US 12,436,921 B2
File sharing aliasing service
Steven James Ball, Redmond, WA (US); and Eugene Lin, Seattle, WA (US)
Assigned to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed by Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed on Sep. 23, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/579,613.
Prior Publication US 2021/0089500 A1, Mar. 25, 2021
Int. Cl. G06F 16/176 (2019.01); G06F 16/182 (2019.01); H04L 29/08 (2006.01); H04L 67/06 (2022.01)
CPC G06F 16/176 (2019.01) [G06F 16/183 (2019.01); H04L 67/06 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for use with a file sharing program, the method comprising:
receiving a file sharing invitation for a recipient from a file sharing account of a file sender, the file sharing account associated with the file sharing program, the file sharing invitation associated with a file uploaded to the file sharing program to be accessed by the recipient via the file sharing invitation, the file sharing invitation indicating that an alias, which identifies the recipient to which the file is to be sent, is a first alias that identifies the recipient and that is selected from a plurality of aliases identifying the recipient via which the recipient is capable of receiving the file sharing invitation, the first alias corresponding to a first contact channel of a plurality of contact channels of the recipient, the plurality of contact channels corresponding to the plurality of aliases that identify the recipient, wherein the first alias is a first email address, a first phone number, a first gamer tag, or a first telecommunication account name;
based on the file sharing account of the file sender, changing, via an aliasing service associated with the file sharing program, the alias that identify the recipient to which the file is to be sent from the first alias that identifies the recipient to a second alias that identifies the recipient, the second alias that identifies the recipient included in the plurality of aliases that identify the recipient and corresponding to a second contact channel of the recipient, which is included in the plurality of contact channels of the recipient, wherein the second alias is different from the first alias, wherein the second contact channel is different from the first contact channel, and wherein the second alias is a second email address, a second phone number, a second gamer tag, or a second telecommunication account name; and
based on the alias that identifies the recipient to which the file is to be sent being changed from the first alias that identifies the recipient to the second alias that identifies the recipient, sending, via the aliasing service, the file sharing invitation to the second alias that identifies the recipient via the second contact channel of the recipient rather than to the first alias that identifies the recipient via the first contact channel of the recipient.