Apple files Mobile Social Networking patent request

A recently disclosed patent request suggests Apple may be working on a mobile social networking application that would presumably let iPhone users form ad-hoc groups based on their locations.

Titled “Group Formation Using Anonymous Broadcast Information,” Apple’s request with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office describes a token-exchange system that would allow mobile devices in close proximity to discover each other and form a group, which the document states could be helpful at events like concerts, conferences, meetings, rallies and weddings.

The patent request, first discovered and reported on by technology news site Patently Apple, is leading to speculation that Apple wants to jump into the hot area of location-aware mobile applications, which offer data and services based on where users are.

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