Automatic expiration of messages communicated to an end user communication device

• US 9,331,972 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2011
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Loment Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Loment Incorporated
• Inventors: Majeti, Venkata C., Pennabadi, Saiprasad
• Primary Examiner(s): Gillis, Brian J
• Assistant Examiner(s): TOKUTA, SHEAN S
• Application Number:
  US13/136,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20120254325A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,729 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 709/207
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

An exemplary method is implemented by an electronic device for transmitting a data message to at least a first end-user communication device. Data that forms a user message for conveyance to a first end-user communication device and a first value are received under the control of an enhanced services application program. A digital packet is formed with a header segment and a user data segment. The user data segment is formed under the control of the enhanced services application program and contains a first command and the user message, the first command representing that the user message is to be automatically deleted by the recipient first end-user communication device. The first command includes the first value that represents how long until the user message will be automatically deleted by the first end-user communication device. The digital packet is transmitted to the first end-user communication device.

Claims

1. A method implemented by electronic devices for communicating a data message in accordance with a standardized communication protocol between end-user communication devices, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, under the control of an enhanced services application program stored in memory of one electronic device, data that forms a user message for conveyance to at least a first end-user communication device;

forming by the one electronic device a digital packet having a header segment and all of the digital packet following the header being a user data segment, the user data segment having a data format generated by and unique to the enhanced services application program of the electronic device, the unique data format meaning that bytes of data within the user data segment do not have a known interpretation other than to the enhanced services application program;

using a label at the beginning of the user data segment to identify that the information in the user data segment following the label was created by the enhanced services application program that originated the user data segment, the first label being a single character or a single group of consecutive characters where the first label always precedes all other information contained in the user data segment;

encrypting by the one electronic device all the information in the user data segment except the label, the label being interpretable by the at least first end-user communication device as a directive to process the user data segment with a corresponding enhanced services application program instead of an alternative communication program;

the label being followed by a first command that precedes the user message, the first command representing that the user message is to be automatically deleted by the at least a first end-user communication device, the first command including a first value that represents how long until the user message will be automatically deleted by the at least first end-user communication device, the user message following the last byte of the first command;

encrypting of the first command and the first value means that decryption by the first end-user communication device will be required as a condition precedent to determining the meaning associated with the first command and the first value;

transmitting the digital packet in accordance with the standardized communication protocol to the at least first end-user communication device;

decrypting the encrypted portion of the received user data segment prior to displaying the received user message in the inbox of the at least first end-user communication device;

when the decrypted first value represents a time that has not yet occurred, displaying the user message as decrypted text in the inbox;

when the decrypted first value represents a time that has already occurred, preventing the display the decrypted user message in the inbox wherein a user message is never displayed in the inbox when the associated user message is not attempted to be placed in the inbox until after expiration of the time represented by the first value.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein user data segment contains information that is not subject to interpretation by intermediate nodes through which the digital packet passes in route to the at least first end-user communication device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the digital packet is transmitted as a short messaging service message.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the digital packet is transmitted as one of a short messaging service message, an email message, simple mail transfer protocol and hypertext transfer protocol.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting in the user data segment a second command representing an instruction to the enhanced services application program in the first end-user communication device to inhibit actions by the enhanced services application program in the first end-user communication device that could have been taken with regard to the received user message absent the second command, the actions inhibited including saving, printing and transferring the received user message that would have permitted the received user message to be viewed beyond the time established by the first value.

6. A computer program product, comprising a computer usable tangible non-transitory medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed by electronic devices to implement a method for communicating electronic communications in accordance with a standardized communication, the method comprising:

receiving, under control of an enhanced services application program stored in memory of one electronic device, data that forms a user message for conveyance to at least a first end-user communication device;

forming by the one electronic device a digital packet having a header segment and all of the digital packet following the header being a user data segment, the user data segment having a data format generated by and unique to the enhanced services application program of the electronic device, the unique data format meaning that bytes of data within the user data segment do not have a known interpretation other than to the enhanced services application program;

encrypting by the one electronic device all the information in the user data segment except the label, the label being interpretable by the at least first end-user communication device as a directive to process the user data segment with a corresponding enhanced services application program instead of an alternative communication program;

using a label at the beginning of the user data segment to identify that the information in the user data segment following the label was created by the enhanced services application program that originated the user data segment, the first label being a single character or a single group of consecutive characters where the first label always precedes all other information contained in the user data segment;

the label being followed by a first command that precedes the user message, the first command representing that the user message is to be automatically deleted by the at least a first end-user communication device, the first command including a first value that represents how long until the user message will be automatically deleted by the at least first end-user communication device, the user message following the last byte of the first command;

encrypting of the first command the and first value means that decryption by the first end-user communication device will be required as a condition precedent to determining the meaning associated with the first command and the first value;

transmitting the digital packet in accordance with the standardized communication protocol to the at least first end-user communication device;

decrypting the encrypted portion of the received user data segment prior to displaying the received user message in the inbox of the at least first end-user communication device;

when the decrypted first value represents a time that has not yet occurred, displaying the user message as decrypted text in the inbox;

when the decrypted first value represents a time that has already occurred, preventing the display the decrypted user message in the inbox wherein a user message is never displayed in the inbox when the associated user message is not attempted to be placed in the inbox until after expiration of the time represented by the first value.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein the user data segment includes a command segment that contains the first command, the first command including a predetermined command character that represents the associated user message is to be deleted at a time set by the first value by the at least first end-user communication device.

8. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein:

the first command and user message contained in the received the electronic communication are in encrypted format;

the step of generating comprising decrypting the encrypted first command and user message into dear text format and displaying the user message in dear text format.

9. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein the digital packet is transmitted as a short messaging service message.

10. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein the digital packet is transmitted as one of a short messaging service message, an email message, simple mail transfer protocol and hypertext transfer protocol.

11. The computer program product of claim 6 further comprising:

transmitting in the user data segment a second command representing an instruction to the enhanced services application program in the first end-user communication device to inhibit actions by the enhanced services application program in the first end-user communication device that could have been taken with regard to the received user message absent the second command, the actions inhibited including saving, printing and transferring the received user message that would have permitted the received user message to be viewed beyond the time established by the first value.

12. An electronic communication device that originates a data message for transmission in accordance with a standardized communication protocol to at least a first end-user communication device, the electronic communication device comprising:

a microprocessor controlled apparatus receives, under the control of an enhanced services application program, data that forms a user message for conveyance to the at least a first end-user communication device;

memory in which the enhanced services application program is stored;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus forms a digital packet having a header segment and all of the digital packet following the header being a user data segment, the user data segment having a data format generated by and unique to the enhanced services application program of the electronic device, the unique data format meaning that bytes of data within the user data segment do not have a known interpretation other than to the enhanced services application program;

the user data segment containing a label at the beginning of the user data segment that identifies that the information in the user data segment following the label was created by the enhanced services application program that originated the user data segment, the first label being a single character or a single group of consecutive characters where the first label always precedes all other information contained in the user data segment;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus encrypting all the information in the user data segment except the label, the label being interpretable by the at least first end-user communication device as a directive to process the user data segment with a corresponding enhanced services application program instead of an alternative communication program;

the label being followed by a first command that precedes the user message, the first command representing that the user message is to be automatically deleted by the at least a first end-user communication device, the first command including a first value that represents how long until the user message will be automatically deleted by the at least first end-user communication device, the user message following the last byte of the first command;

encrypting of the first command and the first value means that decryption by the first end-user communication device will be required as a condition precedent to determining the meaning associated with the first command and the first value;

the microprocessor controlled apparatus causes the transmission of the digital packet in accordance with the standardized communication protocol to the at least first end-user communication device;

encryption of the user data segment except for the label requires decryption of the encrypted portion of the received user data segment prior to displaying the received user message in the inbox of the at least first end-user communication device;

when the decrypted first value represents a time that has not yet occurred, displaying the user message as decrypted text in the inbox;

when the decrypted first value represents a time that has already occurred, preventing the display the decrypted user me age in the inbox wherein a user message is never displayed in the inbox when the associated user message is not attempted to be placed in the inbox until after expiration of the time represented by the first value.

13. The electronic communication device of claim 12 wherein the user data segment contains information that is not subject to interpretation by intermediate nodes through which the digital packet passes in route to the at least first end-user communication device.

14. The electronic communication device of claim 12 wherein the user data segment includes a command segment that contains the first command, the first command including a predetermined command character that represents the associated user message is to be deleted at a time set by the first value by the at least first end-user communication device.

15. The electronic communication device of claim 12 wherein the digital packet is transmitted as a short messaging service message.

16. The electronic communication device of claim 12 wherein the microprocessor controlled apparatus transmits the digital packet as one of a short messaging service message, an email message, simple mail transfer protocol and hypertext transfer protocol.

17. The electronic communication device of claim 12 further comprising:

the microprocessor controlled apparatus transmitting in the user data segment a second command representing an instruction to the enhanced services application program in the first end-user communication device to inhibit actions by the enhanced services application program in the first end-user communication device that could have been taken with regard to the received user message absent the second command, the actions inhibited including saving, printing and transferring the received user message that would have permitted the received user message to be viewed beyond the time established by the first value.