GB2483905A

GB2483905A - Sharing location information

Info

Publication number: GB2483905A
Application number: GB1016076.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jose Enrique Gallar
Original assignee: Nokia Oyj
Current assignee: Nokia Oyj
Priority date: 2010-09-24
Filing date: 2010-09-24
Publication date: 2012-03-28
Also published as: GB201016076D0

Abstract

A method and apparatus for causing to be displayed in a display of an electronic device a location uncertainty gauge 323; causing to be displayed in the display/user interface 300 of the electronic device a slideable element (such as a slide-bar) 324, the slideable element being slideable with respect to the location uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a size of a region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located, and causing the region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with at least one third party. This allows a user who is sharing his or her location information with a third party to easily specify the uncertainty or accuracy of the location that is shared with the third party. The range specified may be from exact location shared to disabling of the location sharing. Concentric circles 326 may be used on a map display to show the level of uncertainty. A method is also described of specifying a threshold distance (S204, Figure 4H) and causing an alarm to be activated in response to the users location (or location of the users electronic device) to be within the threshold distance of a fixed location or from a third partys shared location (S206, Figure 4H). A further embodiment relates to receiving a region of geographical uncertainty within which a third party is located and displaying on the receiving electronic device the received region of geographical uncertainty, for example on a map (see, for example, Figure 4D).

Description

Sharing Location Information

Field

This specification relates to an apparatus and method for sharing a region of geographical uncertainty with a third party and for displaying a region of geographical uncertainty shared by a third party.

Background

User interfaces which allow geographical location data to be displayed via an electronic map have proved to be a popular alternative to conventional maps. It would be desirable to improve such user interfaces to provide greater control over the way in which geographical location data is displayed.

Summary

This specification provides a method comprising:

causing to be displayed in a display of an electronic device a location uncertainty gauge; causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable element, the slideable element being slideable with respect to the location uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a size of a region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; and causing the region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with at least one third party.

The method may comprise causing the region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with the at least one third party in response to a request from the third party.

The method may comprise: causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to increase in response to a sliding input causing the slideable element to slide in a first direction; and causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to decrease in response to a sliding input causing the slideable element to slide in a second direction.

The location uncertainty gauge may comprise a plurality of concentric circles displayed in the display of the electronic device and different ones of the concentric circles may be indicative of different sizes for the region of the geographical uncertainty.

The slideable element may be slideable between first and second end positions and the method may comprise: in response to the slideable element being located at the first end position, causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to be zero and sharing the geographical location of the device with the at least one third party.

The method may comprise: in response to the slideable element being located at the second end position, causing neither the region of geographical uncertainty nor the geographical location of the device to be shared with the at least one third party.

The method may comprise: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a geographical map; and causing a geographical location of the electronic device and the region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed on the geographical map.

The method may comprise: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to a fixed geographical location or a shared geographical location of a third party device being within the threshold distance of the geographical location of the electronic device.

The method may comprise: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable reminder element which is slideable in a first direction to increase the size of the threshold distance and slideable in a second direction to decrease the size of the threshold distance; and causing the threshold distance to change in size in response to a sliding input causing the slideable reminder element to slide.

The method may comprise: causing the slideable element to slide with respect to the uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a first size of a first region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; causing the first region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with a first of a plurality of third parties; causing the slideable element to slide with respect to the uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a second size of a second region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; causing the second region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with a second of the plurality of third parties.

This specification also provides a method comprising: receiving a region of geographical uncertainty within which a third party is geographically located, a size of the region of geographical uncertainty having been set by the third party; and causing to be displayed in a display of an electronic device a geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty in which the third party is geographically located.

The method may comprise: causing the received region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed as a circle centred on the displayed geographical location of the electronic device.

The method may comprise: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to at least a part of the received region of geographical uncertainty being within the threshold distance of the geographical location of the electronic device.

The method may comprise: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to at least a part of the received region of geographical uncertainty being within the threshold distance of a fixed geographical location.

The method may comprise: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable reminder element which is shdeable in a first direction to increase the size of the threshold distance and slideable in a second direction to decrease the size of the threshold distance; and causing the threshold distance to change in size in response to a sliding input causing the slideable reminder element to slide.

The method may comprise: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a geographical map; and causing the geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed on the geographical map.

The method may comprise: causing a request to be sent to the third party for the third party to share location information; receiving the region of geographical uncertainty in response to the request.

This specification also provides a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a method as described above to be performed.

This specification also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable code, which, when executed by computer apparatus, causes the computer apparatus to: display in a display of an electronic device a location uncertainty gauge; display in the display of the electronic device a slideable element, the slideable element being slideable with respect to the location uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a size of a region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; and share the region of geographical uncertainty with at least one third party.

This specification also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable code, which, when executed by computer apparatus, causes the computer apparatus to: receive a region of geographical uncertainty within which a third party is geographically located, a size of the region of geographical uncertainty having been set by the third party; and display in a display of an electronic device a geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty in which the third party is geographically located.

This specification also provides an apparatus comprising means for: causing to be displayed in a display of an electronic device a location uncertainty gauge; causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable element, the slideable element being slideable with respect to the location uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a size of a region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; and causing the region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with at least one third party.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing the region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with the at least one third party in response to a request from the third party.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to increase in response to a sliding input causing the slideable element to slide in a first direction; and causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to decrease in response to a sliding input causing the slideable element to slide in a second direction.

The shdeable element may be slideable between first and second end positions and apparatus may comprise means for: in response to the shdeable element being located at the first end position, causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to be zero and sharing the geographical location of the device with the at least one third party.

The apparatus may comprise means for: in response to the shdeable element being located at the second end position, causing neither the region of geographical uncertainty nor the geographical location of the electronic device to be shared with the at least one third party.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a geographical map; and causing a geographical location of the electronic device and the region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed on the geographical map.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to a fixed geographical location or a shared geographical location of a third party device being within the threshold distance of the geographical location of the electronic device.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable reminder element which is shdeable in a first direction to increase the size of the threshold distance and slideable in a second direction to decrease the size of the threshold distance; and causing the threshold distance to change in size in response to a sliding input causing the shdeable reminder element to slide.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing the slideable element to shde with respect to the uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a first size of a first region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; causing the first region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with a first of a plurality of third parties; causing the slideable element to shde with respect to the uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a second size of a second region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; and causing the second region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with a second of the plurahty of third parties.

This specification also provides an apparatus comprising means for: receiving a region of geographical uncertainty within which a third party is geographically located, a size of the region of geographical uncertainty having been set by the third party; and causing to be displayed in a display of an electronic device a geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty in which the third party is geographically located.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing the received region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed as a circle centred on the displayed geographical location of the electronic device.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to at least a part of the received region of geographical uncertainty being within the threshold distance of the geographical location of the electronic device.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to at least a part of the received region of geographical uncertainty being within the threshold distance of a fixed geographical location.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable reminder element which is slideable in a first direction to increase the size of the threshold distance and slideable in a second direction to decrease the size of the threshold distance; and causing the threshold distance to change in size in response to a sliding input causing the slideable reminder element to slide.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a geographical map; and causing the geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed on the geographical map.

The apparatus may comprise means for: causing a request to be sent to the third party for the third party to share location information; receiving the region of geographical uncertainty in response to the request.

This specification also provides an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to: display in a display of an electronic device a location uncertainty gauge; display in the display of the electronic device a slideable element, the slideable element being slideable with respect to the location uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a size of a region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; and share the region of geographical uncertainty with at least one third party.

This specification also provides an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to: receive a region of geographical uncertainty within which a third party is geographically located, a size of the region of geographical uncertainty having been set by the third party; display in a display of an electronic device a geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty in which the third party is geographically located.

Brief Description of the Figures

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures in which: Figure 1 is schematic diagram of an apparatus for displaying a plurality of items of information on a display screen; -10 -Figure 2 is an illustration of an electronic device comprising a mobile telephone; Figure 3A is an illustration of a first screen shot of a user interface comprising a user information card in which a geographical location sharing section in a collapsed form is displayed; Figure 3B is an illustration of a second screen shot of a user interface comprising a user information card in which a geographical location sharing section in an expanded form and comprising a geographical uncertainty gauge and a slideable element is displayed; Figure 3C is an illustration of a third screen shot of a user interface comprising a user information card in which a geographical location sharing section in a collapsed form after a geographical sharing uncertainty has been set, is displayed.

Figure 3D is a flow diagram of an example method of setting a region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with a third party using a slideable element and a geographical location uncertainty gauge, and of setting a proximity alarm for alerting a user; Figure 4A is an illustration of a fourth screen shot of a user interface comprising a contact information card in which a geographical location sharing section for the contact comprising a location sharing request button is displayed; Figure 4B is an illustration of a fifth screen shot of a user interface comprising a contact information card in which a geographical location sharing section for the contact comprising an indication of the distance to the contact is displayed; Figure 4C is an illustration of a sixth screen shot of a user interface comprising a contact information card in which a geographical location sharing section for the contact comprising a region of geographical uncertainty shared by the contact is displayed; Figure 4D is an illustration of a seventh screen shot of a user interface comprising a contact information card in which a geographical location sharing section for the contact comprises a slideable reminder element for setting a reminder region around the geographical location of a user electronic device on a map; Figure 4E is an illustration of an eighth screen shot of a user interface comprising a contact information card in which a geographical location sharing section for the contact comprises a slideable reminder element for setting a reminder region around a fixed geographical location on a map; -ii -Figure 4F is an ifiustration of a ninth screen shot of a user interface comprising a contact information card in which a geographical location sharing section for the contact comprises a slideable reminder element for setting a reminder region around the geographical location of a user electronic device on a map; Figure 4G is an illustration of a tenth screen shot of a user interface comprising a collapsed contact information card in which a geographical location sharing section for the contact comprises a indication that a reminder has been set; Figure 411 is a flow diagram of an example method of displaying a region of geographical uncertainty shared by a third party and setting a proximity alarm for a alerting a user.

Detailed Description of Embodiments

In the description and drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout Figure 1 is a simplified schematic of an electronic apparatus 100. As will be understood from the following description, the electronic apparatus 100 may be comprised in a single electronic device 200 or may be distributed. An example electronic device 200 comprising a mobile (e.g. cellular) telephone terminal 200 is shown in Figure 2. However, the electronic device 200 could alternatively be another type of device such as a PDA, a positioning device (e.g. a GPS module), a music player, a gaming console or a personal computer. Furthermore, although the electronic device shown in Figure 2 is portable, the invention is also applicable to non-portable devices.

The electronic apparatus 100 comprises a controller 110, which is configured to control the output of a display panel 120. The controller 110 includes one or more processors ill operating under the control of computer readable code optionally stored on a non-transitory memory medium 130 such as ROM or RAM. The controller 110 may also comprise one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) (not shown). -12-

The controller 110 may be configured to control the output of one or more non-visual output transducers 140 for providing non-visual feedback to a user. For example the non-visual output transducers 140 may comprise a loudspeaker and/or a vibration module to provide alerts or other non-visual information to a user of the apparatus 100.

A power supply 150 is configured to supply power to the components of the apparatus 100. The power supply 150 may comprise a suitable re-chargeable battery or fuel cell. Additionally or alternatively, the power supply 150 can be configured to receive power from a mains electricity supply.

A touch-sensitive transducer 160 may be configured to supply signals indicative of tactile inputs incident on the touch-sensitive transducer 160 to the controller 110.

For example, the touch-sensitive transducer 160 can be a touch-sensitive panel 160 overlaid on the display panel 120 to form a touch-sensitive screen 120, 160. The touch sensitive transducer 160 is configured to generate and supply the signals to the controller 110 in response to detecting a tactile input at the screen 120, 160.

The apparatus 100 may also comprise, in addition to those components described above, other elements such as, but not limited to, a camera, depressible keys, a microphone, an antenna and transceiver circuitry.

The display panel 120 is configured to display a user interface 300 under the control of the controller 110. An example of the user interface 300 is ifiustrated in Figures 3A to 3C. The user interface 300 is implemented as a computer program, or software, that is configured to operate along with user interface hardware, including the display 120, 160 and optionally a keypad/keyboard (not shown) comprised in the user interface 300 or elsewhere in the apparatus 100. The user interface software may be separate from an operating system stored in the memory 130, in which case it interacts closely with the operating system as well as applications stored in the memory 130. Alternatively, the user interface software may be integrated with the operating system.

-13 -Referring to Figures 3A to 3C, the user interface 300 can comprise a display window 310 for displaying information and other graphics to a user. The information displayed in the display window 310 can comprise items of information such as user selectable icons, images and/or text. The items of information can be displayed as an array, for example as a menu comprising a list of user selectable options.

A user may select individual items of information by touching the touch-sensitive screen 120, 160 at an appropriate position. Alternatively, items of information can be selected by operating the aforementioned keypad/keyboard to move a cursor or pointer (not illustrated) displayed on the display panel 120 to the appropriate position.

As shown in Figures 3A to 3C, the user interface 300 includes a location sharing section 320. The location sharing section 320 can be used to set the accuracy with which the geographical location of the electronic device 200 is shared with one or more third parties. The third parties may comprise third party electronic devices.

The user electronic device 200 and the third party electronic devices may be configured for sharing and receiving geographical location information with each other via a telecommunications network. Using the user interface 300, a user can set different levels of sharing accuracy for different third parties. Therefore, a user can set precisely the extent to which the geographical location of the electronic device 200 is shared. An example of the location sharing section 320 is described below.

Figure 3A shows the location sharing section 320 as comprising a panel 321 within a user information card 330. The user information card 330 can, for example, be accessed from a "phonebook" section of the user interface 300. Together with the location sharing section 320, the user information card 330 displays graphical information such as the name, address, employer, photograph and contact details of the user of the electronic device 200. However, it will be appreciated that the location sharing section 320 need not be part of the information card 330 and could alternatively be accessed from another part of the user interface 300. -14-

The location sharing section 320 comprises a location sharing button 322, which in the example of Figure 3A displays the current location sharing status for the electronic device 200. The location sharing status may, for example, be displayed as "private" to indicate a non-shared status or "shared" to indicate a shared status.

Other visual representation can also be used, for example an image of a locked padlock to indicate a non-shared status and an image of an open padlock to indicate a shared status. In the example of Figure 3A, the location sharing section 320 indicates that the geographical location of the electronic device 200 is not being shared.

Optionally, the location sharing section 320 can be expanded, for example in response to a user touching the panel 321 or location sharing button 322, to show further details of the current location sharing configuration for the electronic device 200. An example of the expanded location sharing section 320 is shown in Figure 3B. The location sharing section 320 can also be collapsed back to the form shown in Figure 3A by touching the display at an appropriate position, such as the location sharing button 322.

Referring to Figure 3B, the location sharing section 320 includes a geographical location uncertainty gauge 323 and a shdeable element 324 which is continuously slideable relative to the geographical location uncertainty gauge 323. The user can slide the shdeable element 324 by touching the shdeable element 324 and providing a shding input across the display 120, 160 to drag the slideable element 324 to a new position. Shding the slideable element 324 with respect to the geographical uncertainty gauge 323 allows the user to set a level of uncertainty with which the geographical location of the electronic device 200 is to be shared with third parties.

For example, sliding the shdeable element 324 in a first direction may increase the uncertainty with which the geographical location of the device 200 is shared and thereby reduce the accuracy to which third parties can see the geographical location of the electronic device 200. Conversely, shding the shdeable element 324 in a second direction may reduce the uncertainty with which the geographical location is shared and thereby increase the accuracy to which third parties can see the geographical location of the electronic device 200.

-15 -Each different location of the shdeable element 324 relative to the geographical uncertainty gauge 323 corresponds to a different geographical location sharing uncertainty. Therefore, the slideable element 324 allows the user to select any value from a continuous range of uncertainties by sliding the element 324 to the desired uncertainty level.

Sharing the approximate, rather than the precise, geographical location of the electronic device 200 can be implemented by sharing a region of geographical uncertainty 500 with third parties. The shared region of geographical uncertainty 500 is a geographical area in which the electronic device 200 is somewhere located.

A third party is able to see the region of geographical uncertainty 500, without being able to see the precise location of the electronic device 200 within the uncertainty region 500. The size of the region of uncertainty 500, which may be indicated by a radius measurement displayed in the location sharing section 320, can be selected by sliding the slideable element 324 relative to the uncertainty gauge 323 in the manner described above.

Referring to Figure 3B, one implementation of the location uncertainty gauge 323 may include a bar 325 along which the slideable element 324 can slide between first and second end positions 325a, 325b. The location uncertainty gauge 323 may additionally or alternatively include a plurality of concentric circles 326 of different radius. Each of the concentric circles 326 indicates a different level of uncertainty and therefore the position of the shdeable element 324 relative to the concentric circles 326 provides a user with a visual indication of the current level of uncertainty shared with third parties. For example, each concentric circle 326 may indicate a different radius for the size of the shared region of uncertainty 500.

The slideable element 324 can be moved along the bar 325 and/or relative to the circles 326 to set the size of the region of uncertainty 500 to be shared with third parties. Shding the slideable element 324 in the aforementioned first direction may increase the size of the shared region of uncertainty 500, whilst sliding the slideable element 324 in the aforementioned second direction may reduce the size of the -16 -shared region of uncertainty 500. As referred to above, the range of uncertainty values offered between the two extreme positions of movement 325a, 325b is continuous and the slideable element 324 can be shd to any position within this continuous range to set an exact level of uncertainty desired by the user. Both of the bar 325 and the concentric circles 326 are illustrated in Figure 3B, with the concentric circles 326 being centred on the first end position 325a. The second end position 325b is outside of the circumference of the largest radius circle 326.

The extreme positions of movement 325a, 325b for the slideable element 324 represent the maximum and minimum levels of uncertainty. Therefore, in this example, the extreme positions 325a, 325b represent the maximum and minimum sizes of the shared region of geographical uncertainty 500. A first of the extreme positions 325a (for example at the centre of the concentric circles 326) may correspond to the size of the region of uncertainty 500 being substantially zero.

This can be considered equivalent to the exact location of the electronic device 200 being shared. A second of the extreme positions 325b may correspond to the region of uncertainty 500 not being shared at all, and therefore can be considered equivalent to location sharing being disabled as shown in Figure 3A.

Optionally, the approximate size of the region of geographical uncertainty 500 set by the user may be displayed in the location sharing section 320 separately from the location accuracy gauge 323. An example of this is illustrated in Figure 3B, in which a panel on the left-hand side of the expanded location sharing section 320 indicates that the size, in this case the radius, of the region of uncertainty 500 is somewhere in the range of one to five kilometres. The precise size of the region of uncertainty 500, for example a radius of 2.6 kilometres, may also be displayed.

Once the desired size of the region of uncertainty 500 has be selected by the user using the slideable element 324, the location sharing section 320 can be re-collapsed so as to occupy less area in the display window 310. An example of this is illustrated in Figure 3C. In the collapsed form, once the location sharing has been enabled by setting the uncertainty level, the approximate size of the region of uncertainty 500 can be displayed in the location sharing section 320. At any time, -17 -the location sharing section 320 can be re-expanded to adjust the degree to which the geographical location of the device 200 is shared by touching the location sharing button 322 or the panel 321.

The region of geographical uncertainty 500 can, for example, be shared with the electronic devices of all contacts stored in the memory 130 of the apparatus 100.

Alternatively, the region of geographical uncertainty 500 can be shared with only a sub-group or particular ones of the contacts stored in the memory 130. A list of user-selectable options may be displayed in the location sharing section 320 or other suitable part of the user interface 300 to allow a user to select between these different options and, if required, to select the contacts with whom the region of uncertainty 500 is to be shared.

In addition, different levels of geographical uncertainty can be shared with different contacts. For example, a first region of geographical uncertainty 500 of a first size may be shared with one or more first contacts, and a second region of geographical uncertainty 500 of a second size larger than the first size may be shared with one or more second contacts. One or more third contacts may either be shared with a third region of geographical uncertainty 500 different in size to the first and second regions 500 or be denied location information for the device 200 altogether.

An example method, comprising a sequence of steps corresponding to those described in the discussion above, is shown in Figure 3D. Optionally, at a first step 5101, a location sharing request from a third party electronic device is received at the user electronic device 200. The request may be displayed in the display 120, 160 of the electronic device 200. At a second step S 102, the geographical location uncertainty gauge 323 and slideable element 324 are displayed in the display 120, of the electronic device 200 in a manner as previously described. The uncertainty gauge 323 and shdeable element 324 may optionally be displayed automatically in response to the location sharing request received from the third party device. At a third step S103, a user provides a shding input to the display 120, to cause the slideable element 324 to move in the display 120, 160 with respect to the location uncertainty gauge 323 and thereby set the uncertainty level with -18 -which the geographical location of the user device 200 is to be shared with the third party. Optionally, at a fourth step S 104, the geographical location of the user device and the set region of geographical uncertainty 500 are displayed in the display 120, 160 relative to a geographical map.

At a fifth step S105, a threshold distance can be set. A slideable reminder element 353 may be used to set a reminder region 354 around the geographical location of the user device 200 or a fixed geographical point. This is described in more detail below in relation to Figures 4D, 4E and 4F. As will be described, the reminder element 353 can be slid to set the threshold distance by providing a sliding input to the display 120, 160. At a sixth step S106, the reminder region 354 is optionally displayed in the display 120, 160 of the user device 200, optionally together with the location of the user device 200 and/or the location of the fixed geographical point.

At a seventh step S 107, an alarm is activated when the location of the user device 200, the shared location of a third party device and/or the fixed geographical point overlaps the reminder region 354.

Referring to Figure 4A, in addition to selectively sharing the location of the electronic device 200 with one or more third parties, the user interface 300 may also allow the user to cause a location sharing request to be sent to a third party device.

An example of how this may be achieved is via a contact information card 340 indicating information about a particular contact. The contact information card 340 is similar to the user information card 330 described previously in that it displays the name, address, contact details and photograph of the contact. The contact card 340 may also display other information such as services that the contact has subscribed to. These may include, for example, social networking websites and other internet services such as electronic mapping applications. Both the user and contact information cards 330, 340 can be stored in the memory 130 and may be accessed via a "phonebook" or "contacts hst" from a main menu of the user interface 300.

Referring to Figure 4A, the contact information card 340 includes a location sharing section 350 for displaying geographical location information associated with the -19 -contact in the user interface 300. The displayed contact location information will generally be geographical location of a third party electronic device which is owned or used by the contact and which may be similar to the electronic device 200 shown in Figure 2. The location sharing section 350 can be displayed as a panel 351 similarly to the location sharing section 320 displayed in the user information card 330. It is not essential that the location sharing section 350 is displayed within the contact card 340. It can instead be displayed elsewhere in the user interface 300.

The location sharing section 350 for each contact may also include a geographical location request button 352. The user can touch the display 120, 160 at the position of the location request button 352 to cause a request to be sent to the third party electronic device asking for the geographical location of the third party device to be shared. The contact can accede to the request by sharing the location information of their device. For example, the contact can respond to the location sharing request by using the user interface 300 of their device to share a region of geographical uncertainty 500 using the slideable element 324 in the manner described above.

Referring to Figures 4B and 4C, the shared geographical location information for the third party device is displayed in the location sharing section 350 for the associated contact in the user interface 300. However, if the location of the third party device has been shared with a degree of uncertainty, the location of the third party device can be displayed in the user interface 300 only to the uncertainty level with which it has been shared. For example, if the shared location information comprises a region of geographical uncertainty 500 in which the third party device is somewhere located, the geographical location of the third party device cannot be displayed more accurately than is dictated by the size of the shared region of uncertainty 500. This is described below.

As shown in Figure 4B, a collapsed form of the location sharing section 350 for the contact may display the approximate distance between the location of the electronic device 200 and the location of the third party device. The approximate distance may be indicated textually and/or graphically on an electronic map. Both of these indications are ifiustrated in Figure 4B. The time at which the approximate distance was most recently calculated may also be displayed. As explained above, the accuracy of the approximate distance displayed in the location sharing section 350 is limited by the size of the region of geographical uncertainty 500 shared by the third party. For example, if the region of geographical uncertainty 500 shared by the third party has a radius of 2.5 kilometres, the approximate distance between the electronic device 200 and the third party device may never be displayed as less than 2.5 kilometres.

Figure 4C shows an expanded form of the location sharing section 350 for the contact. As can be seen, the expanded location sharing section 350 may include a geographical map on which both the location of the electronic device 200 and an area in which the third party device is somewhere located are marked. In the example shown in Figure 4C, the area in which the third party device is somewhere located is marked as a circle centred on the marked geographical location of the electronic device 200. The circle therefore marks an area surrounding the location of the electronic device 200. The minimum radius of the marked area is equal to the radius of the shared region of geographical uncertainty 500 for the third party.

As the third party device moves outside of the minimum radius, the circle expands to show a larger area of the map. When the third party device is distanced from the user device 200 by less than the radius of the shared region of geographical uncertainty 500, the marked area referred to above corresponds to the size of the shared region of geographical uncertainty centred on the geographical location of the user device 200.

As an alternative, the area in which the third party device is somewhere located can be displayed by always marking an area having the size of the shared region of geographical uncertainty 500 on the map, regardless of the actual distance between the user device 200 and the third party device. Therefore the displayed area in which the third party device is somewhere located is always displayed with the accuracy set by the third party, and is continuously of the same size unless changed by the third party. An example is shown in Figure 4F. Preferably, the region of geographical uncertainty 500 is plotted on the map so that the centre of the region -21 - 500 does not correspond to the actual position of the third party device. A suitable algorithm may be used to plot the region of geographical uncertainty 500 at a random location, whilst keeping the actual position of the third party device within the region's boundary.

Referring to Figures 4D, 4E and 4F, the location sharing section 320, 350 in either the user information card 330 or the contact information card 340 may include a reminder function which can be selected and used by the user of the electronic device 200 to set an alarm or reminder to alert the user when the geographical location of the electronic device 200 or a third party device is within a predetermined distance of another geographical location. For example, the reminder may be set to alert the user when the shared geographical location of a third party device is within a predetermined distance of the geographical location of the electronic device 200. This is ifiustrated in Figures 4D and 4F. Alternatively, the reminder may be set to alert the user when the geographical location of the electronic device 200 is within a predetermined distance of a fixed geographical location such as a particular building, road junction, landmark or any other fixed point selected by the user. This is illustrated in Figure 413. Alternatively, the reminder may be set to alert the user when the shared geographical location of a third party device is within a predetermined distance of a fixed geographical location such as any of those referred to above. The user may select the fixed location by tapping the screen 120, 160 of the user device 200 at the fixed location on the geographical map.

The predetermined distance may be set by sliding a reminder element 353 from the marked geographical location of the electronic device 200, on a geographical map, outwards to the desired reminder distance. Alternatively, for reminders concerning the location of the electronic device 200 in relation to fixed geographical locations, the distance may be set by sliding the reminder element 353 outwards from the fixed geographical location on the geographical map. Sliding the reminder element 353 can be carried out by providing a sliding input to the display 120, 160 in a similar manner to that previously described.

-22 -A reminder can also be set using a slideable element and an accuracy gauge. This slideable element and accuracy gauge can operate in a similar manner to those previously described in relation to Figure 3B. For example, the reminder function in the user information card 330 or contact information card 340 may incorporate a section comprising a distance gauge and a slideable element which is continuously slideable with respect to the distance gauge to set a reminder distance. The user can slide the slideable element relative to the distance gauge to set the desired reminder distance. If the reminder is set from a particular contact information card 340, an alarm may be activated when the user device 200 is within the reminder distance of the shared location of the third party device associated with the contact. If the reminder is set from the user information card, the third party device or fixed location to be reminded of may be selected by the user from a list of third party devices (or associated contacts) or fixed locations. The slideable element and distance gauge can then be used to set a reminder distance. Alternatively, the contact/third party device or fixed location to be reminded of may be selected by tapping a geographical map at the appropriate location, before setting the reminder distance using the slideable element and distance gauge.

Once the reminder has been set, a reminder region 354 may then be displayed on the geographical map as a circle surrounding the marked location of the electronic device 200 or fixed geographical location (depending on how the reminder was set).

If the reminder region 354 overlaps with the marked area in which the third party device is located/fixed geographical location/location of electronic device 200, an alarm is activated to warn the user. The alarm may be of a visual, audible or physical (e.g. vibratory) nature. The set reminder distance may be marked textually in the expanded location sharing section 320, 350, as shown in Figures 4D, 4E and 4F.

The set reminder distance may also be indicated textually and visually in the collapsed location sharing section 320, 350. For example, as shown in Figure 4G, the collapsed location sharing section 320, 350 may include a small geographical map on which is marked an alarm bell indicating that a reminder is set in relation to a certain fixed location or shared third party uncertainty region 500.

-23 -Different reminders can be set in relation to each of a plurality of different third party devices or fixed locations.

An example method, comprising a sequence of steps corresponding to those described in the discussion above, is shown in Figure 4H. At a first step S201, a request for a third party electronic device to share its location is initiated from the user electronic device 200. The request may be sent to the third party device over a telecommunications network in response to a user selecting the location request button 352 previously described. At a second step S202, geographical location information is shared by the third party device and received at the user electronic device 200. The shared location information may comprise a region of geographical uncertainty in which the third party device is somewhere located, as previously described. At a third step S203, the geographical location information shared by the third party device is displayed in a display of the user device 200 in the manner previously described. The precise location of the user device 200 may be displayed simultaneously with the geographical location information shared by the third party device on a geographical map. At a fourth step S204, a threshold distance can be set. A slideable reminder element 353 may be used to set a reminder region 354 around the geographical location of the user device 200, the third party device or a fixed geographical point. The reminder element 353 can be slid to set the threshold distance by providing a sliding input to the display 120, 160 as previously described.

At a fifth step S205, the reminder region 354 is optionally displayed in the display of the user device, optionally together with the location of the user device 200, the location information for the third party device and/or the location of the fixed geographical point. At a sixth step S206, an alarm is activated when one of the location of the user device 200 and/or the shared location information of the third party device and/or the fixed geographical point overlaps the reminder region 354.

The shared geographical data referred to above may be represented by GPS coordinates or any other suitable means of identifying geographical location. -24-

It will be appreciated that steps and operations described above can be performed by the controller 110, using the memory 130, under control of instructions that form part of the user interface 200 (optionally running on the operating system).

During execution, some or all of the computer program(s) that constitutes the operating system, the user interface 200 and the media player, social/business networking and trading applications may be stored in the RAM. In the event that only some of this computer program(s) is stored in the RAM, the remainder can reside in the ROM.

It should be reali2ed that the foregoing embodiments should not be construed as hmiting. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reading the present application. Any of the above-described aspects can be used singly or in combination.

Moreover, the disclosure of the present application should be understood to include any novel features or any novel combination of features either exphcitly or implicitly disclosed herein or any generah2ation thereof and during the prosecution of the present application or of any application derived therefrom, new claims may be formulated to cover any such features and/or combination of such features.

Claims

Claims 1. A method comprising: causing to be displayed in a display of an electronic device a location uncertainty gauge; causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable element, the slideable element being slideable with respect to the location uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a size of a region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; and causing the region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with at least one third party.
2. A method according to claim 1, comprising causing the region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with the at least one third party in response to a request from the third party.
3. A method according to claim I or 2, comprising causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to increase in response to a sliding input causing the slideable element to slide in a first direction; and causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to decrease in response to a sliding input causing the slideable element to slide in a second direction.
4. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the location uncertainty gauge comprises a plurality of concentric circles displayed in the display of the electronic device and different ones of the concentric circles are indicative of different sizes for the region of the geographical uncertainty.
5. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the slideable element is slideable between first and second end positions and the method comprises: in response to the slideable element being located at the first end position, causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to be zero and sharing the geographical location of the device with the at least one third party.
6. A method according to claim 5, comprising: in response to the slideable element being located at the second end position, causing neither the region of geographical uncertainty nor the geographical location of the device to be shared with the at least one third party.
7. A method according to any preceding claim, comprising causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a geographical map; and causing a geographical location of the electronic device and the region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed on the geographical map.
8. A method according to any preceding claim, comprising: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to a fixed geographical location or a shared geographical location of a third party device being within the threshold distance of the geographical location of the electronic device.
9. A method according to claim 8, comprising: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable reminder element which is slideable in a first direction to increase the size of the threshold distance and slideable in a second direction to decrease the size of the threshold distance; and causing the threshold distance to change in size in response to a sliding input causing the slideable reminder element to slide.
[0. A method according to any preceding claim, comprising: causing the slideable element to slide with respect to the uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a first size of a first region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; causing the first region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with a first of a plurality of third parties; causing the slideable element to slide with respect to the uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a second size of a second region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; causing the second region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with a second of the plurality of third parties.
11. A method comprising: receiving a region of geographical uncertainty within which a third party is geographically located, a size of the region of geographical uncertainty having been set by the third party; causing to be displayed in a display of an electronic device a geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty in which the third party is geographically located.
12. A method according to claim 11, comprising: causing the received region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed as a circle centred on the displayed geographical location of the electronic device.
13. A method according to claim 11 or 12, comprising: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to at least a part of the received region of geographical uncertainty being within the threshold distance of the geographical location of the electronic device.
14. A method according to claim 11 or 12, comprising: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to at least a part of the received region of geographical uncertainty being within the threshold distance of a fixed geographical location.
15. A method according to claim 13 or 14, comprising: -28 -causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable reminder element which is slideable in a first direction to increase the size of the threshold distance and slideable in a second direction to decrease the size of the threshold distance; and causing the threshold distance to change in size in response to a sliding input causing the slideable reminder element to slide.
16. A method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, comprising: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a geographical map; and causing the geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed on the geographical map.
17. A method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, comprising: causing a request to be sent to the third party for the third party to share location information; receiving the region of geographical uncertainty in response to the request.
18. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause a method according to any one of claims I to 17 to be performed.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable code, which, when executed by computer apparatus, causes the computer apparatus to: display in a display of an electronic device a location uncertainty gauge; display in the display of the electronic device a slideable element, the slideable element being slideable with respect to the location uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a size of a region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; and share the region of geographical uncertainty with at least one third party.

-29 -
20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable code, which, when executed by computer apparatus, causes the computer apparatus to: receive a region of geographical uncertainty within which a third party is geographically located, a size of the region of geographical uncertainty having been set by the third party; display in a display of an electronic device a geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty in which the third party is geographically located.
21. An apparatus comprising means for: causing to be displayed in a display of an electronic device a location uncertainty gauge; causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable element, the slideable element being slideable with respect to the location uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a size of a region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; and causing the region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with at least one third party.
22. An apparatus according claim 21, comprising means for: causing the region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with the at least one third party in response to a request from the third party.
23. An apparatus according claim 21 or 22, comprising means for: causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to increase in response to a sliding input causing the slideable element to slide in a first direction; and causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to decrease in response to a sliding input causing the slideable element to slide in a second direction.
24. An apparatus according to any one of claims 21 to 23, wherein the location uncertainty gauge comprises a plurality of concentric circles displayed in the display of the electronic device and different ones of the concentric drcles are indicative of different sizes for the region of the geographical uncertainty.
25. An apparatus according to any one of claims 21 to 24, wherein the slideable element is slideable between first and second end positions and apparatus comprises means for: in response to the slideable element being located at the first end position, causing the size of the region of geographical uncertainty to be zero and sharing the geographical location of the device with the at least one third party.
26. An apparatus according to claim 25, comprising means for: in response to the slideable element being located at the second end position, causing neither the region of geographical uncertainty nor the geographical location of the electronic device to be shared with the at least one third party.
27. An apparatus according to any one of claims 21 to 26, comprising means for: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a geographical map; and causing a geographical location of the electronic device and the region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed on the geographical map.
28. An apparatus according to any one of claims 21 to 27, comprising means for: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to a fixed geographical location or a shared geographical location of a third party device being within the threshold distance of the geographical location of the electronic device.
29. An apparatus according to claim 28, comprising means for: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable reminder element which is slideable in a first direction to increase the size of the -31 -threshold distance and slideable in a second direction to decrease the size of the threshold distance; and causing the threshold distance to change in size in response to a sliding input causing the slideable reminder element to slide.
30. An apparatus according to any one of claims 21 to 29, comprising means for: causing the slideable element to slide with respect to the uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a first size of a first region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; causing the first region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with a first of a plurality of third parties; causing the slideable element to slide with respect to the uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a second size of a second region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; causing the second region of geographical uncertainty to be shared with a second of the plurality of third parties.
31. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving a region of geographical uncertainty within which a third party is geographically located, a size of the region of geographical uncertainty having been set by the third party; causing to be displayed in a display of an electronic device a geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty in which the third party is geographically located.
32. An apparatus according to claim 31, comprising means for: causing the received region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed as a circle centred on the displayed geographical location of the electronic device.
33. An apparatus according to claim 31 or 32, comprising means for: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to at least a part of the received region of geographical uncertainty being within the threshold distance of the geographical location of the electronic device.
34. An apparatus according to claim 31 or 32, comprising: causing a threshold distance to be set in response to a user input; and causing an alarm to be activated in response to at least a part of the received region of geographical uncertainty being within the threshold distance of a fixed geographical location.
35. An apparatus according to claim 33 or 34, comprising means for: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a slideable reminder element which is slideable in a first direction to increase the size of the threshold distance and slideable in a second direction to decrease the size of the threshold distance; and causing the threshold distance to change in size in response to a sliding input causing the slideable reminder element to slide.
36. An apparatus according to any one of claims 31 to 35, comprising means for: causing to be displayed in the display of the electronic device a geographical map; and causing the geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty to be displayed on the geographical map.
37. An apparatus according to any one of claims 31 to 36, comprising means for: causing a request to be sent to the third party for the third party to share location information; receiving the region of geographical uncertainty in response to the request.
38. An apparatus comprising at least one processor; and -33 -at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to: display in a display of an electronic device a location uncertainty gauge; display in the display of the electronic device a slideable element, the slideable element being slideable with respect to the location uncertainty gauge in response to a sliding input to set a size of a region of geographical uncertainty within which the electronic device is geographically located; and share the region of geographical uncertainty with at least one third party.
39. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to: receive a region of geographical uncertainty within which a third party is geographically located, a size of the region of geographical uncertainty having been set by the third party; display in a display of an electronic device a geographical location of the electronic device and the received region of geographical uncertainty in which the third party is geographically located.