The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 15, 2026
Filed:
Dec. 15, 2023
Synaptics Incorporated, San Jose, CA (US);
Mohamed Ashraf Sheik-Nainar, San Jose, CA (US);
Tomer Kimhi, Tel Aviv, IL;
Stuart Whitfield Hutson, Austin, TX (US);
Synaptics Incorporated, San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
This disclosure provides methods, devices, and systems for protecting user privacy while operating a personal computing device. The present implementations more specifically relate to privacy protection techniques for personal computing devices based on onlooker detection and classification. In some aspects, a computing device may include a display, one or more sensors, and a privacy controller that receives sensor data from the one or more sensors and controls the display based on a presence or classification of onlookers associated with the received sensor data. In some implementations, the privacy controller may compare any onlookers detected from the sensor data to a database of contacts associated with the user and classify each onlooker as a 'trusted onlooker' or “nontrusted onlooker” based on the comparison. More specifically, the privacy controller may selectively activate a privacy protection mechanism associated with the display based on whether a nontrusted onlooker is detected.