Single login procedure for accessing social network information across multiple external systems

摘要

A social networking system contains information describing users of the social network and various connections among the users. A user can access multiple external systems that communicate with the social networking system to access information about the users of the social networking system. Login status of the user account on the social networking system is maintained. If the login status of the user account on the social networking system indicates that the user is not logged in, the user is required to provide authentication information. If the login status of the user account indicates that the user is logged in, social network information is provided to the user via an external system, subject to the privacy settings of users of the social networking system. If the user logs out from an external system, the user is also logged out from the social networking system.

主权项

1. A computer implemented method comprising:
maintaining a single login status associated with a user account for a user of a social networking system; receiving a plurality of requests for social network information, wherein each request originates from an external system outside of the social networking system, and the social network information is maintained by the social networking system and is associated with the user account of the social networking system; and determining whether a user account of the external system is linked to the user account of the social networking system, and determining the single login status of the user account of the social networking system, and responsive to determining the single login status and whether the user accounts are linked:
if the single login status indicates that the user account of the social networking system is not logged in, requiring authentication information for the user account of the social networking system before providing social network information and responsive to receiving information indicative of successful authentication, updating the single login status to indicate that the user account of the social networking system is logged in, orif the single login status indicates that the user account of the social networking system is logged in and the user accounts are linked, responding to each request by providing the social network information to the external system and providing access to the external system from another external system.