US Patent 8005859 Maintaining contact with a document storage file owner

Systems and methods of the present invention allow a file owner to upload and store a file to a File Storage Area. The file owner may synchronize a periodic clock to a time-based approval period during which the file owner may grant permissions to access the file. A file owner interface may store contact information for the file owner, and ping the information, substituting alternate contact information as necessary, alerting the file owner of any failure of the contact information prior to expiration of the time-based approval period. After expiration of the time-based approval period, grant of file permissions may be automatically approved.