Patent ID: 8005911

Claim:
A computer-implemented method implemented using an Internet-coupled server computer and a database subsystem that is coupled to the server computer, wherein the server computer is in communication with a plurality of Internet-capable mobile devices, for making personal information concerning mobile system users available over the Internet to, and controlling the sharing with, selected persons within a plurality of the system users, the method comprising: (a) receiving, from an Internet-capable mobile device of a first of the system users, personal information manually entered, at a time chosen by the first user, on the first user's mobile device through a data entry interface that requests the first user to enter the personal information, wherein the personal information comprises: (i) activity information indicating a most recently updated activity of the first user, and (ii) location information indicating a most recently updated location of the first user; and (b) automatically making available the received activity information and the location information to persons identified as connected to the first user, and among the plurality of system users, to only the persons identified as connected to the first user; (c) wherein the persons identified as connected to the first user are identified by the server computer based, at least in part, using relationship data stored in a database subsystem accessible by the server computer, said relationship data stored in the database subsystem identifying as persons connected to the first user at least one second user of the plurality of system users for whom there has been an agreed-upon connection between the first user and the second user; and (d) wherein the personal information received by the server computer does not contain an indication of the system users to which the personal information should be made available.