METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING COMMUNICATION WITH A SERVICE USING A RECIPIENT IDENTIFIER

1 . A method comprising:

receiving a request to generate a recipient identifier for indicating data exchanged between a service and an application on a device;

determining a user identifier, one or more device identifiers associated with the device, one or more application identifiers associated with the application, or a combination thereof; and

determining to generate the recipient identifier by encoding, at least in part, the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof in the recipient identifier,

wherein the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof are decodable directly from the recipient identifier.

2 . A method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining to encrypt the recipient identifier; and

determining to transmit the encrypted recipient identifier to the application, the service, or a combination thereof without providing the user identifier and/or one or more device identifiers to the application or the service.

3 . A method of claim 2 , wherein the recipient identifier is generated at a server and wherein the server does not store the recipient identifier.

4 . A method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining to encrypt the recipient identifier based, at least in part, on a symmetric cipher or an asymmetric cipher.

5 . A method of claim 4 , further comprising:

determining to select a primary key for the cipher based, at least in part, on one or more service identifiers associated with the service, one or more predetermined parameters, or a combination thereof.

6 . A method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining to generate a secondary key for the cipher based, at least in part, on hash-based message authentication code constructed, at least in part, from the service identifiers, the one or more predetermined parameters, or a combination thereof.

7 . A method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining to generate a message authentication code for the recipient identifier; and

determining to include the message authentication code in the recipient identifier.

8 . A method of claim 2 , further comprising:

receiving data including the encrypted recipient identifier;

determining to decode the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof directly from the data; and

determining to route the data to application based, at least in part, on the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof,

wherein the routing does not expose the user identifier or the one or more device identifiers to the application.

9 . An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs,

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following,

receive a request to generate a recipient identifier for indicating data exchanged between a service and an application on a device;

determine a user identifier, one or more device identifiers associated with the device, one or more application identifiers associated with the application, or a combination thereof; and

determine to generate the recipient identifier by encoding, at least in part, the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof in the recipient identifier,

wherein the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof are decodable directly from the recipient identifier.

10 . An apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

determine to encrypt the recipient identifier; and

determine to transmit the encrypted recipient identifier to the application, the service, or a combination thereof without providing the user identifier and/or the one or more device identifiers to the application or the service.

11 . An apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the recipient identifier is generated at a server, and wherein the server does not store the recipient identifier.

12 . An apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

determine to encrypt the recipient identifier based, at least in part, on a symmetric cipher or an asymmetric cipher.

13 . An apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

determine to select a primary key for the cipher based, at least in part, on one or more service identifiers associated with the service; and

14 . An apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

determine to generate a secondary key for the cipher based, at least in part, on hash-based message authentication code constructed, at least in part, from the service identifier, one or more predetermined parameters, or a combination thereof.

15 . An apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

determine to generate a message authentication code for the recipient identifier; and

determine to include the message authentication code in the recipient identifier.

16 . An apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

receive data including the recipient identifier;

determine to decode the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof directly from the data; and

determine to route the data to the application based, at least in part, on the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof,

wherein the routing does not expose the user identifier or the one or more device identifiers to the application.

17 . A method comprising facilitating access to at least one interface configured to allow access to at least one service, the at least one service configured to perform at least the following:

receiving a request to generate a recipient identifier for indicating data exchanged between a service and an application on a device;

determining user identifier, one or more device identifiers associated with the device, one or more application identifiers associated with the application, or a combination thereof; and

determining to generate the recipient identifier by encoding, at least in part, the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof in the recipient identifier,

wherein the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof are decodable directly from the recipient identifier.

18 . A method of claim 17 , further comprising:

determining to encrypt the recipient identifier; and

determining to transmit the recipient identifier to the application, the service, or a combination thereof without providing the one or more device identifiers to the application or the service.

19 . A method of claim 17 , wherein the recipient identifier is generated at a server, and wherein the server does not store the recipient identifier.

20 . A method of claim 18 , further comprising:

receiving data including the encrypted recipient identifier;

determining to decode the user identifier, one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof directly from the data; and

determining to route the data to the application based, at least in part, on the user identifier, the one or more device identifiers, the one or more application identifiers, or a combination thereof,

wherein the routing does not expose the user identifier or the one or more device identifiers to the application.

21 .- 40 . (canceled)