Identity-based context aware computing systems and methods

One or more computer-readable media having computer-readable instructions thereon which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:

• assign privacy levels to one or more applications that are configured to call a context service module on the computing device to obtain context information from the context service module;
• determine a device context with the context service module using context information that is provided by multiple different context providers, the device context being determined by traversing a hierarchical tree structure comprising multiple nodes, each node comprising a portion of the device's context and having a privacy level associated therewith, the traversing defining a complete context for the device;
• receive a query from an application that requests context information pertaining to the context of the computing device;
• determine a privacy level associated with the application from which the query was received;
• select device context information in accordance with the privacy level of the application from which the query was received by traversing the hierarchical tree structure to find a node that has a privacy level that matches or is less than the privacy level of the application from which the query was received;
• and
• return the selected device context information to the application from which the query was received.

A method of determining the context of a computing device comprising configuring a computing device with software code that:

• determines the device's current context;
• receives context queries from one or more applications;
• determines the source of the queries;
• and
• modulates information that is returned to the application as a function of the application's identity and a privacy level assigned thereto.

A computing device having a processor that is configured to:

• determine the device's current context;
• receive context queries from one or more applications;
• determine the source of the queries;
• and
• modulate information that is returned to the application as a function of the application's identity and a privacy level assigned thereto.

A computing device comprising:

• a computer-readable medium;
• a location service module on the computer-readable medium and configured to process information from multiple different location providers to determine the current location of the device, the location service module being configured to receive queries from one or more applications for location information, the applications having individual privacy levels associated therewith;
• and
• a privacy manager module on the device that is configured to:
• determine the privacy level that is associated with a particular application from which a query is received;
• select location information as a function of the application's privacy level;
• and
• return selected location information to the application.

A system for determining the context of a computing device comprising:

• one or more computing devices;
• a location service module on each device and configured to process information from multiple different location providers to determine the current location of the device, the location service module being configured to receive queries from one or more applications for location information, the applications having individual privacy levels associated therewith;
• and
• a privacy manager module operably associated with each device and configured to:
• determine the privacy level that is associated with a particular application from which a query is received;
• select location information as a function of the application's privacy level;
• and
• return selected location information to the application.