Patent ID: 8914043

Claim:
A system for creating and sharing a private location database, the system comprising: a first mobile device associated with a first user, wherein the first mobile device is configured to: collect location-specific data corresponding to one or more transmitting devices, and cause a private location database storing location information indicative of locations of the one or more transmitting devices to be generated based on the collected location-specific data; a sharing database storing permissions data specific to the private location database, wherein the permissions data associates the private location database with either a second user or a second group of which the second user is a member; a second mobile device associated with the second user, wherein the second mobile device is configured to: cause a location of the second mobile device to be determined utilizing the private location database, wherein the private location database is utilized in response to the association in the permissions data of the private location database with the second user or the second group; and a location provider system configured to: receive a plurality of identifiers from the second mobile device, wherein each identifier corresponds to a respective one of a plurality of transmitting devices, and wherein the plurality of identifiers includes at least a first identifier and a second identifier, retrieve a first estimated location from a master location database, wherein the first estimated location corresponds to the first identifier, determine whether location information stored in the private location database may be shared with the second mobile device, in response to a determination that the location information stored in the private location database may be shared with the second mobile device, cause a second estimated location to be retrieved from the private location database, wherein the second estimated location corresponds to the second identifier, and cause a location of the second mobile device to be determined based on at least the first estimated location and the second estimated location.