How Apps Automatically Connect Friends Based on Their Current Location
A system that automatically invites people to a group chat when they enter a specific geographic area defined by a friend's mobile device.
Original patent title: “Methods and system for providing location-based communication services”
A system that automatically invites people to a group chat when they enter a specific geographic area defined by a friend's mobile device. Granted to AOL Inc in 2015 with 19 claims and 10 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
The patent describes a method for mobile devices to automatically trigger group chats based on physical proximity. A primary user defines a group of allowed contacts and a specific distance radius around their current location. When a second mobile device enters this defined geographic region, the system checks if that user is on the approved list. If they are, the system automatically sends a notification to join the group communication session and establishes the connection.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover location-based services that do not require membership in a pre-defined communication group.
- Does not cover systems that rely solely on proximity without a user-selected distance parameter.
- Does not cover public broadcasting of location data to users outside of a specified group.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The system offloads the complexity of geofencing to the server, using a dynamic 'user-selected distance' to define the boundary rather than relying on static, pre-defined landmarks.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Location-based group chat features in social apps
Proximity-based event coordination tools
Mobile check-in services with group messaging
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This patent represents the era of early mobile social networking where developers sought to bridge the gap between digital social circles and physical presence. It highlights the technical challenges of managing real-time location triggers while maintaining group privacy and permission controls.
Filed
September 13, 2013
Granted
October 6, 2015
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Major social media platforms and messaging apps continue to refine location-based features. Companies like Meta and Snap have built extensive infrastructure around geofencing and proximity-based social interaction that builds upon these early concepts of location-aware group communication.
Market impact
This patent contributed to the standardization of location-aware social features in mobile applications. It helped define the functional requirements for proximity-based group interactions, influencing how developers implement permission-based location services in modern mobile operating systems.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
The patent describes a method for mobile devices to automatically trigger group chats based on physical proximity. A primary user defines a group of allowed contacts and a specific distance radius around their current location. When a second mobile device enters this defined geographic region, the system checks if that user is on the approved list. If they are, the system automatically sends a notification to join the group communication session and establishes the connection.
The clever bit
The system offloads the complexity of geofencing to the server, using a dynamic 'user-selected distance' to define the boundary rather than relying on static, pre-defined landmarks.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover location-based services that do not require membership in a pre-defined communication group.
- Does not cover systems that rely solely on proximity without a user-selected distance parameter.
- Does not cover public broadcasting of location data to users outside of a specified group.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
21/40
Early citations
Claim breadth
13/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
5/20
Granted 10–20 years ago
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$109K – $349K
Midpoint $218K · 7.2 yr remaining · industry ×1.4
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
19 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Oh, V. (2015). How Apps Automatically Connect Friends Based on Their Current Location (U.S. Patent No. 9,154,561). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9154561/facebook-pages
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Apps Automatically Connect Friends Based on Their Current Location cover?
A system that automatically invites people to a group chat when they enter a specific geographic area defined by a friend's mobile device.
Who owns patent US 9154561?
AOL Inc owns this patent, granted in 2015.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on October 6, 2035, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 9154561 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 10 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This patent represents the era of early mobile social networking where developers sought to bridge the gap between digital social circles and physical presence. It highlights the technical challenges of managing real-time location triggers while maintaining group privacy and permission controls.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover location-based services that do not require membership in a pre-defined communication group.
Patent monitoring