Patent ID: 8880640

Claim:
A method comprising: detecting a location or an event, including geographic coordinates of the location or the event, by a mobile device, the mobile device associated with a user account maintained by a social networking system; generating a communication for transmission from a mobile device to a social networking system, the communication comprising an association of a user of the mobile device with the detected location or the event, wherein the generated communication comprises a check-in at a particular location or event; sensing a mobile device communication switch position; determining the communication mode of the mobile device based on the communication switch position of the mobile device, wherein the mobile device is in a social communication mode if the communication switch is in a first position and wherein the mobile device is in a manual communication mode if the communication switch is in a second position; responsive to a determination that the mobile device is in the social communication mode: transmitting the generated communication from the mobile device to the social networking system without receiving additional authorization from the user; and responsive to a determination that the mobile device is in the manual communication mode: receiving an authorization for the transmission of the generated communication from the user of the mobile device, and transmitting the generated communication from the mobile device to the social networking system in response to the received authorization, wherein the social networking system is configured to receive the geographic coordinates of the location or event from the mobile device, and cross-reference the geographic coordinates and associated times to determine the mobile device's presence at a particular location or event; and wherein the social networking system is configured to store the association of the user with the detected location or event in connection with the user account in response to receiving the generated communication.