Location-based parental controls
View Patent ↗An entity acting as a parent (e.g., a parent, a guardian, a school, an athletic organization, or a combination thereof—referred to as a parent or a supervising entity) may restrict a mobile device (e.g., a mobile telephone, a laptop, a PDA, a text messaging device, a two-way radio, a hand-held computer, or an mp3 player), or certain functionalities of a mobile device (e.g., text messaging, instant messaging, telephone calls, email capabilities, or playing music), that is being used by a child (referred to as a child or a supervised entity) while the child is at a current location. Similar mobile device restrictions may be used with other users, such as, for example, an employer and an employee, a secure government site and a visitor to the site, and a business and a customer.
1. A method for location-based parental controls, the method comprising:
providing, to a parent of a child, an instant messaging communications session window and a co-user list;
receiving, from the parent via the instant messaging communications session window, a parental control command in the form of an instant message comprising:
an input specifying a geographic location having an associated boundary, and
a configuration instruction for controlling one or more modes of communication of a mobile device associated with the child when the mobile device is located within the specified geographic location, wherein the configuration instruction identifies the one or more modes of communication to be controlled;
determining, via a processor, a current location of the mobile device; and
when the current location of the mobile device is within the specified geographic location, using the configuration instruction to regulate how the mobile device associated with the child communicates with other mobile devices using the one or more modes of communication.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein using the configuration instruction to regulate how the child communicates with others using the one or more modes of communication includes using the configuration instruction to regulate how the child communications with others using the one or more modes of communication in association with a particular device associated with the child.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein using the configuration instruction to regulate how the child communicates with others using the one or more modes of communication includes using the configuration instruction to regulate how the child communications with others using the one or more modes of communication in association with more than one particular devices associated with the child.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein using the configuration instruction to regulate how the child communicates with others using the one or more modes of communication includes using the configuration instruction to regulate how the child communications with others using the one or more modes of communication in association with any device that may be used by the child after the child's identity is determined by the device.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing, to the parent, a graphical user interface that includes providing an interactive map; and
receiving, from the parent, the geographic location by receiving a selection of a particular address associated with the geographic location and a boundary associated with the particular address.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing a text message creation screen on the display of a mobile device, and receiving, from the parent, a text message that includes the geographic location and the configuration instruction.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing, to the parent, a graphical user interface on a display of a mobile device, wherein the mobile device includes at least one of a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, a text messaging device, a laptop computer, and a hand-held computer.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving, from a parent of the child, the configuration instruction related to one or more modes of communication includes receiving, from a parent of the child, a configuration instruction related to at least one of sending a text message, sending a picture message, sending an instant message, sending an email message, placing a telephone call, initiating a two-way radio session, and posting information to the Internet.
9. A method for location-based controls for communications by a supervised entity, the method comprising:
providing, to a supervising entity associated with the supervised entity, an instant messaging communications session window and a co-user list;
receiving, from the supervising user via the instant messaging communications session window, a supervisory control command in the form of an instant message comprising:
an input specifying a geographic location having an associated boundary, and
a configuration instruction identifying one or more modes of communication of a mobile device associated with the supervised entity and the geographic location; and
using the configuration instruction to regulate, via a processor, how the mobile device associated with the supervised entity communicates with other mobile devices using the one or more modes of communication when the supervised entity is located at the geographic location.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein using the configuration instruction to regulate how the supervised entity communicates with others using the one or more modes of communication when the supervised entity is located at the geographic location includes using the configuration instruction to determine which of the supervising entity and the supervised entity pays costs associated with the supervised entity communicating with others using the one or more modes of communication when the supervised entity is located at the geographic location.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein the supervising entity is a parent, guardian, or relative and the supervised entity is a child of the parent or a child under the care of the guardian or relative.
12. The method of claim 9 wherein the supervising entity is an employer, and the supervised entity is an employee.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the geographic location is at least one of a location of an employment site and a location of a client site.
14. The method of claim 9 wherein the supervising entity is a school administrator, and the supervised entity is a student.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the geographic location is a location of a school associated with the school administrator and which is attended by the student.
16. The method of claim 9 wherein the supervising entity is an administrator of a secure government site, and the supervised entity is at least one of a visitor to the secure government site and an employee of the secure government site.
17. The method of claim 16 wherein the geographic location is a location of the secure government site.
18. The method of claim 9 wherein the supervising entity is a library administrator, the supervised entity is a library patron, and the geographic location is a location of a library.
19. The method of claim 9 wherein the supervising entity is a business administrator, the supervised entity is a customer of the business, and the geographic location is a location of the business.
20. The method of claim 9 wherein the supervising entity is a network administrator, and the supervised entity is a network user.
21. The method of claim 9 wherein the supervising entity is a wireless service provider administrator, and the supervised entity is a consumer of the wireless service provided by the wireless service provider.
22. A non-transitory computer program product for location-based controls for communications by a supervised entity, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
provide, to a parent of a child, an instant messaging communications session window and a co-user list;
receive, from the parent via the instant messaging communications session window, a parental control command in the form of an instant message comprising:
a geographic location having an associated boundary, and
a configuration instruction identifying one or more modes of communication and the geographic location; and
use the configuration instruction to regulate how the supervised entity communicates with others using the one or more modes of communication when the supervised entity is located at the geographic location.