PROVIDING MESSAGE STATUS NOTIFICATIONS DURING ELECTRONIC MESSAGING

• US 20150271120A1
• Filed: 03/21/2014
• Published: 09/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Langholz, Benjamin S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,722,962 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads

Abstract

One or more embodiments described herein include methods and systems of providing message status notifications. The status notifications can comprise one or more of sent, delivered, or accessed/read notifications. In one or more embodiments a status notification is persistently displayed in a thread for each participant in a conversation. Each time the participant accesses a new message, the system can move the status notification adjacent to the new message.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a graphical user interface comprising;

a communication thread including a plurality of electronic messages exchanged between a user, a first participant, and a second participant;

a first access notification element associated with the first participant; and

a second access notification element associated with the second participant;

maintaining, by at least one processor, the first access notification element adjacent to an electronic message of the communication thread most recently accessed by the first participant; and

maintaining, by the at least one processor, the second access notification element adjacent to an electronic message of the communication thread most recently accessed by the second participant.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

adding an additional electronic message to the conversation thread; and

identifying that the first participant has accessed the additional electronic message.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

receiving an input from the user of the additional electronic message via the graphical user interface;

displaying the additional electronic message with a first appearance in the communication thread;

determining a change in a status of the additional electronic message; and

changing the first appearance of the additional electronic message to a second appearance based on the determination that the change in the status of the additional electronic message.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein:

determining the change in the status of the additional electronic message comprises determining that the additional electronic message was successfully sent or delivered; and

changing the first appearance of the additional electronic message to the second appearance comprises changing a color or the additional electronic message.

5. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein maintaining the first access notification element adjacent to the electronic message of the communication thread most recently accessed by the first participant comprises moving the first access notification element from a first position adjacent to a previously accessed electronic message to a second position adjacent to the additional electronic message based on identifying that the first participant has accessed the additional electronic message.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein maintaining the second access notification element adjacent to the electronic message of the communication thread most recently accessed by the second participant comprises leaving the second access notification element adjacent to an electronic message previous accessed by the second participant despite the adding of the additional electronic message to the communication thread and the moving for the first access notification element from the first position to the second position.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

identifying that the second participant has accessed the additional electronic message; and

moving the second access notification element from adjacent to the electronic message previously accessed by the second participant to a position adjacent to the additional electronic message based on identifying that the second participant has accessed the additional electronic message.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the additional electronic message is an electronic message sent from a participant other than the user.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first access notification element comprises an icon or an image selected by the first participant.

10. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the first access notification element comprises a profile picture selected by the first participant.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising including an access notification element in the graphical user interface for each participant in the conversation thread in addition to the user.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein maintaining, by at least one processor, the first access notification element adjacent to the electronic message of the communication thread most recently accessed by the first participant comprises causing the first access notification element to disappear from a viewable area of the graphical user interface upon one or more messages being added to the communication thread which the first participant has not accessed.

13. A mobile device, comprising:

a display device;

at least one processor;

at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the mobile device to;

display a graphical user interface via the display device, the graphical user interface comprising;

a communication thread including a plurality of electronic messages exchanged between a user, a first participant, and a second participant;

a first access notification element associated with the first participant; and

a second access notification element associated with the second participant;

maintain the first access notification element adjacent to an electronic message of the communication thread most recently accessed by the first participant; and

maintain the second access notification element adjacent to an electronic message of the communication thread most recently accessed by the second participant.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium stores further instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the mobile device to:

add an additional electronic message to the conversation thread;

receive an indication from a communication server that first participant has accessed the additional electronic message; and

move the first access notification element from a first position adjacent to a previously accessed electronic message to a second position adjacent to the additional electronic message based on the received indication that the first participant accessed the additional electronic message.

15. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium stores further instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the mobile device to:

receive the additional electronic message from a device associated with the second participant; and

detect that the user has accessed the additional electronic message; and

send an indication to the communication server that the user has accessed the additional electronic message.

16. The mobile device of claim 15, wherein the non-transitory computer readable storage medium stores further instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the mobile device to leave the second access notification adjacent to an electronic message previously accessed by the second participant despite the addition of the additional electronic message to the communication thread.

17. A method comprising:

providing a graphical user interface comprising;

a communication thread including a plurality of electronic messages exchanged between a user and a first participant;

a first access notification positioned proximate to an electronic message in the communication thread accessed by the first participant, wherein the first access notification identifies the first participant and is persistently included in the communication thread;

identifying, by at least one processor, that the first participant has accessed an additional electronic message in the communication thread; and

moving the first access notification from a position proximate to the electronic message in the communication thread accessed by the first participant to adjacent to the additional electronic message upon identifying that the first participant has accessed the additional electronic message.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, further comprising:

including a second access notification in the communication thread, the second access notification being positioned proximate to an electronic message in the communication thread accessed by a second participant, wherein the second access notification identifies the second participant and is persistently included in the communication thread; and

moving the second access notification proximate to a new electronic message in the communication thread upon identifying that the second user has accessed the new electronic message.

19. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the additional electronic message is from the second recipient.

20. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the first access notification comprises a photograph selected by the first participant.