Method and system for disappearing ink for text messaging

• US 7,797,390 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2009
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Williamson, Paul Stuart, Rozich, Ryan, Hagale, Anthony Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Dustin
• Application Number:
  US12/411,097
• Publication Number:
  US 20090177978A1
• Time in Patent Office: 538 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 455/466
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

An instant messaging client presents messages and removes the messages from display after a predetermined amount of time. In one preferred embodiment, the predetermined amount of time is agreed upon by all participants during a policy negotiation. Each message may be associated with a display time and when the current time differs from the display time by a predetermined amount, the message is removed from the display. Messages may also be presented in a non-editable display area to prevent manual logging of the messaging content.

Claims

1. An apparatus for disabling logging of an instant messaging session, the apparatus comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device includes a set of instructions; and

a processing unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to establish an instant messaging session between two or more participants, wherein establishing an instant messaging session includes authenticating that the two or more participants are using a trusted instant messaging application and negotiating a session policy during a preliminary policy negotiation between the two or more participants that a content associated with the instant messaging session is not to be logged so that the content associated with the instant messaging session is not stored in one or more instant messaging logs and to define and agree upon a display duration value that determines an amount of time a content associated with the instant messaging session is presented in a non-editable message display area in a user interface, and wherein the non-editable message display area prevents a user from selecting, copying, and pasting the content associated with the instant messaging session into another application, and wherein the content of the instant messaging session includes text messages, images, and sounds associated with the instant messaging session;

poll an instant messaging server using a polling function to determine whether a new message is received;

start a timer when a given message is received, wherein the given message is one of one or more messages associated with the instant messaging session;

present the one or more messages associated with the instant messaging session in the non-editable message display area in the user interface;

determine whether the display duration value for the given message of the one or more messages has expired, wherein determining whether the display duration value for the given message has expired includes determining whether the timer reached the display duration value; and

remove the given message from the non-editable message display area in the user interface to disable logging of the instant messaging session in response to determining that the display duration value for the given message has expired.

2. A computer program product stored in a computer readable storage medium having instructions embodied therein for disabling logging of an instant messaging session, the computer program product comprising:

instructions for establishing an instant messaging session between two or more participants, wherein establishing an instant messaging session includes authenticating that the two or more participants are using a trusted instant messaging application and negotiating a session policy during a preliminary policy negotiation between the two or more participants that a content associated with the instant messaging session is not to be logged so that the content associated with the instant messaging session is not stored in one or more instant messaging logs and to define and agree upon a display duration value that determines an amount of time a content associated with the instant messaging session is presented in a non-editable message display area in a user interface, and wherein the non-editable message display area prevents a user from selecting, copying, and pasting the content associated with the instant messaging session into another application, and wherein the content of the instant messaging session includes text messages, images, and sounds associated with the instant messaging session;

instructions for polling an instant messaging server using a polling function to determine whether a new message is received;

instructions for starting a timer when a given message is received, wherein the given message is one of one or more messages associated with the instant messaging session;

instructions for presenting the one or more messages associated with the instant messaging session in the non-editable message display area in the user interface;

instructions for determining whether the display duration value for the given message of the one or more messages has expired, wherein determining whether the display duration value for the given message has expired includes determining whether the timer reached the display duration value; and

instructions for removing the given message from the non-editable message display area in the user interface to disable logging of the instant messaging session in response to determining that the display duration value for the given message has expired.