The present invention provides for a sending communication client to
create and send a token, which includes control indicia pertaining to
contact information and communication rules for using the contact
information for an associated user, to a receiving communication client.
The communication rules control how receiving communication clients can
use the contact information to initiate communications with the sending
user, using one of the addresses or telephone numbers. The receiving
communication client will keep certain, if not all, of the contact
information and perhaps the communication rules inaccessible to a user of
the receiving communication client; however, the receiving communication
client can use the contact information to initiate communications with
one of the communication clients of the sending user. As such, the
sending user can keep contact information confidential, yet let certain
parties use the information according to communication rules.