Geolocation safety awareness

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9942332-B2
Application number	US-201414539324-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 12, 2014
Priority date	Nov 12, 2014
Publication date	Apr 10, 2018
Grant date	Apr 10, 2018

Abstract

A method and/or technique for geolocation safety awareness is provided herein. When a user, having a client device, travels to a location, threats associated with that location may not be known to the user. To determine a safety of the location, the location of a client device may be determined. A search for safety information about the location may be performed, and a threat level may be determined based upon the safety information. When the threat level exceeds a threat threshold, a security operation may be performed. The security operation may comprise presenting a warning notice to the user and/or activating a security timer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of geolocation safety awareness, comprising:
determining a location of a client device using a geolocation component of the client device;
searching for safety information about the location, the safety information derived from one or more databases accessed via a network;
computing, using a processor comprising hardware, a threat level based upon one or more safety-related incidents determined to have occurred at least one of at the location or within a threshold distance of the location based upon the safety information;
determining whether the threat level exceeds a threat threshold;
performing a security operation when the threat level exceeds the threat threshold, the security operation comprising:
presenting a warning notice on the client device; and
activating a security timer, the security timer used to at least one of intermittently or periodically evaluate the safety of a user of the client device,
the activating a security timer comprising:
setting a check-in time for the user; and
in response to determining a failure of the user to check-in by the check-in time, notifying an emergency contact;

receiving a passcode input into the client device in association with the security timer;
in response to determining that the passcode input into the client device matches a check-in passcode, deactivating the security timer; and
in response to determining that the passcode input into the client device matches an emergency passcode different than the check-in passcode, notifying the emergency contact.

2. The method of claim 1 , the location determined by the geolocation component using at least one of a global positioning system, a mobile phone network or a local area wireless network.

3. The method of claim 1 , the computing a threat level comprising:
computing a first threat level for a first type of threat associated with the location; and
computing a second threat level for a second type of threat associated with the location.

4. The method of claim 3 , comprising:
computing a first baseline security state for the first type of threat based upon a home region of the user; and
computing a second baseline security state for the second type of threat based upon a home region of the user.

5. The method of claim 4 , comprising:
setting a first threat threshold based on the first baseline security state; and
setting a second threat threshold based on the second baseline security state.

6. The method of claim 5 , the determining comprising:
determining whether the first threat threshold exceeds the first threat level; and
determining whether the second threat threshold exceeds the second threat level.

7. The method of claim 6 , performing the security operation when at least one of:
the first threat threshold exceeds the first threat level; or
the second threat threshold exceeds the second threat level.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more safety-related incidents comprise at least one of a crime, an incident of civil unrest, a disease outbreak, or inclement weather.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the security operation comprises at least one of:
the presenting a warning notice when a difference between the threat level and the threat threshold is less than a first threshold; or
the activating a security timer when the difference between the threat level and the threat threshold is greater than the first threshold.

10. The method of claim 1 , the warning notice comprising at least one of:
a type of threat;
a route away from a threat; or
a recommendation on how to react to the threat.

11. The method of claim 1 , the security timer used to periodically evaluate the safety of the user.

12. The method of claim 1 , the notifying an emergency contact comprising:
notifying the emergency contact of a last known location of the client device.

13. The method of claim 1 , comprising:
in response to determining that the passcode input into the client device matches the emergency passcode, deactivating the security timer.

14. The method of claim 1 , comprising determining the failure of the user to check-in responsive to not receiving the check-in password by the check-in time.

15. A system of geolocation safety awareness, comprising:
a processor comprising hardware; and
memory comprising processor-executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to:
determine a baseline security state for a user based upon a home region of the user, the home region of the user determined using a geolocation component of a client device;
determine a location of the client device, not within the home region of the user, using the geolocation component of the client device;
search for safety information about the location, the safety information derived from one or more databases;
determine a threat level based upon safety-related incidents determined to be associated with the location based upon the safety information;
set a threat threshold based on the baseline security state;
determine whether the threat level exceeds the threat threshold;
perform a security operation when the threat level exceeds the threat threshold, the security operation comprising:
activating a security timer, the security timer used to at least one of intermittently or periodically evaluate the safety of the user of the client device;

receive a passcode input into the client device in association with the security timer;
in response to determining that the passcode input into the client device matches a check-in passcode, deactivate the security timer; and
in response to determining that the passcode input into the client device matches an emergency passcode different than the check-in passcode, notify an emergency contact.

16. The system of claim 15 , the security operation comprising presenting a warning notice on the client device, the warning notice comprising at least one of:
a type of threat;
a route away from a threat; or
a recommendation on how to react to the threat.

17. The system of claim 15 , the security operation comprising presenting a warning notice on the client device, the warning notice comprising a route away from a threat.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by a processor comprising hardware perform a method for geolocation safety awareness, comprising:
determining a location of a client device;
searching for safety information about the location;
computing a first threat level for a first type of threat associated with the location based upon one or more safety-related incidents, associated with the first type of threat, determined to be associated with the location based upon the safety information;
computing a second threat level for a second type of threat associated with the location based upon one or more safety-related incidents, associated with the second type of threat, determined to be associated with the location based upon the safety information;
computing a first baseline security state for the first type of threat based upon a home region of a user using home information derived from one or more databases accessed via a network;
computing a second baseline security state for the second type of threat based upon the home region of the user;
setting a first threat threshold based on the first baseline security state;
setting a second threat threshold based on the second baseline security state;
determining whether the first threat thres

Assignees

• Yahoo Inc
• Excalibur Ip Llc

Inventors

• Chan Chris
• Ningappa Shivakumar
• Goyal Shatakshi
• Tempero Katrina Kimball Clark
• Tai Yu-Chin
• Barsode Ameya
• Leung Clarence Lok Him

Classifications

• H04L63/083

  using passwords (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226) · CPC title

• H04L67/18 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L67/52 Primary

  specially adapted for the location of the user terminal · CPC title