Patent ID: 7716140

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of processing a request to view relationship information, the method executed by at least one computing device comprising a processor, the method comprising: receiving a request via a communications network from a first user to view relationship information associated with a second user; identifying a first group vertex associated with the first user based on a database of social network information, wherein the social network information comprises relationship information and profile information received from users of the social network, the first group vertex representing a first type of user-established relationship and connecting via a one or more edges a first set of users having the first type of user-established relationship with the first user; identifying a second group vertex associated with the second user based on the database of social network information, the second group vertex representing a second type of user-established relationship and connecting via one or more edges a second set of users having the second type of user-established relationship with the second user; identifying a privacy rule associated with the first group vertex and the second group vertex based on the database of social network information; the processor determining whether the first user has rights to view the relationship information based on the privacy rule; and providing at least part of the relationship information to the first user via the communications network responsive to determining whether the first user has rights to view the relationship information.