Search Patents
  • Patent number: 9729555
    Abstract: Techniques for managing groups on a mobile platform, comprising a mobile groups application. The mobile groups application including a groups management component to manage at least one group for a corresponding social networking application of a social networking system; and a groups rendering component to render a groups user interface (UI) view comprising at least one selectable group user interface element representative of the at least one group, the at least one selectable group UI element comprising a first selectable group UI element, wherein the first selectable group UI element is representative of a first group of the at least one group and the first group comprises at least one group member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: FACEBOOK, INC.
    Inventors: David Ross Ferguson, Jun Sun
  • Patent number: 10257309
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes sending a request for a measure of affinity associated with a first user for a particular content associated with a second user, where the measure of affinity predicts a level of interest the first user has for the particular content; sending weighting information for computing the measure of affinity, where the weighting information includes information specifying a first weight to be attributed to a first predictor function that is based on the second user and a second weight to be attributed to a second predictor function that is based on concepts associated with the particular content; receiving the measure of affinity; and sending, to the first user, the particular content, based on the received measure of affinity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Jonathan Arie Matus
  • Patent number: 10402459
    Abstract: The compatibility score of members of a social network is based on the compatibility of their expressed interests. The compatibility score between any two interests is calculated as the log of the estimated probability that a member of the social network will express both interests divided by the product of: (i) the estimated probability that a member of the social network will express the first of the two interests and (ii) the estimated probability that a member of the social network will express the second of the two interests. The compatibility score between two individuals is calculated as the sum of the compatibility scores between each interest appearing in a set of interests expressed by the first of the two individuals and each interest appearing in a set of interests expressed by the second of the two individuals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Xiao Ming Zhu, Christopher Lunt
  • Patent number: 8832209
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method receiving receives information describing a current or future activity from a user of a computing system via a mobile device. The current activity is an activity occurring at a current time when the information is received, while the future activity is an activity occurring at a future time relative to a time when the information is received. The method transmits the information describing the current or future activity to a backend database coupled to the Internet and remote from the mobile device. The information describing the current or future activity is accessible to at least one recipient having access privilege to information associated with the user and describing the current or future activity via the Internet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Neeraji Jhanji
  • Patent number: 8713694
    Abstract: A data transfer method performed at a proxy server includes intercepting a data request from a client computer that is directed to a target server, encrypting profile information, augmenting the data request by adding the encrypted profile information to the data request, and sending the augmented data request to the target server. A data transfer method that is performed at an information server includes receiving a data request from a proxy server, extracting profile information added to the data request by the proxy server, using the extracted profile information to generate a response, and sending the response to the proxy server.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Larry T. Harada, Mark A. Dolecki, Christopher S Purdum, C. Hudson Hendren, III
  • Patent number: 8571998
    Abstract: The compatibility score of members of a social network is based on the compatibility of their expressed interests. The compatibility score between any two interests is calculated as the log of the estimated probability that a member of the social network will express both interests divided by the product of: (i) the estimated probability that a member of the social network will express the first of the two interests and (ii) the estimated probability that a member of the social network will express the second of the two interests. The compatibility score between two individuals is calculated as the sum of the compatibility scores between each interest appearing in a set of interests expressed by the first of the two individuals and each interest appearing in a set of interests expressed by the second of the two individuals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: Facebook Inc.
    Inventors: Xiao Ming Zhu, Christopher Lunt
  • Patent number: 7797256
    Abstract: Segmented community flyers are predicated upon segmented communities. Segmented communities are for those web-based users that appreciate the distinction between their “real life” friends in their local geographic communities and their “cyberspace” contacts, many of whom they have never met in person. Further, those web-based users that do appreciate their “real life” friends in their local geographic communities need a way of communicating to many of these “real life” friends at once, without having to spend time preparing and sending multiple emails. Segmented community flyers advantageously accomplish such communication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2010
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark Zuckerberg, Aaron Sittig, Wayne Chang
  • Patent number: 8676716
    Abstract: An online social network is provided in which members of the online social network control who may view their personal information and who may communicate with them. The members control who may view their personal information by setting a visibility preference. A member may not view another member's full personal profile if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the visibility preference of the other member. The members also control who may communicate with them by setting a contactability preference. A member may not communicate with another member if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the contactability preference of the other member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Galbreath, Christopher Lunt
  • Patent number: 8566253
    Abstract: An online social network is provided in which members of the online social network control who may view their personal information and who may communicate with them. The members control who may view their personal information by setting a visibility preference. A member may not view another member's full personal profile if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the visibility preference of the other member. The members also control who may communicate with them by setting a contactability preference. A member may not communicate with another member if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the contactability preference of the other member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Galbreath, Christopher Lunt
  • Patent number: 10601945
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media can determine a time at which to prefetch one or more content items to be included in a feed associated with a user. The feed can be provided by a social networking system. A number of content items to prefetch at the determined time can be determined. One or more content items to be included in the feed associated with the user can be prefetched based at least in part on the determined time and the determined number of content items. The determined time can be prior to a time at which the user is expected to access an application associated with the social networking system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Ismail Onur Filiz, Karthik Subbian, Paige Alexandra Oliver Maas, Nicolas Emilio Stier Moses, Killian Murphy
  • Patent number: 9268865
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes accessing a search request including a user identifier corresponding to a first user and location data; identifying places in proximity to the location corresponding to the location data; accessing a social graph to compose based on the user identifier of the first user a set of second users associated with the first user in the social graph; accessing rating data for one or more of the places; identifying one or more of the second users associated with one or more elements of the rating data for one or more of the places; weighting the rating data based on affiliation coefficients of the second users associated with elements of the rating data for the places; and ranking the places based on a distance of each place from the location and the rating data as weighted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2016
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventor: Erick Tseng
  • Patent number: 9467414
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a request to create a note is received from a first user. The note includes a message and a first location of the first user. A note record is created of the message, the first location, and a first user-interest associated with the first user. A number of second users are identified based on second locations of the second users, and second user-interests associated with the second users. The message is sent to the identified second users. In response to sending the message, the current location of the first user is determined compared to the first location. If the first user is within a predetermined distance from the first location, a notification is sent to the first user indicating that the message has been sent to the second users.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2016
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Andrew Garrod Bosworth, David Harry Garcia, Kenneth M. Lau
  • Patent number: 8219500
    Abstract: An online social network is provided in which members of the online social network control who may view their personal information and who may communicate with them. The members control who may view their personal information by setting a visibility preference. A member may not view another member's full personal profile if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the visibility preference of the other member. The members also control who may communicate with them by setting a contactability preference. A member may not communicate with another member if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the contactability preference of the other member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2012
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Galbreath, Christopher Lunt
  • Patent number: 10915589
    Abstract: An online system maintains a web page associated with one or more page administrators. The online system trains a machine learning model to determine a likelihood of a page administrator account accepting a request for the online system to present content about the web page to other users of the online system. The model uses features extracted from data about the page administrator accounts on the online system, the page administrator interactions with the online system, and the web page. The online system selects one or more page administrator accounts and sends them requests based on the determined likelihood scores. The online system delivers content associated with the web page to users of the online system based on a response to the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Hannah Marie Hemmaplardh, Jinyi Yao, Ahmed Magdy Hamed Mohamed
  • Patent number: 10296548
    Abstract: An online system maintains a web page associated with one or more page administrators. The online system trains a machine learning model to determine a likelihood of a page administrator account accepting a request for the online system to present content about the web page to other users of the online system. The model uses features extracted from data about the page administrator accounts on the online system, the page administrator interactions with the online system, and the web page. The online system selects one or more page administrator accounts and sends them requests based on the determined likelihood scores. The online system delivers content associated with the web page to users of the online system based on a response to the request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2019
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Hannah Marie Hemmaplardh, Jinyi Yao, Ahmed Magdy Hamed Mohamed
  • Patent number: 9380128
    Abstract: A social networking system generates an augmented user profile for a user. The augmented user profile includes information from user profiles maintained by additional social networking systems that correspond to the user of the social networking system. For example, user profiles maintained by additional social networking systems having a threshold similarity to a user profile maintained by the social networking system are identified, and characteristics of the user in the identified user profiles are included in the augmented user profile along with characteristics from the user profile maintained by the social networking system. Characteristics of the user from the augmented user profile are used to identify content, such as advertisements, for presentation to the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 28, 2016
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey Andrew Kanter, Benjamin Peter Davenport, Adrien Thomas Friggeri
  • Patent number: 8204952
    Abstract: Systems and methods for obtaining a digital file similar to one used by a device associated with a member of a social network are provided. Digital file information about the digital file is stored on a web-based social network database. The digital file may be located on the same server as the web-based social network database or a third party server such as a mobile phone carrier. A user of the web-based social network database requesting the digital file may require a different format of the digital file than that used by the device of the member. If a different format is requested by the user, a server finds or converts the digital file to be compatible for use by a device specified by the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2012
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Jed Stremel, TS Ramakrishnan, Mark Slee
  • Publication number: 20150052070
    Abstract: Techniques to promote messages in a social networking services to increase communication opportunities while throttling unsolicited messages are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus may have a message generation component and a message delivery component. The message generation component may be operative to receive a request from a first member of a social networking service (SNS) to send a message for a second member of the SNS. The message delivery component may be operative to deliver the message to one of multiple mailboxes for the second member based on a tiered payment schedule. The tiered payment schedule may include a first parameter to represent a relationship type between the first and second members, a second parameter to represent a subscriber tier for the second member, and a third parameter to represent a promotional cost associated with the subscriber tier. Other embodiments are described and claimed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2013
    Publication date: February 19, 2015
    Applicant: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Jimmy Chen, Tony Kamenick, Lee Linden
  • Patent number: 8010458
    Abstract: An online social network is provided in which members of the online social network control who may view their personal information and who may communicate with them. The members control who may view their personal information by setting a visibility preference. A member may not view another member's full personal profile if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the visibility preference of the other member. The members also control who may communicate with them by setting a contactability preference. A member may not communicate with another member if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the contactability preference of the other member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 30, 2011
    Assignee: Facebook, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Galbreath, Christopher Lunt
  • Patent number: 8468103
    Abstract: An online social network is provided in which members of the online social network control who may view their personal information and who may communicate with them. The members control who may view their personal information by setting a visibility preference. A member may not view another member's full personal profile if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the visibility preference of the other member. The members also control who may communicate with them by setting a contactability preference. A member may not communicate with another member if the measure of relatedness between the two is greater than the contactability preference of the other member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2013
    Assignee: Facebook Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas Galbreath, Christopher Lunt