6. A method of processing a request for information about a second individual made by a first individual over a computer network and returning the information to the first individual over the computer network, comprising the steps of: generating, at a first computer system that manages a first database, an ID token of the first individual and an ID token of the second individual upon receipt of the request for information about the second individual made by the first individual; transmitting, from the first computer system, the ID token of the first individual and a request for information about the first individual's social network to a second computer system that manages a second database, over the computer network; receiving, at the first computer system, ID tokens of individuals in the first individual's social network from the second computer system over the computer network in response to the step of transmitting; determining, at the first computer system, that an ID token of any of the individuals in the first individual's social network matches the ID token of the second individual; and returning the information from the first computer system to the first individual; wherein the ID token of the first and second individuals and the ID tokens of individuals in the first individual's social network are generated using a common algorithm, wherein the common algorithm comprises a one-way hash algorithm.
6. A method of processing a request for information about a second individual made by a first individual over a computer network and returning the information to the first individual over the computer network, comprising the steps of: generating, at a first computer system that manages a first database, an ID token of the first individual and an ID token of the second individual upon receipt of the request for information about the second individual made by the first individual; transmitting, from the first computer system, the ID token of the first individual and a request for information about the first individual's social network to a second computer system that manages a second database, over the computer network; receiving, at the first computer system, ID tokens of individuals in the first individual's social network from the second computer system over the computer network in response to the step of transmitting; determining, at the first computer system, that an ID token of any of the individuals in the first individual's social network matches the ID token of the second individual; and returning the information from the first computer system to the first individual; wherein the ID token of the first and second individuals and the ID tokens of individuals in the first individual's social network are generated using a common algorithm, wherein the common algorithm comprises a one-way hash algorithm. 13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the request includes a degree of separation value (N), and the received ID tokens of individuals in the first individual's social network consist of ID tokens of those individuals in the first individual's social network who are less than or equal to N degrees of separation away from the first individual.