Message communication systems and applications with message lifetime settings for automatic message deletion

• US 10,142,274 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2016
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Albert S. Penilla, C. Douglass Thomas, Jason M. Penilla
• Original Assignee: Albert S. Penilla, C. Douglass Thomas, Jason M. Penilla
• Inventors: Penilla, Jason M., Penilla, Albert S., Thomas, C. Douglass
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Jungwon
• Application Number:
  US15/041,089
• Publication Number:
  US 20160191442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• Field of Search: 709204-206, 726 28
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management

Abstract

Computer implemented methods, systems and computer readable media are provided for processing and managing electronic messaging. In one example, a system includes a client interface for enabling access to users of the electronic messaging system. Each user is provided with an inbox for electronically receiving messages and a sent box for electronically sending messages. The client interface is configured to receive an input for setting a lifetime setting for a message that is composed by a sender to a recipient via the client interface. Further provided is processing logic of the electronic messaging system for tracking messages having a lifetime setting and processing logic for deleting a message having a lifetime setting after expiration of a time period defined by the lifetime setting. The deleting is configured to remove the message from the sent box of the sender and the inbox of the recipient.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for managing communication of messages between senders and recipients of messages, comprising,

receiving, at the one or more server computers, identification of a recipient for a message to be sent by a sender, the recipient being pre-identified for use of a lifetime setting, the lifetime setting defining a period of time after which the message will be automatically deleted;

providing, by the one or more server computers, a suggestion to apply the lifetime setting for sending the message based on said identification of the recipient for the message;

requesting, by the one or more server computers, acceptance of an agreement from the recipient that the message to be sent by the sender to the recipient will have the lifetime setting imposed;

determining, by the one or more server computers, whether the recipient has agreed to the lifetime setting;

sending, by the one or more server computers, the message to the recipient after confirming that the recipient agreed to the lifetime setting;

receiving, by the one or more server computers, an indication that the message has been opened by the recipient;

starting, by the one or more server computers, a timer to count down the period of time associated with the lifetime setting for the message; and

subsequently deleting, by the one or more server computers, the message after expiration of the timer, the deleting acting to remove the message on the one or more server computers and message interfaces provided by the one or more server computers to enable access to send and receive the message by the sender and the recipient.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the identification of the recipient as being pre-identified for use of the lifetime is pre-set by the sender.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the pre-identifying is facilitated by tagging the recipient from a contact list for use of the lifetime setting.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein an administrator of an enterprise that manages communications between senders and recipients is configured to manage the pre-identifying of the recipient or other recipients for use of the lifetime.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising,

disabling forwarding or sharing of the message when the lifetime setting is active and before expiration of the timer.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising,

tracking actions regarding the message having the lifetime setting by one or both of the sender and the recipient, said actions include one of forwarding of the message, or adding recipients, or taking of screen shots of the message, or scrolling through the message, or combinations of two or more thereof,

wherein said tracking is saved to a log that is shared between said sender and said recipient as a history of tracked actions for the message, wherein the history of tracked actions does not include the message.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising,

receiving, by the one or more server computers, a request from either to sender or the recipient to extend the timer;

and

extending the timer by an amount of time agreed to by the sender and the recipient.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising,

receiving, by the one or more server computers, a biometric identifier of the recipient before enabling acceptance of the agreement from the recipient that the message to be sent by the sender will have the lifetime setting imposed.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein said recipient is a contact of the sender and the recipient is tagged by the sender in a contact list as requiring acceptance of the lifetime setting for the message or other messages between the sender and the recipient.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising,

applying automatically, by the one or more server computers, the lifetime setting for one or more additional messages between the sender and the recipient after the lifetime setting is accepted for the message.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising,

applying, by the one or more server computers, the lifetime setting for files attached to the message.

12. A computer implemented method for managing communication of messages between senders and recipients of messages, comprising,

receiving, at one or more server computers, a request by a sender to send a message to a recipient,

sending, by the one or more server computers, the message to the recipient, the message is one of a plurality of messages exchanged between the sender and the recipient for a conversation;

receiving, by the one or more server computers, a request to set a lifetime setting to the plurality of messages of the conversation;

confirming, by the one or more server computers, acceptance of an agreement between the sender and recipient that the plurality of messages will be processed for the lifetime setting, and

deleting, by the one or more server computers, any one of the messages of the conversation that have exceeded a timer for the lifetime setting, the timer is computed individually for each message of the conversation based on when the respective message was opened by the recipient, the deleting acting to remove one or more messages on the one or more server computers or message interfaces provided by the one or more server computers to enable access to exchange the one or more messages between the sender and the recipient.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 12, further comprising,

disabling forwarding or sharing of the message when the lifetime setting is active and before expiration of the timer.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 12, further comprising,

tracking actions regarding the message having the lifetime setting by one or both of the sender and the recipient, said actions include one of forwarding of the message, or adding recipients, or taking of screen shots of the message, or scrolling through the message, or combinations of two or more thereof,

wherein said tracking is saved to a log that is shared between said sender and said recipient as a history of tracked actions for the message, wherein the history of tracked actions does not include the message.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 12, further comprising,

receiving, by the one or more server computers, a request from either to sender or the recipient to extend the timer;

and

extending the timer by an amount of time agreed to by the sender and the recipient.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 12, further comprising,

receiving, by the one or more server computers, a biometric identifier of the recipient or sender to enable acceptance of the agreement that the conversation will have the lifetime setting imposed.

17. The computer implemented method of claim 12, further comprising,

applying, by the one or more server computers, the lifetime setting for files attached to the message.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 12, wherein the request to set a lifetime setting to the plurality of messages of the conversation is enabled any time before or in between messages during the conversation.

19. The computer implemented method of claim 12, further comprising,

analyzing wording in the message, the analyzing is configured to identify sensitive wording or language that triggers a suggestion to the sender or the recipient to make the request to set the lifetime setting for the message or messages of the conversation.

20. A computer implemented method for managing communication of messages between senders and recipients of messages, comprising,

receiving, at the one or more server computers, identification of a recipient for a message-based conversation to be sent by a sender;

sending, by the one or more server computers, a first outgoing message of the message-based conversation to the recipient;

receiving, by the one or more server computers, a first incoming message of the message-based conversation from the recipient;

subsequently determining, by the one or more server computers, that the message-based conversation be lifetime limited;

imposing, by the one or more server computers, the lifetime limitation to all messages in the message-based conversation if the determining determines that the message-based conversation be lifetime limited; and

subsequently deleting, by the one or more server computers, one or more messages in the message-based conversation based in the lifetime limitation being imposed, the deleting occurring for said one or more messages where the sender and the recipient agreed to the lifetime limitation and each of said messages are deleted after a timer count down expires based on the lifetime limitation.