Granted Patent B2

US 12,579,135 · App. 17/532,587 · Granted Mar 17, 2026

Inventors: David Shim (Seattle, WA); Brad Bicknell (Seattle, WA); George Varghese (Kirkland, WA); Nick Gerner (Seattle, WA); Weilie Yi (Bellevue, WA)

Assignee: FOURSQUARE LABS, INC.

G06F16/245G06F16/29H04W4/029

Abstract

Claims (75)

1 . A method comprising:

receiving a place query that includes location data from a client device, the location data of the place query identifying a current location of the client device;

receiving, from an indirect data source associated with the current location of the client device, data that comprises at least one of time, place, or location information; and

indirectly validating the current location of the client device based upon the received data.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the indirect data source comprises explicit geotagged content, the explicit geotagged content comprising one or more of:

a photo;

an event tracked digitally;

directions from one place to another; or

an online reservation.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the indirect data source comprises explicit geotagged content, the implicit geotagged content comprising one or more of:

a blog post;

web content;

a call log; or

social network activity.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the indirect data source comprises client device content, and wherein client device content comprises one or more of:

a photo;

a calendar appointment;

a phone call;

a voicemail;

a text;

an email; or

internet search activity.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the client device content comprises a phone call, and wherein the method further comprises:

using voice recognition, converting a conversation to text; and

determining location information based upon the text.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the indirect data source comprises data about an in-store purchase, wherein the purchase data is used to determine location information.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the received data further comprises network data from a mobile carrier or network service provider.

8 . A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, performs a method comprising:

receiving a place query that includes location data from a client device, the location data of the place query identifying a current location of the client device;

receiving, from a data source associated with the current location of the client device, data that comprise at least one of time, place, or location information; and

validating the current location of the client device using the received data.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein validating the current location comprises:

causing display of a presentation of the set of locations at the client device that includes the location data from the client device, the presentation of the set of locations; and

receiving a selection of at least a location from among the presentation of the set of locations.

10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein validating the current location further comprises:

generating one or more survey questions;

prompting the client device to display the one or more survey questions; and

receiving a response to the one or more survey questions, wherein the response is used to validate the current location.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein prompting the device to display the one or more survey questions is based upon one or more criteria comprising:

time of day;

a frequency cap; or

a targeted user.

12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the data source is an indirect data source.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the indirect data source comprises explicit geotagged content, the explicit geotagged content comprising one or more of:

a photo;

an event tracked digitally;

directions from one place to another; or

an online reservation.

14 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the indirect data source comprises explicit geotagged content, the implicit geotagged content comprising one or more of:

a blog post;

web content;

a call log; or

social network activity.

15 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the indirect data source comprises client device content, and wherein client device content comprises one or more of:

a photo;

a calendar appointment;

a phone call;

a voicemail;

a text;

an email; or

internet search activity.

16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the client device content comprises a phone call, and wherein the method further comprises:

using voice recognition, converting a conversation to text; and

determining location information based upon the text.

17 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the indirect data source comprises data about an in-store purchase, wherein the purchase data is used to determine location information.

18 . A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receive a place query that includes location data from a client device, the location data of the place query identifying a current location of the client device;

receive, from a data source associated with the current location of the client device, data that comprises at least one of time, place, or location information; and

validate the current location of the client device using the received data.

19 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein validating the current location comprises:

causing display of a presentation of the set of locations at the client device in response to the receiving the place query that includes the location data from the client device, the presentation of the set of locations; and

receiving a selection of at least a location from among the presentation of the set of locations.

20 . The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the data source is an indirect data source.

Assignments (5)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (400)