Patent ID: 8347360

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, by a computing device, an identity claim associated with a user of a shared device; validating, by the computing device, the identity claim; determining, by the computing device, a group identification to associate with the shared device when the identity claim is validated, the group identification being associated with a plurality of users that includes the user; and applying, by the computing device, one or more preferences or one or more privileges to the shared device based on the group identification, the applying of the one or more preferences or the one or more privileges to the shared device including one or more of: applying, to the shared device, preferences and privileges associated with the plurality of users, applying, to the shared device, preferences and privileges associated with the shared device, or applying, to the shared device, preferences and privileges that are based on presence information that indicates that the user is actively using the share device or that the shared device is idle.