# US 12,223,573 B2 · Systems and methods for obscuring restricted text and/or images in a video conferencing session > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,223,573 B2 - Document ID: US12223573B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/368,950 - Filed: 2023-09-15 - Published: 2024-01-04 - Granted: 2025-02-11 - Earliest claimed: 2021-12-13 - Assignees: Adeia Guides Inc. - Applicants: Adeia Guides Inc. - Inventors: Serhad Doken - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12223573B2 ## CPC - G06T 9/00: Image coding (bandwidth or redundancy reduction for static pictures H04N1/41; coding or decoding of static colour picture signals H04N1/64; methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/00) - G06T 11/23: using straight lines or curves - G06T 11/60: Creating or editing images; Combining images with text - G06V 10/761: {Proximity, similarity or dissimilarity measures} - G06V 20/20: in augmented reality scenes - G06V 20/62: Text, e.g. of license plates, overlay texts or captions on TV images - G06V 30/1456: {based on user interactions} - G06V 30/147: {Determination of region of interest} - H04L 65/403: Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences (data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15) - H04L 65/762: {at the source (reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355)} - G06T 2200/24: involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs] - G06V 2201/02: Recognising information on displays, dials, clocks - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract Systems and methods for obscuring images and/or text during a screen sharing operation in a video conferencing session are described herein. In some embodiments, a client device detects a screen sharing operation. As part of the screen sharing operation, the client device captures an image of a display. The client device recognizes images and/or text in the image of the display and determines whether any of the images and/or text are restricted. If the images and/or text are determined to be restricted, the client device obscures the images and/or text prior to encoding of the image of the display for transmission. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method comprising: capturing, during a video conferencing session, a display area of a providing device; determining that one or more images or one or more characters of the display area is restricted; in response to the determining that the one or the more images or the one or more characters of the display area is restricted: generating for display a user interface depicting an option to obscure at least a portion of the display area; receiving a selection of a first receiving device; and transmitting, to the first receiving device, the display area such that the one or more images or the one or more characters are obscured; and transmitting, to a second receiving device, the display area such that the one or more images or the one or more characters are unobscured. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that the one or more images or the one or more characters of the display area is restricted comprises: detecting a change to the display area between a previous image of the display area transmitted to the first receiving device and a current image of the display area transmitted to the first receiving device. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating for display of the user interface, an option to change a size or shape of the portion of the display area to be obscured. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: accessing stored data corresponding to the one or more images or the one or more characters to determine that the one or more images or the one or more characters is restricted; determining first user information associated with the first receiving device and second user information associated with a third receiving device; identifying a first restriction for the first receiving device based on the first user information and identifying a second restriction for the second receiving device based on the second user information, the second restriction being different from the first restriction, wherein the one or more images or the one or more characters of the display area as transmitted to the first receiving device are obscured according to the first restriction; and transmitting to the third receiving device the display area such that the one or more images or the one or more characters are obscured according to the second restriction. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein the stored data identifies images of interface elements in which restricted characters are likely to appear, and wherein the determining that the one or more images or the one or more characters is restricted comprises determining that a portion of the display area matches one of the images of interface elements and that the portion of the display area includes characters. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, wherein the stored data comprises a plurality of different images and wherein the determining that the one or more images or one or more characters is restricted comprises determining, using a machine learning system, that a portion of the display area is similar to one or more images of the plurality of different images. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying user information corresponding to the second receiving device; identifying restrictions for the second receiving device based on the user information corresponding to the second receiving device, wherein the restrictions for the second receiving device do not include restrictions of the one or more images or the one or more characters; and performing content encoding of an image of the display area without the one or more images or one or the more characters being obscured and transmitting an encoded image to the second receiving device. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing character or image recognition of the display area to identify the one or more images or the one or more characters in the display area; based on the character or image recognition, identifying a plurality of characters in the display area that are not obscured; and storing conference sharing data that identifies a user corresponding to the providing device, a user corresponding to the first receiving device, and the plurality of characters in the display that are not obscured. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing conference sharing data that identifies the plurality of characters in the display that are obscured. ### Claim 10 A system comprising: communication circuitry configured: to capture, during a video conferencing session, a display area of a providing device; and processing circuitry configured: to determine that one or more images or one or more characters of the display area is restricted; and in response to the determining that the one or the more images or the one or more characters of the display area is restricted: to generate for display a user interface depicting an option to obscure at least a portion of the display area; to receive a selection of a first receiving device; and to transmit, to the first receiving device, the display area such that the one or more images or the one or more characters is obscured; and to transmit, to a second receiving device, the display area such that the one or more images or the one or more characters is unobscured. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the determining that the one or more images or the one or more characters of the display area is restricted comprises: detecting a change to the display area between a previous image of the display area transmitted to the first receiving device and a current image of the display area transmitted to the first receiving device. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured: to generate for display of the user interface, an option to change a size or shape of the portion of the display area to be obscured. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured: to access stored data corresponding to the one or more images or the one or more characters to determine that the one or more images or the one or more characters is restricted; to determine first user information associated with the first receiving device and second user information associated with a third receiving device; to identify a first restriction for the first receiving device based on the first user information and identifying a second restriction for the second receiving device based on the second user information, the second restriction being different from the first restriction, wherein the one or more images or the one or more characters of the display area as transmitted to the first receiving device are obscured according to the first restriction; and transmitting to the third receiving device the display area such that the one or more images or the one or more characters are obscured according to the second restriction. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the stored data identifies images of interface elements in which restricted characters are likely to appear, and wherein the determining that the one or more images or the one or more characters is restricted comprises determining that a portion of the display area matches one of the images of interface elements and that the portion of the display area includes characters. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The system of claim 13, wherein the stored data comprises a plurality of different images and wherein the determining that the one or more images or one or more characters is restricted comprises determining, using a machine learning system, that a portion of the display area is similar to one or more images of the plurality of different images. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured: to identify user information corresponding to the second receiving device; to identify restrictions for the second receiving device based on the user information corresponding to the second receiving device, wherein the restrictions for the second receiving device do not include restrictions of the one or more images or the one or more characters; and to perform content encoding of an image of the display area without the one or more images or one or the more characters being obscured and transmitting an encoded image to the second receiving device. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured: to perform character or image recognition of the display area to identify the one or more images or the one or more characters in the display area; based on the character or image recognition, to identify a plurality of characters in the display area that are not obscured; and to store conference sharing data that identifies a user corresponding to the providing device, a user corresponding to the first receiving device, and the plurality of characters in the display that are not obscured. ### Claim 18 (depends on 10) The system of claim 10, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured: to store conference sharing data that identifies the plurality of characters in the display that are obscured.