External messaging functionality for interactive systems

Abstract

A sender holds a first platform account of an interaction system. A sender selects a content item to be shared with a recipient. In response to determining that the recipient identifier of the recipient is not linked to the platform account, the out-of-platform communication is sent to a second user device associated with the recipient identifier. The out-of-platform communication is in an electronic format supported by the second user device and contains a registration link selectable by the user. In response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account linked to the recipient identifier, the recipient is enabled to access the content item on the second user device via a user interface provided by the interactive application. And establishing a relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account in the interaction system.

Description

[0001] Priority claim

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 348,412 filed on June 2, 2022 and U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 18 / 132,267 filed on April 7, 2023, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to electronic messaging and, more particularly, to external messaging functionality for interactive systems. Background Art

[0004] The popularity of electronic messaging, particularly instant messaging, continues to grow. Users increasingly share media content items such as electronic images and videos with each other. Users also increasingly use their mobile devices to communicate with each other using interactive applications. In some cases, a user's contacts may not use the same interactive platform, such as a messaging application, as the user. This may result in technical barriers to electronic communications between a user and one or more contacts. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] In the accompanying drawings (which are not necessarily drawn to scale), similar reference numerals may describe similar components in different views. To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or action, the highest digit or digits in the reference numeral refer to the figure number in which the element is first introduced. Some non-limiting examples are shown in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0006] Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a networked environment in which the present disclosure may be deployed, according to some examples.

[0007] Figure 2 is a diagrammatic representation of an interactive system having both client-side and server-side functionality, according to some examples.

[0008] Figure 3 is a diagrammatic representation of data structures as maintained in a database according to some examples.

[0009] Figure 4 is a relationship diagram showing details of various data structures and interactions regarding an interactive system according to some examples.

[0010] Figure 5 is a user interface diagram illustrating a preview interface according to some examples.

[0011] Figure 6 is a user interface diagram illustrating a sending interface according to some examples.

[0012] Figure 7 is a user interface diagram showing a sending interface and a portion of a preview interface according to some examples.

[0013] Figure 8 is a user interface diagram illustrating a text messaging interface according to some examples.

[0014] Fig. 9 is a user interface diagram illustrating a chat interface (also known as a message feed interface) according to some examples.

[0015] Fig.10 is a user interface diagram illustrating a chat thread interface according to some examples.

[0016] Fig.11 is a user interface diagram illustrating a chat interface (also known as a message feed interface) according to some examples.

[0017] Fig.12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for facilitating off-platform messaging and establishment of user relationships, according to some examples.

[0018] Fig.13 is a graphical representation of messages according to some examples.

[0019] Fig.14 A system including a head wearable device according to some examples is shown.

[0020] Fig.15 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of a computer system according to some examples within which a set of instructions may be executed for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

[0021] Fig.16 is a block diagram illustrating a software architecture in which examples may be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Examples of the present disclosure improve the functionality of electronic messaging software and systems by enhancing the user's experience of using the interactive system. The user's experience of using the interactive system can be enhanced by enabling the user to utilize external messaging functions (also referred to as off-platform messaging functions).

[0023] The examples described herein enable a user of an interactive system to initiate an interaction with a non-user via a user interface. A non-user (recipient) receives an off-platform communication, e.g., a notification in the form of a short message service (SMS) message, with a link for registering with the interactive system and thereby enabling access to content items shared by the user. An off-platform message may be sent to a non-user using an off-platform contact record of the non-user (e.g., a phone number or other off-platform recipient identifier). Access to content items shared by a user (sender) and a recipient may be contingent on the recipient registering with the interactive system using an off-platform contact record specified by the sender.

[0024] In addition to initiating interactions with non-users, the interactive system may also generate pending relationship requests (e.g., friend requests) associated with users and non-users. Once a non-user registers with the interactive system, the pending relationship requests may automatically appear and / or be converted into on-platform relationship or active relationship requests, thereby facilitating the establishment of relationships within the interactive system.

[0025] In some examples, where a non-user receives multiple off-platform messages from different users of the interactive system, relationship establishment is handled differently depending on which off-platform message (e.g., a registration link) the non-user utilized for platform joining. In other words, establishing a relationship between a sender's first platform account and a recipient's newly created second platform account may be based on whether a registration link in the sender's off-platform communication was used in the electronic account registration process for the second platform account. If the sender's registration link is used, a two-way relationship may be automatically established, whereas if it is detected that the sender's registration link is not used by the recipient, a one-way relationship may be automatically established.

[0026] Additionally, in some examples, a pending or queued message may be generated within the interactive system in response to the transmission of an off-platform communication, including a content item shared by the sender. Once the recipient registers with the interactive system, the pending message may automatically appear and be presented to the recipient in a chat or message feed interface, thereby facilitating viewing of the content item and further on-platform interaction between users.

[0027] In some examples, a sender uses a first user device to request that a content item be sent to a recipient identified by a recipient identifier (e.g., a phone number) via an interactive application. The interactive system maintains first electronic contact data for multiple users of the interactive system. Each user of the interactive system has a platform account. The interactive system may also access second electronic contact data associated with an external application of the sender. The second electronic contact data includes a recipient identifier. The interactive system determines that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account that forms part of the first electronic contact data. The external application may be a contact application that is different from the interactive application.

[0028] The interactive system causes presentation of the recipient identifier in a contact list. Such presentation may be responsive to determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account forming part of the first electronic contact data. The recipient identifier may be presented with a user-selectable off-platform messaging selector. The contact list may be presented to the sender via a user interface provided by the interactive application.

[0029] The recipient may receive an off-platform communication including a user-selectable registration link. In some examples, the off-platform communication does not include a content item, and the content item becomes accessible to the recipient only after establishing a second platform account linked to the recipient identifier. In response to receiving a user selection of the registration link, the interactive system may initiate an electronic account registration process.

[0030] The recipient may utilize the account registration process to establish a second platform account linked to the recipient identifier. The interactive system may detect the recipient's access to the interactive application using the second platform account, and in response thereto, cause a message from the sender to be presented via a user interface provided by the interactive application. The message may be presented on the recipient's second user device. The message may include a content item, thereby enabling the recipient to access the content item after registration.

[0031] In some examples, the message is designated as a suspended message prior to the establishment of a second platform account linked to the recipient identifier, and the message is made available to the recipient in response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account. In some examples, in response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account linked to the recipient identifier, the interactive system automatically converts the suspended relationship request to an active relationship request. An active relationship request can be a request to establish a two-way relationship between a sender and a recipient in the context of the interactive system.

[0032] In some examples, a one-way relationship is initially established between the sender and the recipient. After the one-way relationship is established, the recipient can select a user-selectable relationship establishment element (e.g., an "add" button or an "add friend" button). In response to receiving a selection of the user-selectable relationship establishment element, the interactive system can automatically convert the one-way relationship to a two-way relationship.

[0033] Enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device may include presenting, via the interactive application, a messaging user interface including means for establishing a two-way relationship with the sender in the context of the interactive system.

[0034] In some examples, in response to detecting that the recipient has established a second platform account, the interaction system causes a user suggestion to be presented on the recipient's second user device (e.g., via a user interface provided by the interaction application). The user suggestion includes the sender's profile data and indicates an option to establish a two-way relationship with the sender.

[0035] Networked computing environment

[0036] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example interactive system 100 for facilitating interactions over a network (e.g., exchanging text messages, making text, audio, and video calls, or playing games). The interactive system 100 includes a plurality of user systems 102, each of which hosts a plurality of applications including an interactive client 104 (as an example of an interactive application) and other applications 106. Each interactive client 104 is communicatively coupled to other instances of the interactive client 104 (e.g., hosted on respective other user systems 102), an interactive server system 110, and a third-party server 112 via one or more communication networks including a network 108 (e.g., the Internet). The interactive client 104 may also communicate with the locally hosted application 106 using an application program interface (API).

[0037] Each user system 102 may include multiple user devices, such as a mobile device 114 , a head wearable device 116 , and a computer client device 118 , that are communicatively connected to exchange data and messages.

[0038] The interactive clients 104 interact with other interactive clients 104 and with the interactive server system 110 via the network 108. The data exchanged between the interactive clients 104 (e.g., interaction 120) and between the interactive clients 104 and the interactive server system 110 includes functions (e.g., commands for activating functions) and payload data (e.g., text, audio, video or other multimedia data).

[0039] The interactive server system 110 provides server-side functionality to the interactive clients 104 via the network 108. Although certain functions of the interactive system 100 are described herein as being performed by either the interactive client 104 or the interactive server system 110, it may be a design choice whether certain functions are located within the interactive client 104 or within the interactive server system 110. For example, it may be technically preferable to initially deploy certain technologies and functions within the interactive server system 110, but to later migrate the technologies and functions to the interactive client 104 where the user system 102 has sufficient processing power.

[0040] The interactive server system 110 supports various services and operations provided to the interactive clients 104. Such operations include sending data to the interactive clients 104, receiving data from the interactive clients 104, and processing data generated by the interactive clients 104. The data may include message content, client device information, geolocation information, media enhancements and overlays, message content persistence conditions, entity relationship information, and live event information. The data exchange within the interactive system 100 is activated and controlled by functions available through the user interface (UI) of the interactive client 104.

[0041] Turning now specifically to the interaction server system 110, the API server 122 is coupled to the interaction server 124 and provides a programming interface thereto, thereby making the functionality of the interaction server 124 accessible to the interaction clients 104, other applications 106, and third-party servers 112. The interaction server 124 is communicatively coupled to a database server 126, thereby facilitating access to a database 128 that stores data associated with interactions processed by the interaction server 124. Similarly, a web server 130 is coupled to the interaction server 124 and provides a web-based interface to the interaction server 124. To this end, the web server 130 handles incoming network requests via the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and several other related protocols.

[0042] The API server 122 receives and sends interaction data (e.g., commands and message payloads) between the interaction server 124 and the client system 102 (and, for example, the interaction client 104 and other applications 106) and the third-party server 112. Specifically, the API server 122 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that the interaction client 104 and other applications 106 can call or query to activate the functions of the interaction server 124. The API server 122 exposes various functions supported by the interaction server 124, including account registration; login function; sending interaction data from a particular interaction client 104 to another interaction client 104 via the interaction server 124; transferring media files (e.g., images or videos) from the interaction client 104 to the interaction server 124; setting a media data collection (e.g., a story); retrieving a friend list of a user of the user system 102; retrieving messages and content; adding and removing entities (e.g., friends) from an entity graph (e.g., a social graph); locating friends in the social graph; and opening application events (e.g., related to the interaction client 104).

[0043] The interactive server 124 hosts multiple systems and subsystems, as shown below. Figure 2 Give a description.

[0044] Linked Applications

[0045] Returning to the interactive client 104, the features and functions of the external resource (e.g., the linked application 106 or applet) are available to the user via the interface of the interactive client 104. In this context, "external" refers to the fact that the application 106 or applet is outside the interactive client 104. Although the external resource is usually provided by a third party, it can also be provided by the creator or provider of the interactive client 104. The interactive client 104 receives the user's selection of the option to launch or access the features of such an external resource. The external resource can be an application 106 installed on the user system 102 (e.g., a "local app"), or a small-scale version of the application hosted on the user system 102 or located far from the user system 102 (e.g., on a third-party server 112) (e.g., a "mini program"). The small-scale version of the application includes a subset of the features and functions of the application (e.g., the full-scale, local version of the application) and is implemented using a markup language document. In some examples, the small-scale version of the application (e.g., a "mini program") is a web-based markup language version of the application and is implanted in the interactive client 104. In addition to using markup language documents (eg, .*ml files), applets may incorporate scripting languages ​​(eg, .*js files or .json files) and style sheets (eg, .*ss files).

[0046] In response to receiving a user selection of an option to launch or access a feature of an external resource, the interactive client 104 determines whether the selected external resource is a web-based external resource or a locally installed application 106. In some cases, an application 106 installed locally on the user system 102 may be independent of and launched separately from the interactive client 104, such as by selecting an icon corresponding to the application 106 on a home screen of the user system 102. A small-scale version of such an application may be launched or accessed via the interactive client 104, and in some examples, no portion of the small-scale application may be accessed outside of the interactive client 104 or a limited portion of the small-scale application may be accessed outside of the interactive client 104. The small-scale application may be launched by the interactive client 104 receiving a markup language document associated with the small-scale application from, for example, a third-party server 112 and processing such a document.

[0047] In response to determining that the external resource is a locally installed application 106, the interactive client 104 instructs the user system 102 to launch the external resource by executing the locally stored code corresponding to the external resource. In response to determining that the external resource is a web-based resource, the interactive client 104 communicates with the third-party server 112 (for example) to obtain a markup language document corresponding to the selected external resource. The interactive client 104 then processes the obtained markup language document to present the web-based external resource within the user interface of the interactive client 104.

[0048] The interactive client 104 can notify the user of the user system 102 or other users (e.g., "friends") associated with such a user of activities occurring in one or more external resources. For example, the interactive client 104 can provide participants in a conversation (e.g., a chat session) in the interactive client 104 with notifications related to the current or recent use of an external resource by one or more members of a user group. One or more users can be invited to join an active external resource or to start an external resource that was recently used but is currently inactive (in a friend group). The external resource can provide participants in the conversation (each using a corresponding interactive client 104) with the ability to share items, conditions, states, or locations in the external resource with one or more members of the user group in a chat session. The shared item can be an interactive chat card that members of the chat can interact with, such as starting a corresponding external resource, viewing specific information within an external resource, or bringing members of the chat to a specific location or state within an external resource. Within a given external resource, a response message can be sent to a user on the interactive client 104. Based on the current context of the external resource, the external resource can selectively include different media items in the response.

[0049] The interactive client 104 can present a list of available external resources (e.g., applications 106 or applets) to the user to launch or access a given external resource. The list can be presented in a context-sensitive menu. For example, icons representing different ones of the applications 106 (or applets) can change based on how the user launches the menu (e.g., from a conversational interface or from a non-conversational interface).

[0050] System Architecture

[0051] Figure 2 1 is a block diagram showing additional details about the interactive system 100 according to some examples. Specifically, the interactive system 100 is shown to include an interactive client 104 and an interactive server 124. The interactive system 100 contains a number of subsystems that are supported on the client side by the interactive client 104 and on the server side by the interactive server 124. Example subsystems are discussed below.

[0052] Image processing system 202 provides various functions that enable a user to capture and enhance (eg, annotate or otherwise modify or edit) media content associated with a message.

[0053] The camera system 204 includes control software (e.g., in a camera application) that interacts with and controls the hardware camera hardware of the user system 102 (e.g., directly or via operating system control) to modify and enhance real-time images captured and displayed via the interactive client 104.

[0054] The enhancement system 206 provides functionality related to the generation and publication of enhancements (e.g., media overlays) for images captured in real time by the camera of the user system 102 or retrieved from the memory of the user system 102. For example, the enhancement system 206 is operable to select, present, and display media overlays (e.g., image filters or image lenses) for the interactive client 104 for enhancing real-time images received via the camera system 204 or stored images retrieved from the memory 1402 of the user system 102. These enhancements are selected and presented to the user of the interactive client 104 by the enhancement system 206 based on some input and data, such as:

[0055] The geolocation of the user system 102; and

[0056] Entity relationship information of users of the user system 102 .

[0057] Enhancement can include audio and visual content and visual effects. Examples of audio and visual content include pictures, text, logos, animations, and sound effects. Examples of visual effects include color overlays. Audio and visual content or visual effects can be applied to media content items (e.g., photos or videos) at user system 102 for transmission in messages, or applied to video content such as video content streams or feeds sent from interactive client 104. Therefore, image processing system 202 can interact with various subsystems of communication system 208, and support various subsystems of communication system 208, such as messaging system 210 and video communication system 212.

[0058] Media overlays may include text or image data that can be superimposed on a photo taken by the user system 102 or a video stream produced by the user system 102. In some examples, the media overlay may be a location overlay (e.g., Venice Beach), the name of a live event, or a business name overlay (e.g., Beach Cafe). In other examples, the image processing system 202 uses the geolocation of the user system 102 to identify a media overlay including the name of a business at the geolocation of the user system 102. The media overlay may include other tags associated with the business. The media overlay may be stored in the database 128 and accessed by the database server 126.

[0059] The image processing system 202 provides a user-based publishing platform that enables a user to select a geographic location on a map and upload content associated with the selected geographic location. The user can also specify situations in which a particular media overlay should be provided to other users. The image processing system 202 generates a media overlay that includes the uploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selected geographic location.

[0060] The augmented creation system 214 supports the augmented reality developer platform and includes applications for content creators (e.g., artists and developers) to create and publish augmentations (e.g., augmented reality experiences) for the interactive clients 104. The augmented creation system 214 provides content creators with a library of built-in features and tools, including, for example, custom shaders, tracking techniques, and templates.

[0061] In some examples, the enhancement creation system 214 provides a merchant-based publishing platform that enables merchants to select specific enhancements associated with a geographic location via a bidding process. For example, the enhancement creation system 214 associates the media overlay of the highest bidding merchant with the corresponding geographic location for a predefined amount of time.

[0062] The communication system 208 is responsible for enabling and processing various forms of communication and interaction within the interactive system 100 , and includes a messaging system 210 , an audio communication system 216 , and a video communication system 212 .

[0063] The messaging system 210 is responsible for enforcing temporary or time-limited access to content by the interactive clients 104. The messaging system 210 includes a plurality of timers (e.g., in a transient timer system 218) that selectively enable access (e.g., for presentation and display) of messages and associated content via the interactive clients 104 based on duration and display parameters associated with a message or a collection of messages (e.g., a story). Additional details regarding the operation of the transient timer system 218 are provided below. The audio communication system 216 enables and supports audio communications (e.g., real-time audio chat) between a plurality of interactive clients 104. Similarly, the video communication system 212 enables and supports video communications (e.g., real-time video chat) between a plurality of interactive clients 104.

[0064] The messaging system 210 includes an external messaging system 234. The external messaging system 234 is responsible for causing the transmission of off-platform messages. For example, a user may choose to send a particular content item to an off-platform destination (e.g., to a third-party messaging application or as a link via an SMS message). The external messaging system 234 may enable the user to be presented with off-platform sharing options, such as a list of non-users of the interactive system 100 located in the user's contacts application and accessible by the external messaging system 234, thereby allowing the user to select non-users to whom the off-platform message is to be sent.

[0065] The user management system 220 is operationally responsible for managing user data and profiles, and includes an entity relationship system 222 that maintains information about relationships between users of the interactive system 100. Additionally, in some examples, the user management system 220 includes a pending request system 236 that is responsible for managing "pending" relationship requests, including those involving non-users of the interactive system 100. For example, where a first user has initiated an off-platform interaction with a non-user, the pending relationship request may be recorded in the interactive system 100 by the pending request system 236, such that once the non-user registers or registers with the interactive system 100, the relationship request appears on the new user's mobile device 114. If agreed to by the new user (previously a non-user), a two-way relationship may be established between the first user and the new user and recorded in the user management system 220.

[0066] The collection management system 224 is operationally responsible for managing a collection or collection of media (e.g., a collection of text, image video, and audio data). A collection of content (e.g., messages, including images, videos, text, and audio) can be organized into an "event gallery" or "event story". Such a collection can be made available within a specified time period (e.g., the duration of the event to which the content relates). For example, content related to a concert can be available as a "story" for the duration of the concert. The collection management system 224 can also be responsible for publishing an icon that provides a notification of a specific collection to the user interface of the interactive client 104. The collection management system 224 includes a curation function that enables collection managers to manage and curate specific content collections. For example, a curation interface enables event organizers to curate a collection of content related to a specific event (e.g., deleting inappropriate content or redundant messages). In addition, the collection management system 224 uses machine vision (or image recognition technology) and content rules to automatically curate content collections. In some examples, compensation can be paid to users for including user-generated content in a collection. In such a case, the collection management system 224 operates to automatically pay such users to use their content.

[0067] The mapping system 226 provides various geolocation functions and supports the presentation of map-based media content and messages by the interactive client 104. For example, the mapping system 226 enables the display of a user icon or avatar (e.g., stored in the profile data 302) on a map to indicate the current or past locations of the user's "friends" in the context of the map, as well as media content (e.g., a collection of messages including photos and videos) generated by these friends. For example, on the map interface of the interactive client 104, a message posted by the user to the interactive system 100 from a particular geographic location can be displayed to the "friends" of the particular user at the particular location in the context of the map. The user can also share his or her location and status information with other users of the interactive system 100 via the interactive client 104 (e.g., using an appropriate status avatar), where the location and status information is similarly displayed to the selected user in the context of the map interface of the interactive client 104.

[0068] The gaming system 228 provides various gaming functions in the context of the interactive client 104. The interactive client 104 provides a gaming interface that provides a list of available games that can be launched by a user in the context of the interactive client 104 and played with other users of the interactive system 100. The interactive system 100 also enables a particular user to invite other users to participate in playing a particular game by sending an invitation to such other users from the interactive client 104. The interactive client 104 also supports voice, video, and text messaging (e.g., chat) in the context of game play, provides leaderboards for games, and also supports the provision of in-game rewards (e.g., game coins and items).

[0069] The external resource system 230 provides an interface for the interactive client 104 to communicate with a remote server (e.g., a third-party server 112) to launch or access an external resource (i.e., an application or applet). Each third-party server 112 hosts, for example, an application or a small-scale version of an application based on a markup language (e.g., HTML5) (e.g., a game application, a utility application, a payment application, or a ride-sharing application). The interactive client 104 can launch a web-based resource (e.g., an application) by accessing an HTML5 file from a third-party server 112 associated with a web-based resource. The application hosted by the third-party server 112 is programmed in JavaScript using a software development kit (SDK) provided by the interactive server 124. The SDK includes an application program interface (API) with functions that can be called or activated by a web-based application. The interactive server 124 hosts a JavasScript library that provides access to a given external resource to specific user data of the interactive client 104. HTML5 is an example of a technology for programming games, but applications and resources programmed based on other technologies can be used.

[0070] In order to integrate the functionality of the SDK into the web-based resource, the SDK is downloaded from the interactive server 124 by the third-party server 112, or the SDK is received by the third-party server 112 in other ways. Once downloaded or received, the SDK is included as part of the application code of the web-based external resource. The code of the web-based resource can then call or activate certain functions of the SDK to integrate the features of the interactive client 104 into the web-based resource.

[0071] The SDK stored on the interactive server system 110 effectively provides a bridge between external resources (e.g., applications 106 or applets) and the interactive client 104. This gives the user a seamless experience of communicating with other users on the interactive client 104 while also preserving the appearance of the interactive client 104. In order to bridge the communication between the external resources and the interactive client 104, the SDK facilitates the communication between the third-party server 112 and the interactive client 104. The WebViewJavaScriptBridge running on the user system 102 establishes two one-way communication channels between the external resources and the interactive client 104. Messages are sent asynchronously between the external resources and the interactive client 104 via these communication channels. Each SDK function activation is sent as a message and a callback. Each SDK function is implemented by constructing a unique callback identifier and sending a message with the callback identifier.

[0072] By using the SDK, not all information from the interactive client 104 is shared with the third-party server 112. The SDK limits which information is shared based on the needs of the external resource. Each third-party server 112 provides an HTML5 file corresponding to a web-based external resource to the interactive server 124. The interactive server 124 can add a visual representation (e.g., a box design or other graphics) of the web-based external resource in the interactive client 104. Once the user selects the visual representation or instructs the interactive client 104 to access the features of the web-based external resource through the GUI of the interactive client 104, the interactive client 104 obtains the HTML5 file and instantiates the resource for accessing the features of the web-based external resource.

[0073] The interactive client 104 presents a graphical user interface (e.g., a login page or title screen) for an external resource. During, before, or after presenting the login page or title screen, the interactive client 104 determines whether the launched external resource has been previously authorized to access the user data of the interactive client 104. In response to determining that the launched external resource has been previously authorized to access the user data of the interactive client 104, the interactive client 104 presents another graphical user interface of the external resource including the functions and features of the external resource. In response to determining that the launched external resource has not been previously authorized to access the user data of the interactive client 104, after displaying the login page or title screen of the external resource for a threshold period of time (e.g., 3 seconds), the interactive client 104 slides up a menu (e.g., animating the menu to emerge from the bottom of the screen to the middle or other part of the screen) for authorizing the external resource to access the user data. The menu identifies the type of user data that the external resource will be authorized to use. In response to receiving a user selection of the accept option, the interactive client 104 adds the external resource to the list of authorized external resources and allows the external resource to access the user data from the interactive client 104. External resources are authorized by the interactive client 104 to access user data under the OAuth 2 framework.

[0074] The interaction client 104 controls the type of user data shared with the external resource based on the type of external resource that is authorized. For example, an external resource including a full-scale application (e.g., application 106) is provided with access to a first type of user data (e.g., a two-dimensional avatar of a user with or without different avatar characteristics). As another example, an external resource including a small-scale version of an application (e.g., a web-based version of the application) is provided with access to a second type of user data (e.g., payment information, a two-dimensional avatar of a user, a three-dimensional avatar of a user, and an avatar with various avatar characteristics). Avatar characteristics include different ways to customize the appearance of an avatar (e.g., different poses, facial features, clothing, etc.).

[0075] The advertising system 232 operatively enables third parties to purchase advertisements for presentation to end users via the interactive clients 104 and also handles the delivery and presentation of these advertisements.

[0076] Data Architecture

[0077] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a data structure 300 that may be stored in a database 304 of an interactive server system 110 according to some examples. Although the contents of the database 304 are illustrated as including a plurality of tables, it should be understood that data may be stored in other types of data structures (e.g., object-oriented databases).

[0078] Database 304 includes message data stored in message table 306. For any particular message, the message data includes at least message sender data, message recipient (or receiver) data, and payload. Fig.13 Additional details regarding information that may be included in a message and included within the message data stored in message table 306 are described.

[0079] The entity table 308 stores entity data and is linked (e.g., by reference) to the entity graph 310 and the profile data 302. The entities for which records are maintained within the entity table 308 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects, places, events, etc. Regardless of the entity type, any entity about which the interactive server system 110 stores data may be an identified entity. Each entity is provided with a unique identifier and an entity type identifier (not shown). The entity table 308 may include data related to registered users and non-users. For example, in the case where a registered user has sent an off-platform message to a non-user via SMS, the entity table 308 may store the non-user's phone number and other details.

[0080] Entity graph 310 stores information related to relationships and associations between entities. As examples only, such relationships can be social, professional (e.g., working in a common company or organization), interest-based, or activity-based. Some relationships between entities can be unidirectional, such as a subscription of a personal user to a commercial or publishing user's digital content (such as a newspaper or other digital media channel or brand). Other relationships can be bidirectional, such as a "friend" relationship between various users of interactive system 100. Certain permissions and relationships can be attached to each relationship, and also attached to each direction of the relationship. For example, a bidirectional relationship (e.g., a friend relationship between various users) can include authorization for the disclosure of digital content items between various users, but certain restrictions or filters (e.g., based on content features, location data, or time of day data) can be imposed on the disclosure of these digital content items. Similarly, a subscription relationship between a personal user and a commercial user can impose varying degrees of restrictions on the disclosure of digital content from a commercial user to a personal user, and can greatly limit or prevent the disclosure of digital content from a personal user to a commercial user. As an example of an entity, a particular user may record certain restrictions (e.g., by way of privacy settings) in a record for that entity within entity table 308. Such privacy settings may apply to all types of relationships in the context of interactive system 100, or may selectively apply to only certain types of relationships.

[0081] In some examples, the entity graph 310 stores information about relationships and / or associations between registered users and non-users of the interactive system 100. For example, a registered user may initiate an off-platform interaction with a non-user identified by an off-platform contact record (e.g., a phone number). The pending request system 236 may cause the generation of a pending relationship request even if the non-user has not yet registered with the interactive system 100. Based on the generation of the pending relationship request, the entity graph 310 may store information indicating a pending transmission or occurrence of a relationship request.

[0082] The profile data 302 stores multiple types of profile data about a particular entity. Based on the privacy settings specified by the particular entity, the profile data 302 can be selectively used and presented to other users of the interactive system 100. In the case where the entity is a person, the profile data 302 includes, for example, the user name, phone number, address, settings (e.g., notification and privacy settings), and an avatar representation (or a collection of such avatar representations) selected by the user. The particular user can then selectively include one or more of these avatar representations within the content of messages transmitted via the interactive system 100 and on a map interface displayed to other users by the interactive client 104. The collection of avatar representations can include a "status avatar" that presents a graphical representation of a status or activity that the user can choose to transmit at a particular time.

[0083] Where the entity is a group, profile data 302 for the group may similarly include one or more avatar representations associated with the group, in addition to the group name, members, and various settings for the relevant group (eg, notifications).

[0084] Database 304 also stores enhancement data, such as overlays or filters, in enhancement table 312. Enhancement data is associated with and applied to videos (data for videos is stored in video table 314) and images (data for images is stored in image table 316).

[0085] In some examples, filters are displayed as overlays on an image or video during presentation to a recipient user. Filters can be of various types, including filters selected by a user from a set of filters presented to a sending user by the interactive client 104 when the sending user is composing a message. Other types of filters include geolocation filters (also referred to as geofilters), which can be presented to a sending user based on geolocation. For example, a geolocation filter specific to a nearby or special location can be presented by the interactive client 104 within a user interface based on geolocation information determined by a global positioning system (GPS) unit of the user system 102.

[0086] Another type of filter is a data filter, which can be selectively presented to the sending user by the interaction client 104 based on other input or information collected during the message creation process by the user system 102. Examples of data filters include the current temperature at a particular location, the current speed at which the sending user is traveling, the battery life of the user system 102, or the current time.

[0087] Other augmented data that may be stored in the image table 316 include augmented reality content items (eg, corresponding to application lenses or augmented reality experiences). Augmented reality content items may be real-time special effects and sounds that may be added to an image or video.

[0088] As described above, augmented data includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) content items, overlays, image transformations, images, and modifications that can be applied to image data (e.g., videos or images). This includes real-time modifications that modify images when they are captured using the device sensors (e.g., one or more cameras) of the user system 102 and then display the modified images on the screen of the user system 102. This also includes modifications to stored content (such as video clips in a collection or group that can be modified). For example, in a user system 102 that can access multiple augmented reality content items, a user can use a single video clip with multiple augmented reality content items to see how different augmented reality content items will modify the stored clips. Similarly, real-time video capture can use modifications to show how the video image currently captured by the sensor of the user system 102 will modify the captured data. Such data can be displayed only on the screen without being stored in the memory, or the content captured by the device sensor can be recorded and stored in the memory with or without modification (or both). In some systems, the preview feature can simultaneously show how different augmented reality content items look in different windows in the display. For example, this may enable multiple windows with different pseudo-random animations to be viewed simultaneously on the display.

[0089] Thus, data and various systems using augmented reality content items or other such transformation systems using the data to modify content may involve: detection of objects (e.g., faces, hands, bodies, cats, dogs, surfaces, objects, etc.) in video frames; tracking of such objects as they leave, enter, and move around the field of view; and modification or transformation of such objects as they are tracked. In various examples, different methods for implementing such transformations may be used. Some examples may involve: generating a three-dimensional mesh model of one or more objects; and implementing the transformation using transformations and animated textures of the models within the video. In some examples, tracking of points on the objects may be used to place an image or texture (which may be two-dimensional or three-dimensional) at the tracked location. In further examples, an image, model, or texture may be placed in content (e.g., an image or video frame) using neural network analysis of the video frame. Thus, augmented reality content items involve both: images, models, and textures used to create transformations in the content; and additional modeling and analysis information required to implement such transformations using object detection, tracking, and placement.

[0090] Real-time video processing can be performed using any type of video data (e.g., video streams, video files, etc.) stored in the memory of any type of computerized system. For example, a user can load a video file and save it in the memory of the device, or a sensor of the device can be used to generate a video stream. Additionally, computer animation models can be used to process any object, such as a human face and parts of a human body, an animal, or a non-living thing such as a chair, a car, or other objects.

[0091] In some examples, when a specific modification is selected together with the content to be transformed, the element to be transformed is identified by a computing device, and then if the element to be transformed is present in a frame of the video, it is detected and tracked. The elements of the object are modified according to the modification request, thereby transforming the frame of the video stream. For different types of transformations, the transformation of the frame of the video stream can be performed by different methods. For example, for the transformation of the frame that mainly refers to changing the form of the elements of the object, the characteristic points of each element of the object are calculated (for example, using an active shape model (ASM) or other known methods). Then, a grid based on the characteristic points is generated for each element of the object. The grid is used in a subsequent stage in which the elements of the object in the video stream are tracked. During the tracking process, the grid for each element is aligned with the position of each element. Then, additional points are generated on the grid.

[0092] In some examples, the transformation of some areas of the object using the elements of the object can be performed by calculating the characteristic points of each element of the object and generating a grid based on the calculated characteristic points. Points are generated on the grid, and then various areas based on these points are generated. Then, the elements of the object are tracked by aligning the area of ​​each element with the position of each element of at least one element, and the properties of the area can be modified based on the request for modification, thereby transforming the frame of the video stream. Depending on the specific request for modification, the properties of the mentioned area can be transformed in different ways. Such modifications may involve: changing the color of the area; removing at least part of the area from the frame of the video stream; including new objects in the area based on the modification request; and modifying or distorting the elements of the area or object. In various examples, any combination of such modifications or other similar modifications may be used. For certain models to be animated, some characteristic points can be selected as control points of the entire state space to be used to determine options for model animation.

[0093] In some examples of computer animation models for transforming image data using face detection, faces are detected on an image using a specific face detection algorithm (e.g., Viola-Jones). An active shape model (ASM) algorithm is then applied to the face region of the image to detect facial feature reference points.

[0094] Other methods and algorithms suitable for face detection may be used. For example, in some examples, landmarks are used to locate features, and landmarks represent distinguishable points that are present in most of the images considered. For example, for facial landmarks, the location of the left pupil can be used. If the initial landmarks are not recognizable (for example, if the person is wearing an eye patch), secondary landmarks can be used. Such a landmark identification procedure can be used for any such object. In some examples, a set of landmarks forms a shape. The shape can be represented as a vector using the coordinates of the points in the shape. One shape is aligned with another shape using a similarity transformation (allowing translation, scaling, and rotation) that minimizes the average Euclidean distance between the shape points. The average shape is the average of the aligned training shapes.

[0095] The transformation system can capture an image or video stream on a client device (e.g., user system 102) and perform complex image manipulations locally on the user system 102 while maintaining an appropriate user experience, computational time, and power consumption. Complex image manipulations can include size and shape changes, emotion transformations (e.g., changing a face from a frown to a smile), state transitions (e.g., aging a subject, reducing apparent age, changing gender), style transformations, application of graphical elements, and any other suitable image or video manipulations implemented by a convolutional neural network that has been configured to execute efficiently on the user system 102.

[0096] In some examples, a computer animation model for transforming image data may be used by a system in which a user may capture an image or video stream of the user (e.g., a selfie) using a user system 102 having a neural network operating as part of an interactive client 104 operating on the user system 102. The transformation system operating within the interactive client 104 determines the presence of a face within the image or video stream and provides a modification icon associated with the computer animation model to transform the image data, or the computer animation model may exist in association with an interface described herein. The modification icon includes changes as a basis for modifying the user's face within the image or video stream as part of the modification operation. Once the modification icon is selected, the transformation system initiates a process of transforming the user's image to reflect the selected modification icon (e.g., generating a smile on the user). Once the image or video stream is captured and the specified modification is selected, the modified image or video stream may be presented in a graphical user interface displayed on the user system 102. The transformation system may implement a complex convolutional neural network on a portion of the image or video stream to generate and apply the selected modification. That is, a user can capture an image or video stream, and once a modification icon is selected, the modified result can be presented to the user in real time or near real time. In addition, the modification can be persistent while the video stream is being captured and the selected modification icon remains toggled. Machine-taught neural networks can be used to implement such modifications.

[0097] The graphical user interface presenting the modifications performed by the transformation system can supply additional interactive options to the user. Such options can be based on an interface for initiating content capture and selection of a particular computer animation model (e.g., initiated from a content creator user interface). In various examples, the modification can persist after the initial selection of the modification icon. The user can turn the modification on or off by tapping or otherwise selecting a face modified by the transformation system, and store it for later viewing or browsing to other areas of the imaging application. In the case of multiple faces modified by the transformation system, the user can globally turn the modification on or off by tapping or selecting a single face modified and displayed within the graphical user interface. In some examples, a single face in a group of multiple faces can be individually modified by tapping or selecting a single face or a series of single faces displayed within the graphical user interface, or such modifications can be individually switched.

[0098] The story table 318 stores data about a collection of messages and associated images, video or audio data that are compiled into a collection (e.g., a story or gallery). The creation of a particular collection can be initiated by a particular user (e.g., each user for whom a record is maintained in the entity table 308). A user can create a "personal story" in the form of a collection of content that has been created and sent / broadcasted by the user. To this end, the user interface of the interactive client 104 may include a user-selectable icon to enable the sending user to add specific content to his or her personal story.

[0099] The collection may also constitute a "live story", which is a collection of content from multiple users created manually, automatically, or using a combination of manual and automatic techniques. For example, a "live story" may constitute a curated stream of user-submitted content from various locations and events. Users whose client devices have location services enabled and who are at a co-located event at a particular time may be presented with the option of contributing content to a particular live story, for example, via the user interface of the interactive client 104. Live stories may be identified to the user by the interactive client 104 based on his or her location. The end result is a "live story" told from a group perspective.

[0100] Another type of content collection is called a "location story" that enables users whose user system 102 is located within a specific geographic location (e.g., on a college or university campus) to contribute to a specific collection. In some examples, contributions to location stories may require secondary authentication to verify that the end user belongs to a specific organization or other entity (e.g., is a student on a university campus).

[0101] As mentioned above, video table 314 stores video data that, in some examples, is associated with messages for which records are maintained within message table 306. Similarly, image table 316 stores image data associated with messages whose message data is stored in entity table 308. Entity table 308 may associate various enhancements from enhancement table 312 with various images and videos stored in image table 316 and video table 314.

[0102] Figure 4 Is to show about Figure 1 The relationship diagram of various data structures and other details of the interaction of the interactive system 100 shown in FIG. Figure 3 As depicted, the interaction system 100 maintains an entity table 308 of data or records of entities (eg, registered users and certain non-users with whom the registered users have interacted), and an entity graph 310 that stores details of the relationships between these various entities. Figure 4Further details of relationships between users of the interactive system 100 and example entities in the form of non-users that have not yet registered with the interactive system 100 are shown. These relationships are recorded as relationship data stored in the database 128 of the interactive server system 110.

[0103] Entity graph 310 shows user 402 having a bidirectional relationship 414 with another user 404, a unidirectional relationship 416 with user 410, and no direct relationship 418 with another user 406. Various other relationships between users 402, 404, 406, 408, and 410 are also reflected.

[0104] A one-way relationship, such as one-way relationship 416 between user 402 and user 410, may result from user 410 sending a relationship request to user 402 (e.g., a request to add non-user 412 as a friend). In some examples, since user 402 may not have accepted the relationship request, the relationship is considered to be one-way relationship 416. In some examples, user 410 may have chosen to "follow" user 402 and user 402 has not responded, thereby defining one-way relationship 416. On the other hand, user 402 has a two-way relationship 414 with user 404, which is a result of one of the parties having sent an invitation to the other party to establish a relationship and the other party having accepted the invitation to establish two-way relationship 414 in some examples.

[0105] As a result of the establishment of a relationship (such as recorded as a unidirectional or bidirectional relationship with the entity graph 310), certain automated information sharing can occur within the context of the interactive system 100 as a result of the establishment of the relationship. For example, information about one entity (e.g., user 402) can be shared depending on the direction of the relationship. In the case of a unidirectional relationship, information can be shared in the direction of the relationship. In the case of a bidirectional relationship, information sharing can be mutual and occur in both directions between the entities. The shared information can include, for example, content that has been generated or shared by the user, geographic location information about the user, and certain profile or personal information. As part of a bidirectional relationship, the interactive system 100 can therefore automatically share other data and / or user-generated content between the two users in the relationship that would not be shared in the absence of such a relationship.

[0106] The privacy settings and systems provided by the interactive system 100 and any particular entity, such as user 402, can specify what information is shared under each of a one-way relationship or a two-way relationship with other entities. The privacy settings can also determine the type and scope of shared information based on the classification of the relationship type with another entity by the relevant entity. For example, the privacy settings can determine whether a user can receive messages from another user in the case where the two users do not have a direct relationship, or in the case where the users only have a one-way relationship.

[0107] In addition to the above relationships, in some examples, a user (an entity with a registered platform account within the interactive system 100) can initiate off-platform communications with a non-user (an entity without a registered platform account within the interactive system 100). For example, user 402 can use the interactive system 100 to send a message to non-user 412 via SMS, which contains a registration link and / or a link to a content item shared via the interactive system 100, as well as information identifying user 402. The SMS can be sent to the phone number of non-user 412. A pending relationship request can be created, which is indicated in the entity graph 310 as a pending relationship 420 between user 402 and non-user 412. Since non-user 412 has not yet joined the interactive system 100, a user-to-user relationship cannot be established, and therefore the association between them is considered a pending relationship 420.

[0108] If non-user 412 subsequently joins interactive system 100, a relationship request may appear and be presented, and pending relationship 420 may be updated to a one-way relationship, indicating that user 402 has requested to add non-user 412 (then new user) as a friend, or if non-user 412 (then new user) joins interactive system 100 and accepts the appearing request, pending relationship 420 may be updated to a two-way relationship. In some examples, for example, where non-user 412 uses a registration link originating from user 402 to perform or access an electronic account registration process and registers a platform account linked to the phone number associated with the original invitation, interactive system 100 may automatically establish a two-way relationship without any further action required by the user.

[0109] Additionally or alternatively, content items shared via the interactive system 100 may be stored within the interactive system 100 as pending or queued messages. Since the non-user 412 has not yet joined the interactive system 100, the sharing of the content item may remain “pending” or “queued” until the non-user 412 becomes a registered user. If the non-user 412 joins the interactive system 100, the content item may appear and be presented as an on-platform message. Therefore, in some examples, the non-user 412 may be required to register a platform account with the interactive system 100 (and install or access the interactive client 104 via the platform account) in order to access the content items shared by the user 402. In some examples, the registered platform account must be linked to the recipient identifier (e.g., phone number) to which the content item was originally addressed by the sender.

[0110] The messaging system 210 of the interactive system 100 may access the entity table 308 and the entity graph 310, thereby allowing users to share content along defined relationship lines, for example, sending a message to a "friend".

[0111] It should be understood that in addition to hosting the interactive client 104, the user system 102 may also host a number of other applications 106. Fig.16 An example of such an application is described, for example, as application 1620. One such application may be a contact management application in the example form of a contacts application 422 (other examples may include third-party communication applications, such as a third-party messaging application or a third-party email application). Contacts application 422 maintains a set of electronic contact data 424, such as Figure 4 As shown, the set of electronic contact data 424 may be accessed by the external messaging system 234 .

[0112] The interactive system 100 maintains its own set of contact information associated with registered users of the interactive system 100 stored within the entity table 308 and the entity graph 310. The external messaging system 234 can access the contact data 424 to enable a set of contact records 426 to be presented to the relevant user, thereby allowing the user to initiate an off-platform interaction as described herein. The external messaging system 234 can access or receive contact data stored by any suitable external application, such as contact data 424 maintained by the contacts application 422. The interactive system 100 can supplement the contact records 426 and present them to the interactive client 104 in various user interfaces (e.g., Figure 4 is shown as presented in Figure 1 The contact record 426 is presented in a user interface 428 on the mobile device 114 of the user interface 428. For example, the contact record 426 can be displayed as a contact list including contact details of registered users and non-users, where the interaction system 100 locates the contact details of those non-users via the external contact application 422. Once the user initiates the off-platform interaction, the pending request system 236 can cause the establishment of the pending relationship request, for example, as described above with reference to the user 402 and the non-user 412.

[0113] Thus, the interactive system 100 may maintain first electronic contact data including contact data of users of the interactive system 100 who hold platform accounts. The interactive system 100 may also access second electronic contact data from an external application such as the contact application 422, for example, via the external messaging system 234. The interactive system 100 may determine a recipient identifier (e.g., a phone number) for the user 402 based on the second electronic contact data, and determine that the recipient identifier is not present in the first electronic contact data, for example, is not linked to a platform account. Thus, the interactive system 100 may detect that a message addressed to the user 402 is to be sent as an off-platform communication.

[0114] The following Figures 5 to 11User interfaces according to some examples are shown. These user interfaces can be presented by an interactive client 104 as an example form of an interactive application executed on a mobile device 114. Although the user interface is described and / or depicted as being presented on a screen of a mobile device 114, the user interface can also be presented on other suitable devices, such as an optical display of a head wearable device 116 or other wearable device (e.g., a "smart contact lens" or similar technology) that presents the user interface.

[0115] The interactive system 100 allows users of the interactive system 100 to share and publish digital content, including various content items. Content items may include user-selected content items or data, user-generated content items or data, computer-generated content items (which may be computer-generated content data, for example, data generated by an artificial intelligence-driven system), or a combination thereof. Content items presented via such a user interface may be part of a collection of content items generated and published by users of the interactive system 100. Content items may, for example, include image data, video data, audio data, or a combination of these data types and enhanced or modified data (e.g., overlays, stickers, filters, or augmented reality effects).

[0116] Figure 5 and Figure 6 5 is a user interface diagram illustrating a preview interface 502 and a send interface 602, respectively, according to some examples, as may be presented to an active user of the interactive system 100 on a mobile device 114 and more specifically by an interactive client 104. An active user (also referred to as a sender in this context) uses the interactive client 104 to create, share content items, and interact with other users and content items. An active user is a registered user of the interactive system 100 who holds a platform account.

[0117] Within the preview interface 502, a digital content item 504 (e.g., an image or video) captured by the active user is displayed. As described above, the active user can add various overlays, enhancements, etc. to the content item 504. A send button 506 is user-selectable to enable the active user to transmit (e.g., send or publish) the content item 504 to a recipient (or recipients) who may or may not be a registered user of the interactive system 100. In other words, the send button 506 can be used to initiate sharing or interaction with both users (who have a registered platform account) and non-users (who do not hold a registered platform account).

[0118] The user's selection of the send button 506 causes the interactive client 104 to present a send interface 602 that presents multiple recipients or destination selectors of a message including the content item 504. The destination selector includes a first set of off-platform send options 604, and a second set of options in the form of an example of a contact list presented within the contact list 606. The first set of off-platform send options 604 may include, for example, a third-party application through which the active user can share the send button 506 (in contrast to sharing the send button 506 within the interactive system 100 itself). The contact list 606 includes both off-platform send options and on-platform send options, as described below. Therefore, the send interface 602 allows the sender to select an off-platform messaging selector and / or an on-platform messaging selector to identify the destination or recipient of the content item 504 to be shared by the sender.

[0119] As described above, the entity table 308 of the database 304 stores records of entities that may or may not be registered users of the interactive system 100. In addition, the interactive client 104 may access a local address book maintained, for example, by the contacts application 422 or the contacts application 1602. According to some examples, the contact list 606 may include a list of entities that are both registered users of the interactive system 100, as reflected in the entity table 308, and entities that appear in a locally stored address book maintained by the contacts application (e.g., address book) of the mobile device 114.

[0120] In the contact list 606, contact identifier information is shown for each user, including one or more of an avatar, a user name, an interactive system handle, and a mobile device number. Figure 6 , the contact list 606 includes details of the non-user located in the contacts application 422 of the active user. For example, the contact list 606 includes an off-platform messaging selection in the example form of a destination selector 608 in a cell identifying the non-user 610. Although the non-user 610 is not a registered user of the interactive system 100, the interactive client 104 allows the active user to initiate an interaction with the non-user 610 by selecting the destination selector 608. Therefore, the non-user 610 does not have an avatar or interactive system handle, and the interactive client 104 instead displays the user name as reflected in the contacts application 422 and the mobile phone number of the non-user 610 as obtained from the contacts application 422.

[0121] Figure 7 704 is a user interface diagram showing a sending interface 704 according to some examples. Figure 7 Describes the sender-side experience of an active user of the interactive client 104 .

[0122] As about Figure 6As described, the contact list 712 within the sending interface 704 may include contact data 702 for each listed contact. A destination selector or "send to" selector 706 is shown for each contact in association with the contact data 702 (e.g., the contact data 702 and the selector 706 are shown within a common selector bar 708 or cell). The selector 706 is user-selectable to select a specific contact as the recipient of the message including the content item 504.

[0123] In some examples, before including contact data 702 of contacts listed in a locally stored address book (e.g., contacts application 422 or contacts application 1602) of an active user of the interactive system 100 in the contact list 712, the interactive system 100 performs a phone verification process (also referred to as a contact number verification process) with respect to the active user. If the active user of the interactive client 104 is not a phone-verified user, and such is recorded in the entity table 308, then contacts that only appear in the locally stored address book and are not registered users of the interactive system 100 are excluded from the contact list 712. However, in reference to Figures 5 to 7 In the depicted example, the active sending user is phone authenticated, and thus the contact list 712 includes contacts that appear only in the locally stored address book and are not registered users (as well as contacts that appear both in the locally stored address book and are registered users, e.g., in Figure 7 The contact "Bennett Burton" is identified by the interactive system 100 handle ("JJ-MESSAGE") and telephone number.

[0124] Within the contact list 712, the contact data 702 of a user who is not a registered user of the interactive system 100 includes only a mobile phone number, and not an interactive system handle specific to the interactive system 100. It should be noted that the contact data 702 also specifically identifies that any communication with the relevant contact is to be conducted via SMS or a messaging service external to the interactive system 100. In other words, the contact data 702 indicates to the active user that any communication with the relevant contact will occur via off-platform communication. Thus, for a selected contact (e.g., "Asher Hull"), the subtext below the name indicates "via SMS [phone number]".

[0125] In some examples, both locally stored contact information and server-side contact information can be used to populate the contact list 712 in the sending interface 704. For example, the interaction client 104 can obtain contact information related to registered users from the database 128 stored at the interaction server system 110, and add locally stored contacts from the contacts application 422 on the mobile device 114 to the contact list 712, thereby creating a combined list of contact identifiers.

[0126] In some examples, the contact list 712 is stored locally on the mobile device 114 and is updated periodically by the interactive system 100, for example, as details of registered users change over time. If the active user updates the contacts application 422 on the mobile device 114, for example, to add a new contact who is not a registered user of the interactive system 100, the contact list 712 is also updated. In this way, the interactive client 104 can ensure that the latest version of the active user's contacts (users and non-users) is presented when the active user wishes to share content.

[0127] like Figure 7 As shown, a specific contact "Asher Hull" is selected as the recipient of the message in the sending interface 704 by the user selecting the selector 706. In response to this selection, the recipient name 718 appears near the send button 714 at the bottom of the sending interface 704.

[0128] In the event that the selected recipient (e.g., "Asher Hull") is a first-time recipient of a message from an active user within the interactive client 104, a message prompt (not shown) may be presented to the active user informing the active user that the recipient will be invited to register as a user of the interactive system 100 and also establish a two-way relationship (e.g., a "friend" relationship) with the active user recorded in the entity graph 310. The prompt may also inform the active sending user that the recipient will not be able to view messages and content items 504 until they are registered with the interactive system 100.

[0129] In some examples, by selecting the "Send to Contact" option that results in an off-platform invitation, the sending user also chooses to add a person associated with a relevant recipient identifier (e.g., phone number) as a friend. This establishes a one-way or two-way relationship with the recipient once the recipient joins the interactive system 100, as further described below.

[0130] In response to the user's selection of the send button 714, a text message (e.g., an SMS message) is sent to the selected recipient (e.g., "Asher Hull"). The text message may be sent via the interactive system 100 or may be sent via a third-party messaging service, e.g., the external messaging system 234 may send instructions to the messaging service to generate and / or deliver the message. Thereafter, the active user is returned to the preview interface 716 (partially in Figure 7 ), where a drop-down text box 710 confirms that the digital content item 504 and an invitation to register as a user of the interactive system 100 have been sent to the selected recipient. If the selected recipient is not a registered user within the interactive system 100, or does not have an existing platform account linked to their phone number, the drop-down text box 710 is displayed as a brief notification. For example, the recipient may have a platform account, but the phone number in the sender's contacts application may not be linked to the platform account, so off-platform communication is required.

[0131] On the other hand, if any one of the selected recipients is a registered user of the interactive system 100, a drop-down text box 710 may be presented in the chat interface, wherein a selector bar 708 for existing registered users shows the sending status of the relevant message.

[0132] Thus, the active user can select multiple recipients, including users and non-users. For users of the interactive system 100, messages are transmitted "on the platform", which means that the messages are shared or transmitted within the interactive system 100 and can be accessed by the users via the interactive client 104 linked to their platform account. For non-users, as described above, since the non-users do not yet have a platform account for the interactive system 100, off-platform communications are sent (as described above, off-platform messages can also be used for recipients whose phone numbers are not linked).

[0133] Figure 8 8 is a text message interface 802 displaying a text message 804 according to some examples. As described above, text message 804 is sent in response to a user selection of send button 714 within send interface 704 by a sending user.

[0134] The text message 804 includes text informing the recipient (non-user) of the name of the sending user and an invitation to view the message (including the digital content item 504). The invitation indicates that the recipient will be required to "register to view it." In other words, the off-platform communication sent to the non-user does not include Figure 5 Rather than the content items shown in , non-users are notified that the content items can be viewed by joining the interactive platform provided by the interactive system 100.

[0135] The invitation to view the message includes a link in the example form of a URL that is user-selectable to (1) direct the recipient to a web profile page of the sending user (e.g., provided via the web server 130 of the interactive system 100) if the recipient does not already have the interactive client 104 installed on the mobile device, or to an application store (or to an application marketplace, or other digital distribution platform for applications) that allows the recipient to download the interactive client 104 to view the in-application user profile interface, or (2) direct the recipient to the in-application user profile interface of the interactive client 104 if the recipient already has the interactive client 104 installed.

[0136] The web profile page or in-application user profile interface may include an invitation for the recipient user to register with the interactive system 100 via the registration service, wherein the user is guided through the electronic account registration process and thereafter the user is able to view messages including digital content items 504 and, in some examples, view pending relationship requests when the user does not have a registered platform account, or in other examples, reply to a one-way relationship established through the recipient's account registration.

[0137] Return to reference Figure 8 , the URL is time-limited and is valid only for a determinable amount of time (e.g., two days or thirty days). In some examples, the validity of the initial message (e.g., the underlying content item) selected by the sending user to share is linked to the validity of the URL. For example, if the URL expires without being accessed by the non-user and not being used to register with the interactive system 100, the initial message may also expire and the non-user may no longer be allowed to receive or view the content item, even if the non-user subsequently registers and accesses the interactive system 100 using the interactive client 104. The text message 804 also includes an invitation to unsubscribe from text messages originating from the interactive system 100, and an unsubscribe URL 808 that the user can select to direct the recipient user to the unsubscribe service of the interactive system 100.

[0138] If a non-user decides to register with the interactive system 100 (a non-user is referred to in this context as a "new user"), a phone verification process can be performed via an SMS link. Once the phone verification is completed, whether as part of the electronic account registration process or after the electronic account registration process, the platform account will be linked to the recipient's phone number.

[0139] In some examples, there may be a situation where the recipient of the text message 804 does in fact have a platform account with the interactive system 100, but has simply never linked their phone number to the platform account (e.g., through a phone verification process). In such a situation, selection of the message URL 806 may allow the recipient to deep link into their interactive client 104, where the interactive client 104 prompts the recipient to confirm their phone number. As a registered user, the recipient can typically view the interactive client 104 on the platform. Figure 5 The content item shown.

[0140] In some examples, a non-user recipient may receive off-platform communications from multiple users. In the case where a non-user receives multiple off-platform messages from different users of the interactive system, relationship establishment may be handled differently depending on which off-platform message (e.g., a registration link) the non-user utilized for platform joining. In the case where a sender has a first platform account and a recipient establishes a second platform account, establishing a relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account within the interactive system may be based on whether a registration link in an off-platform communication from a sender having a first platform account was used during the electronic account registration process for the second platform account, or whether the recipient used another "route" to establish the second platform account.

[0141] For example, Figure 8 The recipient in may have received text messages with registration links from the first user, the second user, and the third user of the interactive system 100. Since the recipient is a non-user, three text messages are sent, each of which invites the user to register with the interactive system 100 to view the content items shared by the first user, the second user, and the third user, respectively. If the recipient decides to register with the interactive system 100 via the registration link originating from the first user, the interactive system 100 can automatically establish a two-way relationship between the first user and the account of the recipient (the new user), because the registration via a specific link is considered to be a reply to the "friend request" of the first user. On the other hand, a two-way relationship is not established with the second user or the third user. For example, once the new user has registered and until the new user adds the second user and / or the third user as a "friend" on the platform, a one-way relationship can be established between the new user and the second user's account and between the new user and the third user's account instead.

[0142] As described above, in some examples, the activity sending user selecting a non-user as a recipient not only results in Figure 8The transmission of the off-platform message shown in FIG. 1 also results in the establishment of a pending relationship request and a pending message within the interactive system 100. Since the non-user recipient has not yet registered with the interactive system 100, the user management system 220 may not have established a formal relationship link with the active sending user within the interactive system 100, and may not have enabled the recipient to view the pending relationship request and the pending message. Figure 5 . Thus, these can be viewed as “suspended” relationship requests and “suspended” messages, respectively, which appear and are presented once the non-user becomes a registered user (and in some examples, once the relevant recipient identifier (e.g., phone number) is linked to the platform account). For example, with respect to shared content items, a suspension inbox is essentially generated for the non-user by the user management system 220 or the messaging system 210, which is activated and appears once the non-user becomes a user. In some examples, in the case of a suspended relationship request, the suspended relationship request can be automatically converted by the suspension request system 236 to an active relationship request when the non-user registers, for example, a request to establish a one-way relationship and to convert such a relationship to a two-way relationship by the user management system 220. Once the new user also adds the sending user as a “friend”, the one-way relationship can be converted to a two-way relationship by the user management system 220.

[0143] Reference Figures 5 to 8 The examples described focus on sending off-platform communications to non-users of the interactive system 100. However, in some examples, and as described above, if an existing user has not linked their phone number to their platform account or has disabled discovery of their platform account via their linked phone number, similar off-platform communications (e.g., text messages) may be sent from the sending user to the existing user. As a result, the sending user cannot share the content item directly on the platform as a message, but instead sends an off-platform message containing a suitable link. In such a case, the recipient of the off-platform communication as an existing user can only access the message shared by the sending user by selecting a link in the off-platform communication.

[0144] Fig. 9 9 is a user interface diagram illustrating a chat interface 902 (or message feed interface) as may be presented to a new user upon registration, according to some examples.

[0145] The chat interface 902 is then presented to a receiving user who has downloaded and installed the interactive client 104 and has completed a registration process with the interactive system 100 (eg, via phone number verification).

[0146] As described above, once the new user completes registration and uses the interactive client 104 to access the chat interface 902, the content items originally shared by the sending user may appear. Fig. 9As in the case of , where both the sending user and the receiving user have each other in their contact books, the sending user's cell 904 appears with the conversation in the friend feed 906 of the chat interface 902. The cell 904 provides a visual indication of a new message 908. The cell 904 is operable to open the new message 908, thereby allowing the new user (recipient) to access and interact with the content item shared by the sending user. Thus, once the new user has registered and used its link to the phone number selected by the sending user when the sharing operation was initially performed (see Figure 7 )'s platform account accesses the interactive client 104, the pending message is no longer pending and becomes a delivered message displayed via the chat interface 902.

[0147] Fig. 9 The new message 908 shown in can be dependent, for example, on the viewing user having enabled "non-friend" messaging, e.g., chatting with a user via the interactive client 104 even though no two-way relationship exists between the two users. In some examples, the conditions to be satisfied before enabling such messaging between users who have not established a two-way relationship as recorded on the interactive system may include one or more of the following:

[0148] The sending user is phone verified (rather than just email verified).

[0149] • The sending user has the receiving user in a locally stored contact book (eg, maintained by a contacts application) on the sending user's user system.

[0150] The sending user has invited the receiving user to register with the interactive system 100 .

[0151] The receiving user registers with the interactive system 100 .

[0152] · The receiving user is verified by phone.

[0153] The receiving user has the sending user in the contact book on the receiving user's user system.

[0154] like Fig. 9 As shown, the chat interface 902 also includes quick add suggestions 910, which are suggestions for users with whom the active viewing user can establish a two-way relationship (e.g., a "friend" relationship) on the interactive system 100. Each suggestion within the quick add suggestions 910 includes profile data 302, and an associated quick add button 912, which is user-selectable to enable the active user to quickly and conveniently add the suggested user to the active user's friend group. The quick add button 912 is an example of a user-selectable relationship establishment element.

[0155] Subtext that contextualizes or provides some useful information about the suggested user is also shown in association with the profile data 302. For example, in the case where the suggested user in the quick add suggestion 910 has already invited the active viewing user to register with the interactive system 100 using a text message, the subtext displays "You have been invited by SMS." The subtext may also indicate the number of mutual friends, whether the relevant user is new to the interactive system 100, or whether the relevant user appears in the contact book of the contacts application, or the nature of the relationship between the suggested user and the active viewing user (e.g., contact, friend, subscriber, etc.).

[0156] Fig.10 1 is a user interface diagram illustrating a chat thread interface 1002 or a messaging user interface according to some examples, which is used to implement a chat session between a sending user and a receiving user, wherein the chat thread interface 1002 is presented to the receiving user when receiving a message from a "non-friend" user via the interactive client 104. For example, the active sending user sends a message to a non-user (receiving user) such as Figures 5 to 8 The non-user then registers a platform account with the interactive system 100 and uses the interactive client 104 to view the message. After registration, a one-way relationship can be established between the sending user and the receiving user in the interactive system 100 (updating the pending relationship request to a formal relationship). Assuming that the sending user has added the receiving user as a friend by sending an initial message, and the receiving user has not yet added the sending user as a friend, the relationship is one-way.

[0157] The chat thread interface 1002 may include components for establishing a bidirectional relationship in the context of an interactive system. Fig.10 , the chat thread interface 1002 presents an add button 1004, which is user-selectable to enable the sending user to be conveniently added as a "friend" of the receiving user on the interactive system 100. If the receiving user selects the add button 1004, the unidirectional relationship is converted to a bidirectional relationship, and the entity table 308 and the entity graph 310 are updated accordingly. In other words, a record of the bidirectional relationship can be stored within the interactive system 100.

[0158] Within the messaging portion of the chat thread interface 1002 , the receiving user also has the option of blocking communications from the sending user by selecting an ignore or block button 1006 , or accepting communications from the sending user by selecting an okay button 1008 .

[0159] In some examples, and as Fig. 9As shown in and discussed above, once a new user has registered a platform account and verified their phone number (e.g., a platform account has been created and linked to the associated phone number), all messages previously shared to the linked phone number automatically appear in the chat interface, e.g., via the messaging system 210. This facilitates interaction between existing and new users, e.g., because the existing user does not have to resend previous messages that were shared with the new user when the new user was not yet registered with the interaction system 100. Thus, once the new user accesses the interaction client 104, the new user may be immediately presented with inbound messages, which are shown in the chat interface as “waiting for them.”

[0160] In some examples, once a new user has registered a platform account and verified their phone number (e.g., a platform account has been created and linked to an associated phone number), other platform accounts associated with existing users who have shared messages to the linked phone number automatically appear in the chat interface as user suggestions (suggested friends). For example, these platform accounts can be presented in the quick add suggestion 910 or in the "Add me" section (see below). Fig.11 Description) with instructions for related users to invite new users via SMS, with the option to establish a two-way relationship. This further facilitates interaction between existing users and new users, for example, because existing users do not have to wait until the new user has registered to send a friend request and initiate relationship establishment, and / or do not have to resend a previously sent friend request.

[0161] In some examples, in response to the receiving user establishing a platform account linked to his / her phone number, the user management system 220 can present user suggestions related to the sender to the receiving user accordingly. The user suggestions include the profile data of the sender and indicate suggestions or options for establishing a two-way relationship with the sender in the context of the interactive system 100. Specifically, in Fig.11 In FIG. 1 , a user interface diagram showing a chat interface 1102 according to some examples is shown, which chat interface 1102 can be used by the interactive client 104 in the above reference Fig. 9 The described interactive system 100 is presented in the case where the requirements within are not met and the messaging functionality between unrelated "non-friend" users is not enabled. In this case, the receiving / viewing user (new user) will still see the details of the user who invited the viewing user to establish a two-way relationship through messaging (e.g., SMS) in the Add Me section 1104.

[0162] In this case, profile data 302 of the inviting user (e.g., "Daniel Smith") is shown as a suggestion in the Add Me section 1104, and is accompanied by subtext indicating that the invitation has been sent via SMS. Chat interface 1102 presents an accept button 1106 in the cell providing the profile data 302 of the inviting user. Accept button 1106 is user-selectable to facilitate establishment of a two-way relationship between the inviting user and the new user.

[0163] In some examples, once a new user registers after receiving an off-platform communication, the pending friend request is converted to an active friend request that is automatically presented (via a non-friend message feature or "You have been invited by SMS" subtext). Alternatively, in some examples, a two-way relationship can be automatically established based on registration via a specific link, as described above.

[0164] Refer again Fig.11 As discussed elsewhere, a non-user recipient may receive off-platform communications from multiple users, where relationship establishment is handled differently depending on which off-platform message (e.g., a registration link) the non-user utilizes to join the platform. Fig.11 The viewing recipient in may have received two separate off-platform messages, one from "Daniel Smith" and one from the second user. If the user signs up using the link sent by the second user, a bidirectional relationship is not established with "Daniel Smith" but with Fig.11 The manner shown presents their profile data 302. On the other hand, a two-way relationship may be automatically established with the second user, and when the new user opens the interactive client 104 after registration, the new user may be automatically presented with content items shared by the second user before registration.

[0165] Typically, the recipient may therefore receive multiple off-platform communications, each associated with a different platform account within the interactive system 100 and including a unique registration link. When it is detected that a recipient (non-user) has established a new platform account within the interactive system 100, the interactive system 100 (e.g., the user management system 220) may identify a unique registration link for initiating the establishment of the recipient's new platform account from a plurality of unique registration links. For example, the interactive system 100 may determine which sender's link is actually used to initiate the registration process. A two-way relationship is then automatically established between the recipient's new platform account and the platform account associated with the identified registration link in the plurality of platform accounts. In addition, in some examples, for each specific platform account in the plurality of platform accounts that is not associated with the identified registration link (e.g., those senders responsible for sending links that are not used by the new user), a one-way relationship is automatically established between the specific platform account and the recipient's new platform account.

[0166] Fig.12 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1200 for facilitating off-platform messaging and establishment of user relationships according to some examples. The following description refers to a "sender" and a "receiver". By way of non-limiting example only, a sender may be a registered user of the interactive system 100, such as Figure 4 , and the recipient may (initially) be a non-user, such as Figure 4 412. For the purpose of explanation, the operations of method 1200 are described herein as occurring serially or linearly. However, multiple operations of method 1200 may occur in parallel. In addition, the operations of method 1200 need not be performed in the order shown and / or one or more blocks of the flow chart need not be performed and / or may be replaced by other operations. Method 1200 may also be performed by various components of interactive system 100 (including, for example, external messaging system 234 and suspend request system 236).

[0167] The sender has a first platform account within the interactive system 100, and the recipient does not initially have a platform account. The method 1200 starts at the start loop box 1202 and proceeds to operation 1204, where the interactive system 100 receives a selection of a content item from a first user device of the sender. The first user device can be any suitable user system 102, such as a mobile device 114, and the content item can be a media content item generated or captured using an interactive client 104 (as an example of an interactive application provided by the interactive system). Therefore, the content item is suitable for presentation by the interactive client 104 provided by the interactive system 100, and is not viewable outside the platform, for example, using a traditional SMS messaging application.

[0168] Then, at operation 1206, the external messaging system 234 receives the selection of the recipient. As described above, the sender can use a user interface such as the send interface 602 or the send interface 704 to select a recipient having a phone number (recipient identifier) ​​that is not linked to a registration platform account.

[0169] At operation 1208, the interactive system 100 determines that the recipient identifier (e.g., phone number) is not linked to a platform account within the interactive system. Figure 4, the interactive system 100 may maintain first electronic contact data for a plurality of users of the interactive system 100, each user having a platform account, and the interactive system 100 may access second electronic contact data associated with an external application (e.g., the contact application 422) of the sender that is different from the interactive client 104. Based on detecting that the recipient's phone number is not linked to any platform account, the recipient may be designated as a non-user by the external messaging system 234 and / or the external messaging system 234 may determine that an off-platform communication in the form of a text-based invitation is required. The recipient identifier and other details of the recipient may be presented as part of a contact list via a send to interface along with a user-selectable off-platform messaging selector (e.g., selector 706). Thus, selection of a recipient may include selecting a user-selectable off-platform messaging selector corresponding to the recipient in the contact list.

[0170] At operation 1210, in response to determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account and in response to the sender's selection of a recipient, the external messaging system 234 causes the transmission of an off-platform communication in an electronic format supported by a second user device associated with the recipient identifier. The second user device can be a mobile device of the recipient associated with the recipient's phone number. The off-platform communication is, for example, a text (e.g., SMS) message containing a user-selectable registration link. In some examples, the off-platform communication does not include a content item, and the content item becomes accessible to the recipient only after the recipient establishes a platform account linked to the recipient identifier.

[0171] As discussed elsewhere, and as shown at operation 1212, method 1200 may include establishing a suspension relationship request associated with the first platform account and the recipient identifier within the interactive system 100 and by the suspension request system 236. At operation 1214, the interactive system 100 detects the establishment of a second platform account within the interactive system 100. The second platform account is linked to the recipient identifier. The establishment of the second platform account may include the recipient selecting a registration link via the second user device, thereby causing an electronic account registration process to be initiated.

[0172] As a result of the establishment of the recipient's second platform account, the suspended relationship request system 236 can convert the suspended relationship request to an active relationship request. An active relationship request can be a request presented to the recipient via the interactive client 104 to establish a two-way relationship between the sender and the recipient in the context of the interactive system 100.

[0173] In addition, in response to the establishment of the second platform account, the interactive system 100 enables the recipient to access the content item on the second user device via a user interface provided by the interactive client 104 (operation 1216). This may involve detecting by the interactive system 100 that the recipient has accessed the interactive client 104 using the newly established second platform account, and in response thereto, causing a message from the sender including the content item to be presented. The presentation may be implemented via a suitable interface such as the chat interface 902 or the chat thread interface 1002. In some examples, before the second platform account linked to the recipient identifier is established, the message is designated as a pending message, and the message is made available to the recipient only in response to the establishment of the second platform account linked to the recipient identifier.

[0174] In addition to enabling the recipient to access the content item, a relationship between the sender and the recipient is established (operation 1218), for example, by establishing and recording a relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account within the interactive system 100 through the user management system 220. As discussed elsewhere, this relationship can be a one-way or two-way relationship depending on many factors.

[0175] In addition, method 1200 may include presenting, by interactive system 100, a messaging user interface including means for establishing a two-way relationship with the sender in the context of the interactive system. For example, where the sender has added the recipient as a friend but not vice versa, the recipient may be presented with a user-selectable relationship establishment element, such as Fig.10 The add button 1004 is shown. In response to receiving a selection of the user-selectable relationship establishment element, the interactive system 100 (e.g., the user management system 220) can convert the unidirectional relationship to a bidirectional relationship, and a record of the bidirectional relationship can be stored in the entity table 308 and indicated in the entity graph 310 of the interactive system 100. The method 1200 ends at the end loop block 1220.

[0176] Data communication architecture

[0177] Fig.13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of a message 1300 according to some examples, the message 1300 being generated by an interactive client 104 for transmission to another interactive client 104 via an interactive server 124. The content of a particular message 1300 is used to populate a message table 306 stored in a database 304 accessible by the interactive server 124. Similarly, the content of the message 1300 is stored in memory as "in-transit" or "in-flight" data of the user system 102 or the interactive server 124. The message 1300 is shown as including the following example components:

[0178] Message identifier 1302 : a unique identifier that identifies the message 1300 .

[0179] Message text payload 1304 : Text to be generated by the user via the user interface of the user system 102 and included in the message 1300 .

[0180] Message image payload 1306 : Image data captured by the camera component of the user system 102 or retrieved from the memory component of the user system 102 and included in the message 1300 . The image data for a message 1300 sent or received may be stored in the image table 316 .

[0181] Message video payload 1308: Video data captured by the camera component or retrieved from the memory component of the user system 102 and included in the message 1300. The video data for the message 1300 sent or received may be stored in the video table 314.

[0182] Message audio payload 1310 : audio data captured by a microphone or retrieved from a memory component of the user system 102 and included in the message 1300 .

[0183] Message enhancement data 1312: Enhancement data (e.g., filters, stickers, or other annotations or enhancements) representing enhancements to be applied to the message image payload 1306, message video payload 1308, or message audio payload 1310 of the message 1300. The enhancement data for a sent or received message 1300 may be stored in the enhancement table 312.

[0184] Message duration parameter 1314: A parameter value indicating the amount of time in seconds that the content of the message (e.g., message image payload 1306, message video payload 1308, message audio payload 1310) is to be presented to the user via the interactive client 104 or made accessible to the user.

[0185] Message geolocation parameters 1316: Geolocation data (e.g., latitude and longitude coordinates) associated with the content payload of the message. Multiple message geolocation parameter 1316 values ​​may be included in the payload, with each of these parameter values ​​being associated with a content item included in the content (e.g., a specific image within a message image payload 1306 or a specific video in a message video payload 1308).

[0186] Message story identifier 1318: An identifier value that identifies one or more content collections (e.g., a "story" identified in collection table 318) associated with a particular content item in the message image payload 1306 of the message 1300. For example, the identifier value may be used to associate multiple images within the message image payload 1306 with each of multiple content collections.

[0187] Message tags 1320: Each message 1300 may be tagged with a plurality of tags, each of which indicates the subject of the content included in the message payload. For example, where a particular image included in the message image payload 1306 depicts an animal (e.g., a lion), a tag value may be included within the message tags 1320 indicating the relevant animal. The tag value may be manually generated based on user input, or may be automatically generated using, for example, image recognition.

[0188] • Message sender identifier 1322: An identifier (eg, a messaging system identifier, an email address, or a device identifier) ​​that indicates the user of the user system 102 on which the message 1300 was generated and from which the message 1300 was sent.

[0189] • Message recipient identifier 1324: Indicates an identifier (eg, a messaging system identifier, an email address, or a device identifier) ​​of the user of the user system 102 to which the message 1300 is addressed.

[0190] The content (e.g., value) of each component of message 1300 may be a pointer to a location in a table where the content data value is stored. For example, the image value in message image payload 1306 may be a pointer (or address) to a location in image table 316. Similarly, the value in message video payload 1308 may point to data stored in video table 314, the value stored in message enhancement data 1312 may point to data stored in enhancement table 312, the value stored in message story identifier 1318 may point to data stored in story table 318, and the values ​​stored in message sender identifier 1322 and message recipient identifier 1324 may point to user records stored in entity table 308.

[0191] System with head wearable device

[0192] Fig.14 A system 1400 is shown including a head wearable device 116 with a selector input device according to some examples. Fig.14 is a high-level functional block diagram of an example head wearable device 116 communicatively coupled to a mobile device 114 and various server systems 1404 (e.g., interactive server system 110) via various networks 1416.

[0193] The head wearable device 116 includes one or more cameras, each of which may be, for example, a visible light camera 1406 , an infrared transmitter 1408 , and an infrared camera 1410 .

[0194] The mobile device 114 is connected to the head wearable device 116 using both a low power wireless connection 1412 and a high speed wireless connection 1414. The mobile device 114 is also connected to the server system 1404 and the network 1416.

[0195] The head wearable device 116 also includes two image displays in the optical assembly's image displays 1418. The two optical assembly's image displays 1418 include an image display associated with a left lateral side of the head wearable device 116 and an image display associated with a right lateral side of the head wearable device 116. The head wearable device 116 also includes an image display driver 1420, an image processor 1422, low power circuits 1424, and high speed circuits 1426. The optical assembly's image displays 1418 are used to present images and videos to a user of the head wearable device 116, including images that may include a graphical user interface.

[0196] The image display driver 1420 commands and controls the image display 1418 of the optical assembly. The image display driver 1420 can deliver the image data directly to the image display 1418 of the optical assembly for presentation or can convert the image data into a signal or data format suitable for delivery to the image display device. For example, the image data can be video data formatted according to a compression format such as H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10), HEVC, Theora, Dirac, RealVideo RV40, VP8, VP9, ​​etc., while the static image data can be formatted according to a compression format such as Portable Network Graphics Group (PNG), Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) or Exchangeable Image File Format (Exif), etc.

[0197] The head wearable device 116 includes a frame and rods (or temples) extending from lateral sides of the frame. The head wearable device 116 also includes a user input device 1428 (e.g., a touch sensor or a push button) including an input surface on the head wearable device 116. The user input device 1428 (e.g., a touch sensor or a push button) is used to receive input selections from a user for manipulating a graphical user interface of a presented image.

[0198] Fig.14The components of the head wearable device 116 shown in are located on one or more circuit boards (e.g., PCBs or flexible PCBs) in the frame or temples. Alternatively or additionally, the depicted components may be located in chunks, frames, hinges, or nose bridges of the head wearable device 116. The left visible light camera and the right visible light camera 1406 may include digital camera elements, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors, charge coupled devices, camera lenses, or any other corresponding visible light or light capturing elements that can be used to capture data (including images of scenes with unknown objects).

[0199] The head wearable device 116 includes a memory 1402 that stores instructions for performing a subset or all of the functions described herein. The memory 1402 may also include a storage device.

[0200] like Fig.14 As shown, the high-speed circuit 1426 includes a high-speed processor 1430, a memory 1402, and a high-speed wireless circuit 1432. In some examples, the image display driver 1420 is coupled to the high-speed circuit 1426 and is operated by the high-speed processor 1430 to drive the left image display and the right image display in the image display 1418 of the optical assembly. The high-speed processor 1430 can be any processor capable of managing high-speed communications and operations of any general computing system required by the head wearable device 116. The high-speed processor 1430 includes the processing resources required to manage high-speed data transmission to a wireless local area network (WLAN) on the high-speed wireless connection 1414 using the high-speed wireless circuit 1432. In some examples, the high-speed processor 1430 executes an operating system (e.g., a LINUX operating system) or other such operating system of the head wearable device 116, and the operating system is stored in the memory 1402 for execution. In addition to any other duties, the high-speed processor 1430 that executes the software architecture of the head wearable device 116 is used to manage data transmission with the high-speed wireless circuit 1432. In some examples, high-speed wireless circuit 1432 is configured to implement the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 communication standard, also referred to herein as WiFi. In some examples, high-speed wireless circuit 1432 can implement other high-speed communication standards.

[0201] The low power wireless circuit 1434 and the high speed wireless circuit 1432 of the head wearable device 116 may include a short range transceiver (Bluetooth TM) and a wireless wide area network transceiver, a wireless local area network transceiver, or a wide area network transceiver (e.g., cellular or WiFi). Mobile device 114, including a transceiver that communicates via low power wireless connection 1412 and a high speed wireless connection 1414, can be implemented using details of the architecture of head wearable device 116, as can other elements of network 1416.

[0202] The memory 1402 includes any storage device capable of storing various data and applications, including camera data generated by the left and right visible light cameras 1406, the infrared camera 1410, and the image processor 1422, and images generated to be displayed on an image display in the image display 1418 of the optical assembly through the image display driver 1420. Although the memory 1402 is shown as being integrated with the high-speed circuit 1426, in some examples, the memory 1402 can be a separate independent element of the head wearable device 116. In some such examples, electrical wiring can provide a connection from the image processor 1422 or the low-power processor 1436 to the memory 1402 through a chip including the high-speed processor 1430. In some examples, the high-speed processor 1430 can manage the addressing of the memory 1402 so that the low-power processor 1436 will start the high-speed processor 1430 at any time when a read or write operation involving the memory 1402 is required.

[0203] like Fig.14 As shown, the low-power processor 1436 or the high-speed processor 1430 of the head wearable device 116 can be coupled to a camera device (a visible light camera device 1406, an infrared emitter 1408 or an infrared camera device 1410), an image display driver 1420, a user input device 1428 (for example, a touch sensor or a push button), and a memory 1402.

[0204] The head wearable device 116 is connected to a host computer. For example, the head wearable device 116 is paired with the mobile device 114 via a high-speed wireless connection 1414 or connected to the server system 1404 via a network 1416. The server system 1404 can be one or more computing devices as part of a service or network computing system, for example, including a processor, a memory, and a network communication interface to communicate with the mobile device 114 and the head wearable device 116 through the network 1416.

[0205] The mobile device 114 includes a processor and a network communication interface coupled to the processor. The network communication interface allows communication via a network 1416, a low-power wireless connection 1412, or a high-speed wireless connection 1414. The mobile device 114 may further store at least a portion of the instructions for generating binaural audio content in a memory of the mobile device 114 to implement the functions described herein.

[0206] The output components of the head wearable device 116 include visual components, such as a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a projector, or a waveguide). The image display of the optical component is driven by the image display driver 1420. The output components of the head wearable device 116 also include acoustic components (e.g., speakers), tactile components (e.g., vibration motors), other signal generators, etc. The input components of the head wearable device 116, the mobile device 114, and the server system 1404 (e.g., user input devices 1428) may include alphanumeric input components (e.g., keyboards, touch screens configured to receive alphanumeric input, optical keyboards, or other alphanumeric input components), pointing-based input components (e.g., mice, touch pads, tracking balls, joysticks, motion sensors, or other pointing instruments), tactile input components (e.g., physical buttons, touch screens or other tactile input components that provide the location and force of touch or touch gestures), audio input components (e.g., microphones), etc.

[0207] The head wearable device 116 may also include additional peripheral elements. Such peripheral elements may include biometric sensors, additional sensors, or display elements integrated with the head wearable device 116. For example, the peripheral elements may include any I / O components, including output components, motion components, position components, or any other such components described herein.

[0208] For example, the biometric component includes a component for detecting expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, voice expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measuring biological signals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, sweating, or brain waves), identifying people (e.g., voice recognition, retinal recognition, facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, or electroencephalogram-based recognition), etc. The motion component includes an acceleration sensor component (e.g., an accelerometer), a gravity sensor component, a rotation sensor component (e.g., a gyroscope), etc. The position component includes a positioning sensor component for generating position coordinates (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) receiver component), a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth receiver for generating positioning system coordinates, etc. TMtransceiver, altitude sensor component (e.g., an altimeter or barometer that detects air pressure, from which altitude can be obtained), orientation sensor component (e.g., a magnetometer), etc. Such positioning system coordinates can also be received from the mobile device 114 through the low-power wireless connection 1412 and the high-speed wireless connection 1414 via the low-power wireless circuit 1434 or the high-speed wireless circuit 1432.

[0209] Any biometrics collected by the biometric component are captured and stored only with the user's approval and are deleted upon user request. In addition, such biometric data may be used for very limited purposes (e.g., identification verification). In order to ensure the restricted and authorized use of biometric information and other personally identifiable information (PII), access to this data is limited to authorized personnel (if access to this data occurs). Any use of biometric data may be strictly limited to identification verification purposes, and the biometric data is not shared or sold to any third party without the user's explicit consent. In addition, appropriate technical and organizational measures are implemented to ensure the security and confidentiality of this sensitive information.

[0210] Machine Architecture

[0211] Fig.151500 within which instructions 1502 (e.g., software, programs, applications, applet, app, or other executable code) may be executed for causing the machine 1500 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. For example, the instructions 1502 may cause the machine 1500 to perform any one or more of the methods described herein. The instructions 1502 convert a general purpose, unprogrammed machine 1500 into a specific machine 1500 that is programmed to perform the functions described and illustrated in the manner described. The machine 1500 may operate as a standalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 1500 may operate as a server machine or a client machine in a server-client network environment or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine 1500 may include, but is not limited to, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance), other smart devices, a web device, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of sequentially or otherwise executing instructions 1502 specifying actions to be taken by the machine 1500. In addition, although only a single machine 1500 is shown, the term "machine" should also be taken to include a collection of machines that individually or jointly execute instructions 1502 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. For example, the machine 1500 may include any of the user system 102 or a plurality of server devices forming part of the interactive server system 110. In some examples, the machine 1500 may also include both a client system and a server system, wherein certain operations of a particular method or algorithm are performed on the server side and certain operations of the particular method or algorithm are performed on the client side.

[0212] The machine 1500 may include a processor 1504, a memory 1506, and an input / output (I / O) component 1508 that may be configured to communicate with each other via a bus 1510. In an example, the processor 1504 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor 1512 that executes instructions 1502 and a processor 1514. The term "processor" is intended to include multi-core processors, which may include two or more independent processors (sometimes referred to as "cores") that may execute instructions simultaneously. Although Fig.15 Multiple processors 1504 are shown, but the machine 1500 may include a single processor with a single core, a single processor with multiple cores (e.g., a multi-core processor), multiple processors with a single core, multiple processors with multiple cores, or any combination thereof.

[0213] The memory 1506 includes a main memory 1516, a static memory 1518, and a storage unit 1520, which are all accessible by the processor 1504 via the bus 1510. The main memory 1506, the static memory 1518, and the storage unit 1520 store instructions 1502 that implement any one or more of the methods or functions described herein. The instructions 1502 may also reside, completely or partially, within the main memory 1516, within the static memory 1518, within a machine-readable medium 1522 within the storage unit 1520, within at least one of the processors 1504 (e.g., within a cache memory of a processor), or within any suitable combination thereof during execution thereof by the machine 1500.

[0214] I / O components 1508 may include various components for receiving input, providing output, generating output, sending information, exchanging information, capturing measurements, etc. The specific I / O components 1508 included in a particular machine will depend on the type of machine. For example, a portable machine such as a mobile phone may include a touch input device or other such input mechanism, while a headless server machine will be less likely to include such a touch input device. It should be appreciated that I / O components 1508 may include Fig.151508. In various examples, the I / O components 1508 may include a user output component 1524 and a user input component 1526. The user output component 1524 may include a visual component (e.g., a display such as a plasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an acoustic component (e.g., a speaker), a tactile component (e.g., a vibration motor, a resistance mechanism), other signal generators, etc. The user input component 1526 may include an alphanumeric input component (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receive alphanumeric input, an optical keyboard, or other alphanumeric input component), a point-based input component (e.g., a mouse, a touch pad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointing instrument), a tactile input component (e.g., a physical button, a touch screen or other tactile input component that provides the location and force of a touch or touch gesture), an audio input component (e.g., a microphone), etc.

[0215] In other examples, the I / O component 1508 may include a biometric component 1528, a motion component 1530, an environmental component 1532, or a position component 1534, as well as a wide range of other components. For example, the biometric component 1528 includes components for detecting expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facial expressions, voice expressions, body postures, or eye tracking), measuring biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, sweat, or brain waves), identifying people (e.g., voice recognition, retinal recognition, facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, or EEG-based recognition), etc. The motion component 1530 includes an acceleration sensor component (e.g., an accelerometer), a gravity sensor component, and a rotation sensor component (e.g., a gyroscope).

[0216] Environmental components 1532 include, for example, one or more cameras (with still image / photo and video capabilities), lighting sensor components (e.g., a photometer), temperature sensor components (e.g., one or more thermometers that detect ambient temperature), humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g., a barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphones that detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g., an infrared sensor that detects nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., a gas detection sensor for detecting concentrations of hazardous gases for safety purposes or for measuring pollutants in the atmosphere), or other components that can provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding to the surrounding physical environment.

[0217] With respect to cameras, user system 102 may have a camera system including, for example, a front-facing camera on a front surface of user system 102 and a rear-facing camera on a rear surface of user system 102. The front-facing camera may, for example, be used to capture still images and videos of a user of user system 102 (e.g., “selfies”), which may then be enhanced with the enhancement data (e.g., filters) described above. For example, the rear-facing camera may be used to capture still images and videos in a more conventional camera mode, which images are similarly enhanced with the enhancement data. In addition to the front-facing camera and the rear-facing camera, user system 102 may also include a 360° camera for capturing 360° photos and videos.

[0218] Additionally, the camera system of the user system 102 may include dual rear cameras (e.g., a main camera and a depth sensing camera), or even triple, quad, or quintuple rear camera configurations on the front and back sides of the user system 102. For example, these multi-camera systems may include a wide-angle camera, an ultra-wide-angle camera, a telephoto camera, a macro camera, and a depth sensor.

[0219] The location component 1534 includes a positioning sensor component (e.g., a GPS receiver component), an altitude sensor component (e.g., an altimeter or barometer that detects air pressure, from which the altitude can be obtained), an orientation sensor component (e.g., a magnetometer), and the like.

[0220] Various technologies may be used to implement communications. I / O components 1508 also include communications components 1536 that are operable to couple machine 1500 to a network 1538 or device 1540 via a corresponding coupling or connection. For example, communications components 1536 may include a network interface component or another suitable device that interfaces with network 1538. In other examples, communications components 1536 may include wired communications components, wireless communications components, cellular communications components, near field communications (NFC) components, Parts (e.g. Low energy consumption), Components and other communication components for providing communication via other forms. Device 1540 can be another machine or any peripheral device among various peripheral devices (eg, a peripheral device coupled via USB).

[0221] In addition, the communication component 1536 can detect the identifier, or include a component that is operable to detect the identifier. For example, the communication component 1536 may include a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag reader component, an NFC smart tag detection component, an optical reader component (e.g., an optical sensor for detecting one-dimensional bar codes such as universal product codes (UPC) bar codes, multi-dimensional bar codes such as quick response (QR) codes, Aztec codes, data matrix, data symbols (Dataglyph), MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2D bar codes, and other optical codes) or an acoustic detection component (e.g., a microphone for identifying an audio signal of a tag). In addition, various information can be obtained via the communication component 1536, such as obtaining positioning via Internet Protocol (IP) geolocation, ... Positioning obtained by signal triangulation, positioning obtained by detecting NFC beacon signals that can indicate a specific position, etc.

[0222] Various memories (e.g., main memory 1516, static memory 1518, and memory of processor 1504) and storage unit 1520 may store one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g., software) implemented or used by any one or more of the methods or functions described herein. These instructions (e.g., instructions 1502) when executed by processor 1504 cause various operations to implement the disclosed examples.

[0223] The instructions 1502 may be sent or received via a network interface device (e.g., a network interface component included in the communication component 1536) using a transmission medium and using any of several well-known transmission protocols (e.g., Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)) over the network 1538. Similarly, the instructions 1502 may be sent or received via a coupling (e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling) with the device 1540 using a transmission medium.

[0224] Software Architecture

[0225] Fig.16 1600 is a block diagram illustrating a software architecture 1604 that may be installed on any one or more of the devices described herein. The software architecture 1604 is supported by hardware such as a machine 1606 including a processor 1608, a memory 1610, and an I / O component 1612. In this example, the software architecture 1604 may be conceptualized as a stack of layers, where each layer provides specific functionality. The software architecture 1604 includes layers such as an operating system 1614, a library 1616, a framework 1618, and an application 1620. In operation, the application 1620 invokes an API call 1622 through the software stack and receives a message 1624 in response to the API call 1622.

[0226] The operating system 1614 manages hardware resources and provides public services. The operating system 1614 includes, for example, a kernel 1626, services 1628, and drivers 1630. The kernel 1626 acts as an abstraction layer between the hardware layer and other software layers. For example, the kernel 1626 provides memory management, processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management, networking and security settings, and other functions. Services 1628 can provide other public services to other software layers. Drivers 1630 are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlying hardware. For example, drivers 1630 may include display drivers, camera drivers, or Low-power drivers, Flash drivers, Serial communication drivers (e.g., USB drivers), Drivers, audio drivers, power management drivers, etc.

[0227] The libraries 1616 provide a common low-level infrastructure used by the applications 1620. The libraries 1616 may include a system library 1632 (e.g., a C standard library) that provides functions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions, mathematical functions, etc. In addition, the libraries 1616 may include an API library 1634, such as a media library (e.g., a library for supporting the presentation and manipulation of various media formats, such as Moving Picture Experts Group-4 (MPEG4), Advanced Video Coding (H.264 or AVC), Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) audio codec, Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or JPG), or Portable Network Graphics (PNG)), a graphics library (e.g., an OpenGL framework for presenting in two dimensions (2D) and three dimensions (3D) in graphics content on a display), a database library (e.g., SQLite providing various relational database functions), a web library (e.g., WebKit providing web browsing functions), etc. The library 1616 may also include various other libraries 1636 to provide many other APIs to the application 1620 .

[0228] The framework 1618 provides a common high-level infrastructure used by the applications 1620. For example, the framework 1618 provides various graphical user interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management, and high-level positioning services. The framework 1618 can provide a wide range of other APIs that can be used by the applications 1620, some of which can be specific to a particular operating system or platform.

[0229] In an example, applications 1620 may include a home application 1638, a contacts application 1602, a browser application 1640, a book reader application 1642, a positioning application 1644, a media application 1646, a messaging application 1648, a game application 1650, and a variety of other applications such as third-party applications 1652. Application 1620 is a program that executes the functions defined in the program. Various programming languages ​​can be used to create one or more of the applications 1620 constructed in various ways, such as an object-oriented programming language (e.g., Objective-C, Java, or C++) or a procedural programming language (e.g., C language or assembly language). In a specific example, third-party applications 1652 (e.g., provided by an entity other than the vendor of a particular platform using ANDROID TM or IOS TM Software Development Kit (SDK) can be used to develop applications on platforms such as IOS TM ANDROID TM , Mobile software running on the mobile operating system of the mobile phone or another mobile operating system. In this example, the third-party application 1652 can activate the API call 1622 provided by the operating system 1614 to facilitate the functions described in this article.

[0230] Example

[0231] In view of the above-mentioned implementation methods of the subject matter, the present application discloses the following list of examples, wherein one feature of a separate example or more than one feature of an example adopted in combination and optionally combined with one or more features of one or more additional examples are additional examples that also fall within the disclosure of the present application.

[0232] Example 1 is a method, comprising: receiving a selection of a content item from a first user device of a sender, the content item being suitable for presentation by an interactive application provided by an interactive system, and the sender having a first platform account within the interactive system; receiving a selection of a recipient identified by a recipient identifier from the first user device; determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account within the interactive system; enabling transmission of an off-platform communication in an electronic format supported by a second user device associated with the recipient identifier, the off-platform communication containing a user-selectable registration link; detecting establishment of a second platform account within the interactive system, the second platform account being linked to the recipient identifier; and in response to detecting establishment of the second platform account: enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device via the interactive application; and establishing a relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account within the interactive system.

[0233] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 includes: wherein determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account within the interactive system includes: maintaining first electronic contact data for a plurality of users of the interactive system for the interactive system, each user having a platform account; accessing second electronic contact data, the second electronic contact data being associated with an external application of the sender, and wherein the second electronic contact data includes the recipient identifier; and determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account that forms part of the first electronic contact data.

[0234] In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 includes: in response to determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account that forms part of the first electronic contact data, presenting the recipient identifier in a contact list, the recipient identifier is presented together with a user-selectable off-platform messaging selector, and the contact list is presented to the sender via a user interface provided by the interactive application.

[0235] In Example 4, the subject matter of Examples 2-3 includes, wherein the external application is a contact application, the contact application being different from the interaction application.

[0236] In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 4 includes, wherein enabling a recipient to access a content item on a second user device includes: detecting access by the recipient to an interactive application using a second platform account; and in response to detecting access by the recipient to the interactive application, presenting a message from the sender via a user interface provided by the interactive application, the message including the content item.

[0237] In Example 6, the subject matter of Example 5 includes, wherein the off-platform communication does not include the content item, and wherein the content item becomes accessible to the recipient only after establishing a second platform account linked to the recipient identifier.

[0238] In Example 7, the subject matter of Example 6 includes, wherein, prior to establishing a second platform account linked to the recipient identifier, the message is designated as a pending message within the interactive system, and the message is made available to the recipient in response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account linked to the recipient identifier.

[0239] In Example 8, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 7 includes, before detecting the establishment of the second platform account: establishing a suspended relationship request associated with the first platform account and the recipient identifier within the interactive system, wherein, in response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account, the suspended relationship request is automatically converted into an active relationship request, the active relationship request being a request to establish a bidirectional relationship between a sender and a recipient in the context of the interactive system.

[0240] In Example 9, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 8 includes, wherein the established relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account is a unidirectional relationship.

[0241] In Example 10, the subject matter of Example 9 includes, after establishing a unidirectional relationship between a first platform account and a second platform account within an interactive system: receiving a selection of a user-selectable relationship establishment element from a second user device; in response to receiving the selection of the user-selectable relationship establishment element, automatically converting the unidirectional relationship to a bidirectional relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account; and storing a record of the bidirectional relationship within the interactive system.

[0242] In Example 11, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 10 includes, wherein enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device includes presenting a messaging user interface via the interactive application, the messaging user interface including components for establishing a bidirectional relationship with the sender in the context of the interactive system.

[0243] In Example 12, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 11 includes, in response to detecting establishment of a second platform account: causing a user suggestion to be presented on a second user device via a user interface provided by an interactive application, the user suggestion including profile data of the sender and indicating an option to establish a two-way relationship with the sender in the context of the interactive system.

[0244] In Example 13, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 12 includes receiving a selection of a registration link via a second user device; and in response to receiving the selection of the registration link, automatically initiating an electronic account registration process.

[0245] In Example 14, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 13 includes, wherein establishing a relationship between a first platform account and a second platform account within the interactive system includes: establishing a relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account based on whether a registration link in an off-platform communication is used in an electronic account registration process of the second platform account.

[0246] In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 14 includes, wherein establishing a relationship between a first platform account and a second platform account within the interactive system further includes: detecting that a registration link in an off-platform communication is used in an electronic account registration process for the second platform account; and in response to detecting that a registration link in an off-platform communication is used in an electronic account registration process for the second platform account, automatically establishing the relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account as a bidirectional relationship.

[0247] In Example 16, the subject matter of Examples 14 to 15 includes, wherein establishing a relationship between a first platform account and a second platform account within the interactive system further includes: detecting that a registration link in an off-platform communication has not been used in an electronic account registration process for the second platform account; and in response to detecting that a registration link in an off-platform communication has not been used in an electronic account registration process for the second platform account, automatically establishing the relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account as a unidirectional relationship.

[0248] In Example 17, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 16 includes, wherein the off-platform communication is a text message.

[0249] In Example 18, the subject matter of Examples 1 to 17 includes, wherein the recipient identifier is a telephone number and the off-platform communication is a short message service (SMS) message.

[0250] Example 19 is a system comprising: a memory storing instructions; and one or more processors configured by the instructions to perform operations including the following: receiving a selection of a content item from a first user device of a sender, the content item being suitable for presentation by an interactive application provided by an interactive system, and the sender having a first platform account within the interactive system; receiving a selection of a recipient identified by a recipient identifier from the first user device; determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account within the interactive system; enabling transmission of off-platform communications in an electronic format supported by a second user device associated with the recipient identifier, the off-platform communications containing a user-selectable registration link; detecting establishment of a second platform account within the interactive system, the second platform account being linked to the recipient identifier; and in response to detecting establishment of the second platform account: enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device via the interactive application; and establishing a relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account within the interactive system.

[0251] Example 20 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions that, when executed by at least one computer, cause the at least one computer to perform operations, the operations including: receiving a selection of a content item from a first user device of a sender, the content item being suitable for presentation by an interactive application provided by an interactive system, and the sender having a first platform account within the interactive system; receiving a selection of a recipient identified by a recipient identifier from the first user device; determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account within the interactive system; causing an off-platform communication to be transmitted in an electronic format supported by a second user device associated with the recipient identifier, the off-platform communication containing a user-selectable registration link; detecting the establishment of a second platform account within the interactive system, the second platform account being linked to the recipient identifier; and in response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account: enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device via the interactive application; and establishing a relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account within the interactive system.

[0252] Example 21 is at least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform operations for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0253] Example 22 is a device comprising means for implementing any one of Examples 1 to 20.

[0254] Example 23 is a system for implementing any one of Examples 1 to 20.

[0255] Example 24 is a method for implementing any one of Examples 1 to 20.

[0256] in conclusion

[0257] Examples of the present disclosure improve the functionality of electronic messaging software and systems by enhancing the user's experience of using the interactive system. The user's experience of using the interactive system can be enhanced by enabling the user to utilize external messaging functions (also referred to as off-platform messaging functions).

[0258] In addition, the experience can be enhanced by automatically linking relationship requests to off-platform messages. This can facilitate the onboarding of new users to the platform and interactions between new and existing users, including reducing the number of steps or actions required to establish a relationship and allowing electronic interactions within the interactive system.

[0259] Examples in the present disclosure may solve or mitigate technical barriers to communication and establishing electronic relationships between users of an interactive system (such as a messaging platform). The technical problem of linking a registered user of an interactive platform with a non-user may be solved by "pre-linking" the user with the non-user by establishing a pending relationship request, wherein the pending relationship request is automatically converted to an active relationship request (or a two-way link is automatically generated) in response to the non-user subsequently registering with the interactive platform. The technical problem of making messages on the platform available to users without a platform account may be solved by first delivering an off-platform invitation and then establishing a pending or queued message, which is automatically delivered or presented to the new user on the platform once the user registers a platform account. In addition, the technical problem of connecting users of the platform who previously communicated via an off-platform channel may be solved by linking the registration of the new user to an off-platform identifier (e.g., a phone number), and in response to the new user joining the platform, automatically displaying suggested users who have communicated with the new user using the off-platform identifier.

[0260] As used in this disclosure, phrases of the form "at least one of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," etc., should be interpreted as selecting at least one from the group consisting of "A, B, and C." Unless otherwise expressly stated in conjunction with a specific example in this disclosure, this wording does not mean "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C." As used in this disclosure, the example "at least one of A, B, or C" would encompass any of the following selections: {A}, {B}, {C}, {A, B}, {A, C}, {B, C}, and {A, B, C}.

[0261] Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, the words "include", "comprises", etc. should be interpreted as inclusive, not exclusive or exhaustive, i.e., in the sense of "including but not limited to". As used herein, the term "connected", "coupled" or any variant thereof means any connection or coupling, direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. In addition, when used in this application, the words "herein", "above", "below" and words of similar meaning refer to the application as a whole rather than to any particular part of the application. Where the context permits, words using the singular or plural may also include the plural or singular, respectively. With respect to a list of two or more items, the word "or" covers all the following interpretations of the word: any item in the list, all items in the list, and any combination of items in the list. Similarly, with respect to a list of two or more items, the word "and / or" covers all the following interpretations of the word: any item in the list, all items in the list, and any combination of items in the list.

[0262] Although some examples (e.g., those depicted in the accompanying drawings) include a specific sequence of operations, the sequence may be changed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, some of the depicted operations may be performed in parallel or in a different order that does not substantially affect the functions described in the examples. In other examples, different components of the example devices or systems that implement the example methods may perform functions substantially simultaneously or in a specific order.

[0263] Glossary

[0264] "Carrier signal" refers to any intangible medium that can store, encode or carry instructions for execution by a machine and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible media that facilitates communication of such instructions. Instructions may be sent or received over a network using a transmission medium via a network interface device.

[0265] "Client device" or "user device" refers to any machine that interfaces with a communications network to obtain resources from one or more server systems or other client / user devices. A client / user device may be, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a portable digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a tablet computer, an ultrabook, a netbook, a laptop computer, a multiprocessor system, a microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, a game console, a set-top box, a wearable device, or any other communications device that a user may use to access a network.

[0266] "Communications network" means one or more parts of a network, which may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet, a part of the Internet, a part of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a plain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, A network, other type of network, or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, the network or a portion of the network may include a wireless network or a cellular network, and the coupling may be a code division multiple access (CDMA) connection, a global system for mobile communications (GSM) connection, or other type of cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling may implement any of various types of data transmission technologies, such as single carrier radio transmission technology (1xRTT), evolution data optimized (EVDO) technology, general packet radio service (GPRS) technology, enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE) technology, the third generation partnership project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G) network, universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), high speed packet access (HSPA), world wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), long term evolution (LTE) standards, other data transmission technologies defined by various standard setting organizations, other long distance protocols, or other data transmission technologies.

[0267] "Component" refers to a logic or device, a physical entity with the following boundaries, which is defined by a function or subroutine call, a branch point, an API, or other technical definitions that provide partitioning or modularization for a specific processing or control function. A component can be combined with other components via its interface to perform machine processing. A component can be a packaged functional hardware unit designed for use with other components, and a part of a program that generally performs a specific function of a related function. A component can constitute a software component (e.g., a code implemented on a machine-readable medium) or a hardware component. A "hardware component" is a tangible unit that can perform certain operations and can be configured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various examples, one or more computer systems (e.g., an independent computer system, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one or more hardware components (e.g., a processor or a processor group) of a computer system can be configured by software (e.g., an application or an application part) to operate to perform certain operations as described herein. Hardware components can also be implemented mechanically, electronically, or in any suitable combination thereof. For example, a hardware component may include a dedicated circuit or logic that is permanently configured to perform certain operations. The hardware component may be a dedicated processor, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The hardware component may also include a programmable logic or circuit that is temporarily configured to perform certain operations by software. For example, the hardware component may include software executed by a general-purpose processor or other programmable processor. Once configured by such software, the hardware component becomes a specific machine (or a specific component of a machine), which is uniquely customized to perform the function of the configuration and is no longer a general-purpose processor. It will be recognized that it can be determined for cost and time considerations whether to mechanically implement the hardware component in a dedicated and permanently configured circuit or in a temporarily configured (e.g., configured by software) circuit to implement the hardware component. Therefore, the phrase "hardware component" (or "hardware-implemented component") should be understood to include a tangible entity, that is, an entity that is physically constructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in some way or perform certain operations described herein. Considering an example in which a hardware component is temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), it is not necessary to configure or instantiate each hardware component in the hardware component at any one time. For example, where a hardware component includes a general purpose processor that is configured by software to be a special purpose processor, the general purpose processor may be configured as different special purpose processors (e.g., including different hardware components) at different times. The software configures a specific one or more processors accordingly, such as to constitute a specific hardware component at one time and to constitute different hardware components at different times. Hardware components may provide information to other hardware components and receive information from other hardware components. Thus, the described hardware components may be considered to be communicatively coupled.In the case of multiple hardware components being present at the same time, communication can be achieved by signal transmission between or among two or more hardware components (e.g., by appropriate circuits and buses). In examples where multiple hardware components are configured or instantiated at different times, communication between such hardware components can be achieved, for example, by storing information in a memory structure accessible to multiple hardware components and retrieving information in the memory structure. For example, a hardware component can perform an operation, and the output of the operation is stored in a memory device coupled to it in communication. Then, other hardware components can access the memory device at a subsequent time to retrieve the stored output and process it. The hardware component can also initiate communication with an input device or an output device, and can operate on resources (e.g., a collection of information). The various operations of the example methods described in this article can be performed at least in part by one or more processors that are temporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured to perform related operations. Whether it is temporarily configured or permanently configured, such a processor can constitute a processor-implemented component that operates to perform one or more operations or functions described herein. As used herein, "processor-implemented components" refer to hardware components implemented using one or more processors. Similarly, the method described in this article can be implemented at least in part by a processor, wherein one or more specific processors are examples of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations in the operation of the method can be performed by one or more processors or the parts implemented by the processor. In addition, one or more processors can also operate to support the execution of related operations in a "cloud computing" environment or as a "software as a service" (SaaS) operation. For example, at least some of the operations in the operation can be performed by a computer group (as an example of a machine including a processor), wherein these operations can be accessed via a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., API). The execution of certain operations can be distributed between processors, not only resident in a single machine, but deployed across multiple machines. In some examples, a processor or a part implemented by a processor can be located in a single geographic location (e.g., in a home environment, an office environment, or a server cluster). In other examples, a processor or a part implemented by a processor can be distributed across multiple geographic locations.

[0268] "Computer-readable storage media" refers to both machine storage media and transmission media. Therefore, these terms include both storage devices / media and carrier waves / modulated data signals. The terms "machine-readable medium", "computer-readable medium" and "device-readable medium" mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

[0269] "Ephemeral messages" are messages that are accessible for a limited duration. Ephemeral messages can be text, images, videos, etc. The access time for ephemeral messages can be set by the sender of the message. Alternatively, the access time can be a default setting or a setting specified by the recipient. Regardless of the setting technique, the message is ephemeral.

[0270] “Machine storage media” refers to a single or multiple storage devices and media (e.g., centralized or distributed databases, and associated caches and servers) that store executable instructions, routines, and data. Thus, the term should be considered to include, but is not limited to, solid-state memory and optical and magnetic media, including memory internal or external to the processor. Specific examples of machine storage media, computer storage media, and device storage media include: non-volatile memory, including, for example, semiconductor memory devices such as erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), FPGA, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The terms “machine storage media,” “device storage media,” and “computer storage media” mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. The terms “machine storage media,” “computer storage media,” and “device storage media” explicitly exclude carrier waves, modulated data signals, and other such media, at least some of which are encompassed by the term “signal media.”

[0271] “Non-transitory computer-readable storage medium” refers to tangible media capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions to be executed by a machine.

[0272] "Signal medium" refers to any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions executed by a machine and includes digital or analog communication signals or other intangible media that facilitate the communication of software or data. The term "signal medium" should be deemed to include any form of modulated data signals, carrier waves, etc. The term "modulated data signal" means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. The terms "transmission medium" and "signal medium" mean the same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

Claims

1. A method comprising: Receiving a selection of a content item from a first user device of a sender, the content item being suitable for presentation by an interactive application provided by an interactive system, and the sender having a first platform account in the interactive system; receiving, from the first user device, a selection of a recipient identified by a recipient identifier; determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account within the interactive system; causing transmission of an off-platform communication in an electronic format supported by a second user device associated with the recipient identifier, the off-platform communication comprising a user-selectable registration link; detecting establishment of a second platform account within the interactive system, the second platform account being linked to the recipient identifier; as well as In response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account: enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device via the interactive application; as well as A relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account is established in the interactive system.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account in the interactive system includes: Maintaining first electronic contact data of a plurality of users of the interactive system for the interactive system, each user having a platform account; accessing second electronic contact data, the second electronic contact data being associated with an external application of the sender, and wherein the second electronic contact data includes the recipient identifier; and It is determined that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account forming part of the first electronic contact data.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising: In response to determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account forming part of the first electronic contact data, the recipient identifier is presented in a contact list, the recipient identifier is presented together with an off-platform messaging selector selectable by a user, and the contact list is presented to the sender via a user interface provided by the interactive application.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The external application is a contact application, which is different from the interactive application.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device includes: detecting access of the recipient to the interactive application using the second platform account; and In response to detecting access of the interactive application by the recipient, a message from the sender is caused to be presented via a user interface provided by the interactive application, the message including the content item.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The off-platform communication does not include the content item, and the content item becomes accessible to the recipient only after establishing the second platform account linked to the recipient identifier.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: Prior to establishing the second platform account linked to the recipient identifier, the message is designated as a pending message within the interactive system, and the message is made available to the recipient in response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account linked to the recipient identifier.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Before detecting the establishment of the second platform account: A suspended relationship request associated with the first platform account and the recipient identifier is established within the interactive system, wherein, in response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account, the suspended relationship request is automatically converted into an active relationship request, and the active relationship request is a request to establish a two-way relationship between the sender and the recipient in the context of the interactive system.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The established relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account is a one-way relationship.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: After the one-way relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account is established in the interactive system: receiving, from the second user device, a selection of a user-selectable relationship establishment element; In response to receiving a selection of the user-selectable relationship establishment element, automatically converting the unidirectional relationship to a bidirectional relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account; as well as A record of the bidirectional relationship is stored within the interactive system.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device includes presenting, via the interactive application, a messaging user interface including means for establishing a bidirectional relationship with the sender in the context of the interactive system.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account: A user suggestion is caused to be presented on the second user device via a user interface provided by the interactive application, the user suggestion comprising profile data of the sender and indicating an option to establish a two-way relationship with the sender in the context of the interactive system.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving a selection of the registration link via the second user device; as well as In response to receiving a selection of the registration link, an electronic account registration process is automatically initiated.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Establishing the relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account in the interactive system includes: establishing the relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account based on whether the registration link in the off-platform communication is used in the electronic account registration process of the second platform account.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: Establishing the relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account in the interactive system further includes: detecting that the registration link in the off-platform communication is used in the electronic account registration process of the second platform account; and In response to detecting that the registration link in the off-platform communication is used in the electronic account registration process of the second platform account, the relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account is automatically established as a bidirectional relationship.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein: Establishing the relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account in the interactive system further includes: detecting that the registration link in the off-platform communication has not been used in the electronic account registration process for the second platform account; and In response to detecting that the registration link in the off-platform communication has not been used in the electronic account registration process of the second platform account, the relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account is automatically established as a one-way relationship.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The off-platform communication is a text message.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The recipient identifier is a telephone number and the off-platform communication is a Short Message Service (SMS) message.

19. A system comprising: a memory storing instructions; as well as One or more processors, the one or more processors being configured by the instructions to perform operations including: Receiving a selection of a content item from a first user device of a sender, the content item being suitable for presentation by an interactive application provided by an interactive system, and the sender having a first platform account in the interactive system; receiving, from the first user device, a selection of a recipient identified by a recipient identifier; determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account within the interactive system; causing transmission of an off-platform communication in an electronic format supported by a second user device associated with the recipient identifier, the off-platform communication comprising a user-selectable registration link; detecting establishment of a second platform account within the interactive system, the second platform account being linked to the recipient identifier; as well as In response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account: enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device via the interactive application; as well as A relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account is established in the interactive system.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one computer, cause the at least one computer to perform operations comprising: Receiving a selection of a content item from a first user device of a sender, the content item being suitable for presentation by an interactive application provided by an interactive system, and the sender having a first platform account in the interactive system; receiving, from the first user device, a selection of a recipient identified by a recipient identifier; determining that the recipient identifier is not linked to a platform account within the interactive system; causing transmission of an off-platform communication in an electronic format supported by a second user device associated with the recipient identifier, the off-platform communication comprising a user-selectable registration link; detecting establishment of a second platform account within the interactive system, the second platform account being linked to the recipient identifier; as well as In response to detecting the establishment of the second platform account: enabling the recipient to access the content item on the second user device via the interactive application; as well as A relationship between the first platform account and the second platform account is established in the interactive system.

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