Patent ID: 8290480

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for restricting operation of a mobile device, the method comprising: initially employing a restriction at the mobile device, the restriction dictating a first operation state of the mobile device, the first operation state being operative to configure the mobile device to disable one or more operations irrespective of an orientation of the mobile device; receiving at least a first input and a second input; analyzing the first input and the second input with one or more processors to compute a determination of a presence of at least one of: (i) two or more users, (ii) two or more mobile devices, and (iii) one or more users not in a set of users known to be users of the mobile device; and modifying an employment of the restriction based on the determination such that the restriction is selectively enabled based on a determination of an orientation of the mobile device that is more consistent with operation of the mobile device by a driver than operation of the mobile device by a passenger, and the restriction is selectively disabled based on a determination of an orientation of the mobile device that is more consistent with operation of the mobile device by a passenger than operation of the mobile device by a driver.