Ephemeral gallery of ephemeral messages

• US 10,476,830 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2017
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Inventors: Allen, Nicholas, Giovannini, Donald, Lin, Chia-Yi, Murphy, Robert, Spiegel, Evan
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thuong
• Application Number:
  US15/702,511
• Publication Number:
  US 20170374003A1
• Time in Patent Office: 791 Days
• Field of Search: 709206, 709217, 715203-205, 715702, 715733, 715863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/162 Delete operations erasing in storage systems G06F3/0652
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/215 Improving data quality; Data cleansing, e.g. de-duplication, removing invalid entries or correcting typographical errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2365 Ensuring data consistency and integrity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A server maintains a gallery of ephemeral messages. Each ephemeral message is posted to the gallery by a user for viewing by recipients via recipient devices. In response to a gallery view request from any of the recipient devices, the ephemeral messages in the gallery are displayed on the requesting device in automated sequence, each message being displayed for a respective display duration before display of the next message in the gallery. Each ephemeral message has an associated message availability parameter, at the expiry of which the ephemeral message is made unavailable for viewing as part of the gallery. At expiry of the message availability parameter of the last posted message, the gallery is made unavailable for viewing upon request by any recipient.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memories storing instructions executed by the one or more processors to;

maintain an ephemeral gallery comprising a plurality of ephemeral messages posted for viewing by one or more recipients, wherein the plurality of ephemeral messages comprises respective photographic or video content, the maintaining of the ephemeral gallery comprising making the ephemeral gallery available for viewing, upon request, via respective user devices associated with the one or more recipients;

for each of the plurality of ephemeral messages;

maintain an associated message duration parameter that indicates a display duration of the corresponding ephemeral message during viewing of the ephemeral gallery; and

maintain a gallery participation parameter that indicates a time value for continued availability of the corresponding ephemeral message for viewing by the one or more recipients;

responsive to receiving a request from one of the one or more recipients over a computer network, cause automated sequential display of the plurality of ephemeral messages on a corresponding user device by performance of operations comprising;

starting a message timer when display of one of the ephemeral messages is commenced, the message timer expiring when the message timer equals the display duration of the corresponding ephemeral message;

responsive to expiry of the message timer, displaying a next one of the plurality of ephemeral messages in the ephemeral gallery; and

repeating the operations of starting the message timer and displaying the next ephemeral message until all ephemeral messages in the ephemeral gallery are viewed;

remove a particular one of the plurality of ephemeral messages from the ephemeral gallery in response to identification of an expired gallery participation parameter corresponding to the particular ephemeral message, the particular ephemeral message after removal thereof being unavailable for viewing by the one or more recipients as part of the ephemeral gallery; and

eliminate the ephemeral gallery so that the ephemeral gallery is unavailable for viewing over the computer network by the one or more recipients, the ephemeral gallery being eliminated upon expiration of the gallery participation parameter of a last message in the ephemeral gallery, the last message being that one of the plurality of ephemeral messages posted to the ephemeral gallery most recently.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memories include instructions to cause the processor to:

receive from a user associated with the ephemeral gallery a newly posted ephemeral message;

store the newly posted ephemeral message and a corresponding message duration parameter; and

associate the newly posted ephemeral message with the ephemeral gallery.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the corresponding message duration parameter is set by the user.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the newly posted ephemeral message includes augmentations made by the user to the photographic or video content of the newly posted ephemeral message.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the newly posted ephemeral message includes annotations made by the user.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the annotations are text annotations.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the annotations are drawing annotations.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the corresponding message duration parameter is a default parameter.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more memories includes instructions for causing the one or more processors to post indicia of ephemeral gallery activity to a graphical user interface for the ephemeral gallery on a user device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the indicia of ephemeral gallery activity include indicia pertaining to the posting time of the last message in the ephemeral gallery.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the indicia of ephemeral gallery activity include indicia of an amount of time remaining before the ephemeral gallery is made unavailable for viewing by the one or more recipients.

12. A method comprising:

maintaining an ephemeral gallery comprising a plurality of ephemeral messages posted for viewing by one or more recipients, wherein the plurality of ephemeral messages comprises respective photographic or video content, the maintaining of the ephemeral gallery comprising making the ephemeral gallery available for viewing, upon request, via respective user devices associated with the one or more recipients, the maintaining of the ephemeral gallery comprising, for each of the plurality of ephemeral messages;

maintaining an associated message duration parameter that indicates a display duration of the corresponding ephemeral message during viewing of the ephemeral gallery; and

maintaining a gallery participation parameter that indicates a time value for continued availability of the corresponding ephemeral message for viewing by the one or more recipients;

responsive to receiving a request from one of the one or more recipients, automatically causing automated sequential display of the plurality of ephemeral messages on a corresponding user device by performance of operations comprising;

starting a message timer when display of one of the ephemeral messages is commenced, the message timer expiring when the message timer equals the display duration of the corresponding ephemeral message;

responsive to expiry of the message timer, displaying a next one of the plurality of ephemeral messages in the ephemeral gallery; and

repeating the operations of starting the message timer and displaying the next ephemeral message until all ephemeral messages in the ephemeral gallery are viewed;

using one or more computer processors, automatically removing a particular one of the plurality of ephemeral messages from the ephemeral gallery in response to identification of an expired gallery participation parameter corresponding to the particular ephemeral message, the particular ephemeral message after removal thereof being unavailable for viewing by the one or more recipients as part of the ephemeral gallery; and

using one or more computer processors, automatically eliminating the ephemeral gallery so that the ephemeral gallery is unavailable for viewing over the computer network by the one or more recipients, the ephemeral gallery being eliminated upon expiration of the gallery participation parameter of a last message in the ephemeral gallery, the last message being that one of the plurality of ephemeral messages posted to the ephemeral gallery most recently.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving from a user associated with the ephemeral gallery a newly posted ephemeral message;

storing the newly posted ephemeral message and a corresponding message duration parameter; and

associating the newly posted ephemeral message with the ephemeral gallery.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the corresponding message duration parameter is a default parameter.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the corresponding message duration parameter is set by the user.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the newly posted ephemeral message includes augmentations made by the user to the photographic or video content of the newly posted ephemeral message.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the newly posted ephemeral message includes annotations made by the user.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising causing the one or more processors to post indicia of ephemeral gallery activity to a graphical user interface for the ephemeral gallery on a user device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the indicia of ephemeral gallery activity includes indicia pertaining to the posting time of the last message in the ephemeral gallery.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing machine-readable instructions for causing a machine, when executing the instructions, to perform operations comprising:

maintaining an ephemeral gallery comprising a plurality of ephemeral messages posted for viewing by one or more recipients, wherein the plurality of ephemeral messages comprises respective photographic or video content, the maintaining of the ephemeral gallery comprising making the ephemeral gallery available for viewing, upon request, via respective user devices associated with the one or more recipients, the maintaining of the ephemeral gallery comprising, for each of the plurality of ephemeral messages;

maintaining an associated message duration parameter that indicates a display duration of the corresponding ephemeral message during viewing of the ephemeral gallery; and

maintaining a gallery participation parameter that indicates a time value for continued availability of the corresponding ephemeral message for viewing by the one or more recipients;

responsive to receiving a request from one of the one or more recipients over a computer network, automatically causing automated sequential display of the plurality of ephemeral messages on a corresponding user device by performance of operations comprising;

starting a message timer when display of one of the ephemeral messages is commenced, the message timer expiring when the message timer equals the display duration of the corresponding ephemeral message;

responsive to expiry of the message timer, displaying a next one of the plurality of ephemeral messages in the ephemeral gallery; and

repeating the operations of starting the message timer and displaying the next ephemeral message until all ephemeral messages in the ephemeral gallery are viewed;

automatically removing a particular one of the plurality of ephemeral messages from the ephemeral gallery in response to identification of an expired gallery participation parameter corresponding to the particular ephemeral message, the particular ephemeral message after removal thereof being unavailable for viewing by the one or more recipients as part of the ephemeral gallery; and

automatically eliminating the ephemeral gallery so that the ephemeral gallery is unavailable for viewing over the computer network by the one or more recipients, the ephemeral gallery being eliminated upon expiration of the gallery participation parameter of a last message in the ephemeral gallery, the last message being that one of the plurality of ephemeral messages posted to the ephemeral gallery most recently.