Establishing a communication event

A method performed by an initiator device, used by an initiator, to establish a connection via a first communication service with a recipient device, used by a recipient, the method comprising:

• determining that a recipient identifier of the recipient in the first communication service is not in a contact list, maintained by the initiator, for the first communication service;
• determining a recipient identifier of the recipient for a second communication service, different from the first communication service;
• determining that a contact relationship exists between the initiator identifier for the second communication service and the recipient identifier for the second communication service;
• determining that the connection with the recipient device via the first communication service is allowed by the recipient by applying a privacy policy separate from the contact relationship;
• and
• in response to the determining that the connection is allowed, sending, via the first communication service, a request to establish the connection with the recipient device.

An apparatus for use in a recipient device, used by a recipient, the apparatus comprising:

• a memory containing instructions;
• a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the network interface and to the memory, the instructions causing the CPU to perform operations comprising:
• receiving, from a network interface, a request to establish a connection, via a first communication service, with an initiator device used by an initiator, the request including a recipient identifier of the recipient for a second communication service and an initiator identifier of the initiator for the first communication service, the second communication service being different from the first communication service;
• determining, from the initiator identifier for the first communication service, an initiator identifier for the second communication service;
• determining that a contact relationship exists between the recipient identifier for the second communication service and the initiator identifier for a second communication service;
• determining that the requested connection between the initiator device and the recipient device via the first communication service is allowed by applying a privacy policy;
• and
• in response to determining that the connection between the initiator device and the recipient device is allowed, causing the network interface to establish the connection between the initiator device and the recipient device via the first communication service.

An apparatus for use by an initiator device to establish a connection with a recipient device via a first communication service, wherein the initiator device is associated with an initiator and the recipient device is associated with a recipient, the apparatus comprising:

• a memory containing instructions;
• a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the memory, the instructions causing the CPU to perform operations comprising:
• determining that a recipient identifier of the recipient in the first communication service is not in a contact list, maintained by the initiator, for the first communication service;
• determining a recipient identifier of the recipient in a second communication service, different from the first communication service;
• determining that a contact relationship exists between the initiator identifier for the second communication service and the recipient identifier for the second communication service;
• determining that the connection with the recipient device via the first communication service is allowed by applying a privacy policy for the initiator device;
• and
• in response to the determining that the connection is allowed, causing a network interface to send, via the first communication service, a request to establish the connection with the recipient device.