to display at least a portion of a user interface of the mobile terminal (e.g., mobile telephone). Additionally, the display707and display circuitry are configured to facilitate user control of at least some functions of the mobile terminal. An audio function circuitry709includes a microphone711and microphone amplifier that amplifies the speech signal output from the microphone711. The amplified speech signal output from the microphone711is fed to a coder/decoder (CODEC)713.

A radio section715amplifies power and converts frequency in order to communicate with a base station, which is included in a mobile communication system, via antenna717. The power amplifier (PA)719and the transmitter/modulation circuitry are operationally responsive to the MCU703, with an output from the PA719coupled to the duplexer721or circulator or antenna switch, as known in the art. The PA719also couples to a battery interface and power control unit720.

The encoded signals are then routed to an equalizer725for compensation of any frequency-dependent impairments that occur during transmission though the air such as phase and amplitude distortion. After equalizing the bit stream, the modulator727combines the signal with a RF signal generated in the RF interface729. The modulator727generates a sine wave by way of frequency or phase modulation. In order to prepare the signal for transmission, an up-converter731combines the sine wave output from the modulator727with another sine wave generated by a synthesizer733to achieve the desired frequency of transmission. The signal is then sent through a PA719to increase the signal to an appropriate power level. In practical systems, the PA719acts as a variable gain amplifier whose gain is controlled by the DSP705from information received from a network base station. The signal is then filtered within the duplexer721and optionally sent to an antenna coupler735to match impedances to provide maximum power transfer. Finally, the signal is transmitted via antenna717to a local base station. An automatic gain control (AGC) can be supplied to control the gain of the final stages of the receiver. The signals may be forwarded from there to a remote telephone which may be another cellular telephone, any other mobile phone or a land-line connected to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), or other telephony networks.

Voice signals transmitted to the mobile terminal701are received via antenna717and immediately amplified by a low noise amplifier (LNA)737. A down-converter739lowers the carrier frequency while the demodulator741strips away the RF leaving only a digital bit stream. The signal then goes through the equalizer725and is processed by the DSP705. A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC)743converts the signal and the resulting output is transmitted to the user through the speaker745, all under control of a Main Control Unit (MCU)703which can be implemented as a Central Processing Unit (CPU).

The MCU703receives various signals including input signals from the keyboard747. The keyboard747and/or the MCU703in combination with other user input components (e.g., the microphone711) comprise a user interface circuitry for managing user input. The MCU703runs a user interface software to facilitate user control of at least some functions of the mobile terminal701to access and display private user information. The MCU703also delivers a display command and a switch command to the display707and to the speech output switching controller, respectively. Further, the MCU703exchanges information with the DSP705and can access an optionally incorporated SIM card749and a memory751. In addition, the MCU703executes various control functions required of the terminal. The DSP705may, depending upon the implementation, perform any of a variety of conventional digital processing functions on the voice signals. Additionally, DSP705determines the background noise level of the local environment from the signals detected by microphone711and sets the gain of microphone711to a level selected to compensate for the natural tendency of the user of the mobile terminal701.

An optionally incorporated SIM card749carries, for instance, important information, such as the cellular phone number, the carrier supplying service, subscription details, and security information. The SIM card749serves primarily to identify the mobile terminal701on a radio network. The card749also contains a memory for storing a personal telephone number registry, text messages, and user specific mobile terminal settings.