Apparatus and method for providing information related to live streaming

Abstract

A method for providing information at a user's terminal is provided. [Solution] According to the present disclosure, a method for providing information on a user's terminal is disclosed, including the steps of: acquiring an input requesting the use of a matching service for matching with others; confirming whether or not to provide the user with a live streaming participation service in response to the input requesting the use of the matching service; providing the user with information related to participating in a live streaming service when it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service will be provided to the user; and providing one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of a live streaming room in which the user participates.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for providing information related to live streaming. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a user's terminal that checks whether a live streaming participation service is provided to a user requesting use of a matching service, and if it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service is provided, provides the user with information related to live streaming participation and provides one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of a live streaming room in which the user is participating. [Background technology]

[0002] With the advancement of electronic technology, devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs have become widespread. These high-performance devices are equipped with functions such as video capture, playback, and communication with other devices, and based on these functions, users can chat and make video calls using their own devices. Personal broadcasting, in which a specific user streams a broadcast and many other users watch it, has also become common.

[0003] On the other hand, in chat services, it can be difficult to provide a satisfactory experience to all users due to issues such as gender imbalance. In order to reduce such user dissatisfaction and prevent users from abandoning the service, methods for improving the user experience need to be proposed.

[0004] In this regard, reference can be made to prior art documents such as KR102044241B1 and KR20020017111A. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The problem that this embodiment aims to solve is to provide a user terminal and a method thereof that acquires an input requesting the use of a matching service for matching with others, confirms whether or not to provide the user with a live streaming participation service in response to the input requesting the use of the matching service, and, if it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service will be provided to the user, provides the user with information related to participating in the live streaming, and provides one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of a live streaming room in which the user participates.

[0006] Another problem that this embodiment aims to solve is to provide a server operation method that, in relation to a user who requests to use a matching service for matching with others, confirms whether or not to provide the user with a live streaming participation service, and if it is confirmed that the user will be provided with a live streaming participation service, obtains information on one or more live streaming rooms that offer the user an opportunity to participate, and, in relation to one or more hosts corresponding to each of the one or more live streaming rooms, provides user information to at least some of the terminals of the one or more hosts.

[0007] The technical problems to be solved by the present embodiment are not limited to the problems described above, and other technical problems can be derived from the following embodiments. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In one embodiment, a method for providing information on a user's terminal includes the steps of: acquiring an input requesting the use of a matching service for matching with others; confirming whether to provide the user with a live streaming participation service in response to the input requesting the use of the matching service; providing the user with information related to participating in a live streaming service if it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service will be provided to the user; and providing one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of a live streaming room in which the user participates.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the step of confirming whether to provide the live streaming participation service to the user includes a step of obtaining information from a server indicating whether to provide the live streaming participation service to the user, wherein the server confirms one or more pieces of information related to the user, and determines whether to provide the live streaming participation service to the user based on the one or more pieces of information.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the one or more pieces of information related to the user may include one or more of information indicating the user's preferences related to the provision of the live streaming participation service and information regarding the user's history of attempts to match with other users.

[0011] According to one embodiment, information indicating the user's preferences may be obtained based on one or more of historical information related to past instances where the live streaming participation service has been provided to the user and historical information related to past attempts to provide the live streaming participation service to the user.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the information related to participating in the live broadcast may include one or more of information about one or more live broadcast rooms that offer the user an opportunity to participate, and information about the user's waiting status for the one or more live broadcast rooms.

[0013] According to one embodiment, in connection with a person requesting use of the matching service joining a broadcasting room, the filter conditions set for each of the plurality of live broadcasting rooms are checked by the server, and the one or more live broadcasting rooms can be determined from among the plurality of live broadcasting rooms based on the filter conditions by the server.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the filter conditions may include one or more of whether or not a person requesting use of the matching service is permitted to participate in a live streaming room, and conditions that a person requesting use of the matching service must meet to participate in a live streaming room.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the filter conditions may be set by a host of a live streaming room in exchange for a good.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the server may obtain waiting information for the user based on at least part of the user's priority in relation to participating in the one or more live streaming rooms, the priority of other people requesting to use the matching service, and the priority of viewers of the one or more live streaming rooms.

[0017] According to one embodiment, assuming that the user is a viewer of one or more live streaming rooms, the priority of the user can be determined by the server based on logic for selecting streaming participants from among the viewers.

[0018] According to one embodiment, in connection with a specific live streaming room included in the one or more live streaming rooms, when there are multiple participation slots associated with the specific live streaming room, some of the multiple participation slots may be allocated for participation by persons requesting use of the matching service, and the remainder may be allocated for participation by viewers of the specific live streaming room.

[0019] According to one embodiment, providing information related to participating in the live broadcast may include providing functionality for interacting with a host of the one or more live broadcast rooms.

[0020] According to one embodiment, in connection with one or more live streaming rooms that provide the user with an opportunity to participate, assuming that one or more hosts corresponding to each of the one or more live streaming rooms request the use of the matching service, the server determines the matching suitability between the user and the one or more hosts based on the matching logic of the matching service, and the server can determine the live streaming room in which the user will participate based on the matching suitability.

[0021] According to one embodiment, if, while the user is participating in a live broadcast, information is obtained indicating that the user is not permitted to participate in the live broadcast, the method of providing information may further include a step of ceasing to provide at least some of the information related to participating in the live broadcast.

[0022] According to one embodiment, when the user participates in a live broadcast, the method of providing information may further include recording one or more pieces of information related to the user's participation in the live broadcast.

[0023] According to one embodiment, when the user participates in a live broadcast, at least a portion of the one or more pieces of content may be modulated and provided to viewers of the live broadcast room.

[0024] According to one embodiment, when a predetermined condition is met, the modulation is removed and the one or more unmodulated contents are provided to viewers of the live streaming room, and the predetermined condition may include one or more of the following: when there is an explicit request from the user; when the viewer meets a predetermined criterion; and when other people who have joined the live streaming room meet a predetermined criterion.

[0025] In one embodiment, a user terminal for providing information includes a transceiver, a memory for storing instructions, and a processor, the processor being connected to the transceiver and the memory and acquiring an input requesting the use of a matching service for matching with others, and in response to the input requesting the use of the matching service, confirming whether or not to provide the user with a live streaming participation service, and if it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service will be provided to the user, providing the user with information related to participating in a live streaming, and providing one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of the live streaming room in which the user is participating.

[0026] A method for providing information in a server according to one embodiment includes a step of confirming, in relation to a user who requests to use a matching service for matching with others, whether or not to provide the user with a live streaming participation service; if it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service will be provided to the user, a step of obtaining information on one or more live streaming rooms that will offer the user an opportunity to participate; and a step of providing, in relation to one or more hosts corresponding to each of the one or more live streaming rooms, information on the user to at least some of the terminals of the one or more hosts.

[0027] A method for providing information on a host's terminal according to one embodiment includes the steps of: confirming, in relation to a user who requests to use a matching service for matching with others, whether the user will be offered an opportunity to participate in the host's live streaming room; if it is confirmed that the user will be offered an opportunity to participate in the host's live streaming room, confirming the user's priority related to participating in the host's live streaming room; determining whether the user will participate in the live streaming room based on the priority; and, if the user participates in the live streaming room, providing one or more contents related to the user to viewers of the live streaming room.

[0028] Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings. [Effects of the Invention]

[0029] According to the present disclosure, a device and method for providing information related to live streaming can reduce user dissatisfaction and prevent users from dropping out of the service in situations where it is difficult to match with a desired partner.

[0030] Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, traffic load can be distributed and reduced by guiding users to live streaming services, which have a relatively lower traffic load than matching services.

[0031] The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects listed above, and other effects not described can also be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0032] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a system for providing information related to live streaming according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 10 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a method for a user's terminal to provide information related to live streaming according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a method by which a server provides user information to at least some of the user's one or more host terminals according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a method for determining one or more live streaming rooms in which a server provides a user with an opportunity to participate based on filter conditions according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a method for providing information at a host terminal according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen that provides a live streaming participation service to a user who requests to use a matching service according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of a screen for providing a live streaming participation service to a user who requests to use a matching service according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where one or more pieces of content related to a user are demodulated and provided to viewers of a live streaming room according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example where a live streaming room has multiple participation slots according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10]10A and 10B are diagrams for illustrating a case where, while a user is participating in a live broadcast, information that disallows the user from participating in the live broadcast is acquired according to an embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] The terms used in the embodiments are currently commonly used and general terms that are selected as much as possible, taking into consideration the functions in this disclosure, but these may differ depending on the intentions of those skilled in the art, precedents, the emergence of new technologies, etc. In addition, in certain cases, the applicant may have arbitrarily selected terms, and in such cases, the meanings thereof will be described in detail in the relevant explanation section. Therefore, the terms used in this disclosure should be defined not simply by their names, but based on the meanings of the terms and the content throughout this disclosure.

[0034] Throughout this specification, when a part is described as "comprising" a certain component, it means that it can further include other components without excluding other components, unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, terms such as "... unit" and "... module" used in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and this may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0035] The phrase "at least one of a, b, and c" used throughout this specification may include "a only," "b only," "c only," "a and b," "a and c," "b and c," or "all of a, b, and c."

[0036] The term "terminal" referred to below may be realized as a computer or a mobile terminal that can connect to a server or another terminal via a network. Here, the term "computer" refers to, for example, a notebook computer, desktop computer, or laptop computer equipped with a web browser, and the term "mobile terminal" refers to, for example, a wireless communication device that ensures portability and mobility, and may include communication infrastructure terminals such as IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), W-CDMA (W-Code Division Multiple Access), and LTE (Long Term Evolution), as well as all kinds of handheld wireless communication devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs.

[0037] The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the embodiments of the present disclosure, although the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0038] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] In describing the embodiments, technical details that are widely known in the technical field to which the present invention pertains and that are not directly related to the present invention will be omitted for the purpose of clearly conveying the gist of the present invention by omitting unnecessary explanations.

[0040] For the same reasons, some components in the accompanying drawings are exaggerated, simplified, or diagrammatically illustrated, and the size of each component does not completely reflect the actual size. The same or corresponding components in each drawing are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0041] The advantages and features of the present invention, as well as methods for achieving them, will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, and can be embodied in various forms. These embodiments are provided to fully disclose the present invention and to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims. The same reference symbols refer to the same elements throughout the specification.

[0042] It will be understood that each block illustrated in the process flow diagrams, and combinations thereof, are implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be loaded into a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, and, when executed, generate means for performing functions corresponding to the blocks illustrated in the flow diagrams. These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory that controls a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to perform functions in a particular manner, and the instructions stored in the memory can constitute an article of manufacture containing instruction means for performing the functions in the blocks illustrated in the flow diagrams. Computer program instructions can also be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to perform a series of operational steps on the apparatus, creating a computer-implemented process, and the instructions for executing the process can provide steps for performing the functions in the blocks illustrated in the flow diagrams.

[0043] Furthermore, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that includes one or more executable instructions for performing a particular logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative embodiments, the functions described in the blocks may be executed in a different order than described. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially simultaneously, or may be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functionality involved.

[0044] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for providing information related to live distribution according to an embodiment.

[0045] According to various embodiments, a system for providing information related to live streaming includes a user terminal 110, a server 120, and a host terminal 130. According to one embodiment, the system for providing information related to live streaming may further include a network that supports information transmission and reception between at least some of the user terminal 110, the server 120, the host terminal 130, and an external device.

[0046] The user terminal 110, server 120, and host terminal 130 in the system for providing information related to live streaming may include a transceiver, memory, and processor. Furthermore, the user terminal 110, server 120, and host terminal 130 each represent a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and may be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Although the user terminal 110, server 120, and host terminal 130 are described as separate devices or servers throughout the embodiments, this means that they are logically separated structures, and they may be realized by separate functions within a single device or server.

[0047] According to one embodiment, the user terminal 110, the server 120, and the host terminal 130 may include multiple computer systems or computer software configured as a network server. For example, at least some of the user terminal 110, the server 120, and the host terminal 130 may refer to computer systems and computer software connected to subordinate devices that communicate with other network servers via a computer network such as an intranet or the Internet, receiving task execution requests, processing the requests, and providing results. Furthermore, at least some of the user terminal 110, the server 120, and the host terminal 130 may be understood as a broad concept including a group of applications that can run on the network server and various databases built therein. For example, at least some of the user terminal 110, the server 120, and the host terminal 130 may be implemented using various network server programs provided based on operating systems such as DOS, Windows, Linux, UNIX, and MacOS.

[0048] For the sake of convenience, the terms "user terminal 110," "server 120," and "host terminal 130" are used; however, these should be understood as comprehensive electronic devices that may correspond to various types of devices, such as computer devices and mobile communication terminals, or that may include various types of devices or be contained within various types of devices.

[0049] A user is an entity that requests the use of a matching service. The matching service that a user requests to use may include various forms such as random matching, partner-specific matching, one-to-one matching, and many-to-one matching, and is not limited to a specific form of service.

[0050] The user terminal 110 provides one or more functions or performs one or more operations for providing a matching service and a live streaming participation service. Specifically, the user terminal 110 acquires an input requesting the use of a matching service for matching with others (hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, abbreviated as "matching service"), and in response to the input requesting the use of the matching service, confirms whether or not to provide the live streaming participation service to the user. If it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service will be provided to the user, the user terminal 110 provides the user with information related to participating in the live streaming and provides one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of the live streaming room in which the user is participating. In this regard, the operation of the user terminal 110 to provide information to the user may include outputting information via an output device such as a display or speaker, although the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0051] Furthermore, the operation of the user terminal 110 providing one or more pieces of content to viewers of a live streaming room in which the user is participating may include a case in which the user terminal 110 provides content to each viewer's terminal, or a case in which the user terminal 110 transmits information to the server 120 or the host terminal 130, and the server 120 or the host terminal 130 provides content to each viewer's terminal. Furthermore, when the server 120 or the host terminal 130 provides content to each viewer's terminal, it may also include a case in which the server 120 or the host terminal 130 not only provides the original content as is, but also provides the viewer's terminal with a screen configuration that includes the content received from the user terminal 110. Thus, there may be various embodiments of the operation of the user terminal 110 providing one or more pieces of content to viewers of a live streaming room in which the user is participating.

[0052] The server 120 is a device that executes processes for providing various services, such as a matching service and a live streaming participation service. For example, the server 120 checks whether a live streaming participation service is available to a user requesting use of the matching service, and if it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service is available to the user, obtains information on one or more live streaming rooms in which the user can participate. Furthermore, in relation to one or more hosts corresponding to each of the one or more live streaming rooms, the server 120 provides user information to at least some of the terminals of the one or more hosts (i.e., the host terminals 130, which will be described later). According to one embodiment, the operation of the server 120 providing user information to at least some of the terminals of the one or more hosts may be related to the aforementioned "operation of the user terminal 110 providing one or more contents to viewers of a live streaming room in which the user is participating."

[0053] In addition, the server 120 according to an embodiment may acquire waiting information of a user based on priority information, and various other embodiments may exist for the operation performed by the server 120.

[0054] The host is an entity that provides live streaming. The provision of live streaming includes, but is not limited to, real-time live streaming, and various embodiments may exist, such as providing pre-produced content in real-time.

[0055] One or more hosts may provide distribution using their respective terminals. For convenience, the terminals of one or more hosts will be referred to as host terminals 130 below. Operations described as being performed by the host terminal 130 may be understood as operations performed by "at least some of the terminals of one or more hosts." Information transmitted and received by the host terminal 130 should also be understood as information transmitted and received by "at least some of the terminals of one or more hosts." In other words, operations related to the host terminal 130 do not need to be performed by all host terminals, and even if they are performed by some of the terminals, they should be understood to be within the scope of the present disclosure, and the same applies to the transmission and reception of information.

[0056] The host terminal 130 provides one or more functions related to the host's provision of live streaming. Specifically, the host terminal 130 checks whether to offer a user an opportunity to participate in the host's live streaming room, and if it is confirmed that the user will be offered the opportunity to participate, checks the user's priority related to participating in the live streaming room. The host terminal 130 then determines whether the user will participate in the live streaming room based on the priority, and if the user participates, provides one or more contents related to the user to viewers of the live streaming room. In this regard, the operation of checking whether the user will participate in the live streaming room may include an operation of checking whether the user is eligible to participate in the live streaming room. However, in some embodiments, it may also include an operation of checking whether the eligible user's turn to participate has arrived, and various embodiments may exist.

[0057] Further details regarding the operation of the user terminal 110, server 120, and host terminal 130 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0058] Operations related to a series of information providing methods according to various embodiments may be realized by a single physical device or by multiple physical devices organically combined together. For example, part of the components included in the system for providing information related to live streaming may be realized by one physical device, and the remaining part may be realized by another physical device. For example, one physical device may be realized as part of the user terminal 110, and another physical device may be realized as part of the server 120 or other external device.

[0059] In some cases, each component included in a system for providing information related to live streaming may be distributed to different physical devices, and the distributed components may be configured to organically cooperate to realize the functions and operations of the system for providing information related to live streaming. For example, user terminal 110 in this specification may include at least one sub-device, and some operations described as being performed by user terminal 110 may be performed by a first sub-unit, and some other operations may be performed by a second sub-unit.

[0060] FIG. 2 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a method in which the user terminal 110 provides information related to live streaming according to an embodiment.

[0061] 2, according to an embodiment, a user terminal 110 receives an input requesting the use of a matching service for matching with others 201. The user terminal 110 may receive the input requesting the use of the matching service from a user through an input device such as a touch screen. The input received from the user may be received in various ways.

[0062] In response to an input requesting use of the matching service, the user terminal 110 confirms whether to provide the user with a live streaming participation service 202. The operation of "providing a live streaming participation service" does not necessarily mean allowing the user to enter the room as a viewer of the broadcast, but may also mean allowing the user to actively participate in the broadcast and become a part of the broadcast. For example, the user terminal 110 allows the user to participate as a guest in the broadcast and interact with the host, and viewers of the broadcast can watch the live broadcast in which the user participated.

[0063] However, depending on the embodiment, there may be various embodiments for providing a live streaming participation service to a user, such as having the user terminal 110 enter the streaming room as a general viewer. Furthermore, the user may select whether to enter the streaming room as a general viewer or to actively participate in the streaming (e.g., as a guest). For example, if a user is allowed to enter the streaming room as a general viewer, the user's position may be changed to guest if there is a separate input from the user. Conversely, if a user is allowed to participate in the streaming room as a guest, the user's position may be changed to viewer if there is a separate input from the user.

[0064] For the sake of convenience, the following description will be based on an embodiment in which the operation of "providing a live streaming participation service" corresponds to an operation in which a user actively participates in the streaming and thereby becomes part of the streaming, but the following description may be similarly applied to other embodiments.

[0065] The operation of determining whether to provide a live streaming participation service is not limited to an operation of the user terminal 110 independently determining whether to provide the live streaming participation service. For example, according to an embodiment, the user terminal 110 may receive a determination result on whether to provide the live streaming participation service from the server 120 or the host terminal 130.

[0066] For the sake of convenience, the following description will focus on an embodiment in which the server 120 determines whether or not to provide a live streaming participation service. However, at least some of the operations of the server 120 described below may be performed by the user terminal 110, the host terminal 130, or other external devices, and the following description may still be applicable in such cases.

[0067] According to an embodiment, the user terminal 110 may obtain information indicating whether to provide the user with a live streaming participation service from the server 120. In this regard, and further referring to FIG. 3 , the server 120 may check one or more pieces of information related to the user 301 and, based on the one or more pieces of information, determine whether to provide the user with a live streaming participation service 302. Once it has been determined whether to provide the user with a live streaming participation service, the server 120 may, based on the result, provide the user terminal 110 with information indicating whether to provide the user with a live streaming participation service 303.

[0068] In connection with the operation of reference numeral 301, the one or more pieces of information related to the user may include one or more of information indicating the user's preferences regarding the provision of a live streaming participation service and history information of the user's attempts to match with others (other matching service users). In this regard, according to an embodiment, the server 120 may acquire information indicating the user's preferences based on one or more of history information related to cases in which the live streaming participation service has been provided to the user or history information related to cases in which the live streaming participation service has been attempted to be provided to the user in the past. For example, if the server 120 has provided the live streaming participation service to the user in the past, the server 120 may determine that the user prefers the provision of the live streaming participation service. Furthermore, if the server 120 has previously attempted to provide the live streaming participation service to the user but failed (e.g., due to the user's refusal), the server 120 may determine that the user does not prefer the provision of the live streaming participation service.

[0069] According to one embodiment, the server 120 may determine that a user does not prefer the provision of the live streaming participation service if (i) the user explicitly indicates an intention to decline (which may be related to the historical information described above), (ii) the user has paid goods in connection with the use of the matching service, or (iii) the user wishes to be matched only with targets who satisfy certain filter conditions, such as being of a certain gender or residing in a certain region, and may otherwise determine that the user prefers the provision of the live streaming participation service. However, this is merely one embodiment, and various embodiments for determining a user's preferences may exist. For example, the server 120 may presume that the user does not prefer the provision of the live streaming participation service unless the user explicitly indicates consent. As another example, in some embodiments, whether the user wishes to be matched only with targets who satisfy certain filter conditions is not taken into consideration when determining whether the user prefers the provision of the live streaming participation service.

[0070] In addition, various embodiments may be included within the scope of the present disclosure, such as determining whether to provide a live streaming participation service by taking into consideration one or more of the following: whether the user is a monitoring personnel, whether the user is currently being matched, and whether the user is ineligible for the provision of the live streaming participation service (e.g., a minor or a resident of a country where live streaming services are restricted for legal or policy reasons).

[0071] In some embodiments, the server 120 can determine whether a user who does not use a filter is likely to use a filter based on their service usage history (e.g., based on a matching success rate), and can take this into account when determining the user's preferences regarding the provision of live streaming participation services. Furthermore, if the user is successfully matched but the matched partner does not meet the user's preferred conditions, the server 120 can further take this into account when determining the user's preferences regarding the provision of live streaming participation services. For example, if the user is a heterosexual man, and has not been matched with a woman but has been matched with a man a predetermined number of times in a row, the server 120 can determine that the user prefers the provision of live streaming participation services.

[0072] In relation to this, with regard to determining whether or not a person has been "matched consecutively," even if multiple matches are not made within a single time range without interrupting the use of the matching service, if there are no female matched partners when the matched partners are arranged in chronological order, it will be determined that the person has been matched with men a predetermined number of times consecutively (for example, if the person ends the matching after being matched with male partners 20 times and then transitions to the mirror screen, and then uses the matching service again and is matched with male partners 10 times, it will be determined that the person has been matched with men 30 times consecutively).

[0073] However, if a live streaming participation service was previously offered to a user but the user rejected it, when determining whether to provide the user with the live streaming participation service thereafter, the conditions for determining preference should be evaluated again from "the point at which the live streaming participation service was previously offered but the user rejected it." For example, if a user has been matched with male partners 45 times in a row, and the live streaming participation service was offered after 30 consecutive matches and the user rejected it, when determining whether to provide the user with the live streaming participation service thereafter, the user's preference should be evaluated as if the user had currently been matched with male partners 15 times in a row.

[0074] In addition, preferences can be determined taking into consideration the user's willingness to pay in the future, their level of satisfaction with the matching service, etc., and if the user has a history of refusing to participate in live streaming services in the past, the criteria for determining preferences may generally be stricter. There are various embodiments for determining preferences, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to a specific embodiment.

[0075] In this regard, as an example, if a user clicked the "Don't ask again" button when previously provided with the live streaming participation service, the server 120 may determine that the user expressly consented to the live streaming participation service. Also, if a user clicked the "Don't ask again" button when previously rejecting the live streaming participation service, the server 120 may determine that the user expressly rejected the live streaming participation service. In this example, the server 120 may not determine that the user expressly consented to the provision of the current live streaming participation service simply because the user previously received the live streaming participation service, nor may it necessarily determine that the user expressly rejected the provision of the current streaming participation service simply because the user previously rejected the live streaming participation service.

[0076] Historical information about a user's attempts to match with others may include, for example, information such as how many times the user attempted to match, how many of those attempts were successful, and whether the failed matches were due to the user's refusal or the other party's refusal.

[0077] In one embodiment, the server 120 may decide to provide the live streaming participation service to the user if it is determined that the user prefers the provision of the live streaming participation service and the user's history of matching attempts with others satisfies a predetermined condition (e.g., if the user has failed to match 10 or more times in a row, or if the matching success rate in the last 20 matches is 20% or less). However, in some embodiments, the server 120 may decide not to provide the live streaming participation service to the user if the user has been offered the live streaming participation service a predetermined number of times (e.g., three times) or more within a predetermined period of time (e.g., within 24 hours or within the same day), even if the above-mentioned condition is met. Various embodiments may be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0078] If it is determined that the live streaming participation service will be provided to the user, the server 120 may acquire 304 information on one or more live streaming rooms that offer the user an opportunity to participate, and provide 305 the user's information to the host terminal 130. In this regard, the operation of providing the user's information to the host terminal 130 may be understood as the operation of providing the user's information to at least some of the one or more host terminals 130 that correspond to each of the one or more live streaming rooms that offer the user an opportunity to participate.

[0079] According to an embodiment, in relation to the operation of the reference numeral 304 of acquiring information about a live streaming room and the operation of the reference numeral 305 of providing user information to the host terminal 130, related operations may also be performed in the host terminal 130. More detailed descriptions regarding this will be provided later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0080] 2, if it is determined that the live streaming participation service will not be provided to the user, the user terminal 110 may provide a matching service to the user. Here, "providing a matching service" means providing the user with a matching opportunity, but does not necessarily mean that a match with a partner is guaranteed.

[0081] If it is determined that the live streaming participation service is provided to the user, the user terminal 110 provides the user with information related to participating in the live streaming 203. According to one embodiment, the information related to participating in the live streaming may include one or more of information on one or more live streaming rooms offering the user an opportunity to participate and information on the user's waiting status for the one or more live streaming rooms. "Offering an opportunity to participate" means that the user is eligible to participate in the room, but does not mean that the user can participate immediately.

[0082] In some embodiments, a user's waiting may begin by providing the user with information about one or more live streaming rooms, or the user's waiting may begin for a selected live streaming room only by receiving the user's selection for at least some of the one or more live streaming rooms. In embodiments in which waiting begins by receiving the user's selection, "expected user waiting information" may be provided instead of "user waiting information" (before receiving the user's selection), and the actual information content may be similar. For convenience of explanation, the following description will be based on "user waiting information," but it should be understood that the description of "user waiting information" may also apply to "expected user waiting information."

[0083] The information about one or more live streaming rooms may include host information for each live streaming room, representative image information for each live streaming room, captured image information for the live streaming of each live streaming room, broadcast title information for each live streaming room, viewer count information for each live streaming room, etc. User waiting information is information about how long a user must wait to participate in each live streaming room, and may include information about the number of other users already waiting, expected waiting time information, etc. In some embodiments, the number of other waiting users may be calculated by excluding users who cannot immediately enter the streaming room.

[0084] 4 , the server 120 according to an embodiment can receive filter conditions set for each of a plurality of live streaming rooms from the host terminal 130 (401). According to an embodiment, the host can set such filters in exchange for payment of goods. Note that the goods paid by the host do not necessarily have to be paid for and charged by the host himself / herself. For example, the host can set filters using goods received as donations from viewers, or other viewers can purchase a function for setting filters and provide it to the host. Various embodiments are possible.

[0085] The server 120 may determine one or more live streaming rooms to offer a user the opportunity to participate in from among a plurality of live streaming rooms based on the filter conditions 402. The operation of reference numeral 402 may be understood as one embodiment of the operation of reference numeral 304 in FIG. 3. The filter conditions may include one or more of whether a person requesting use of the matching service is permitted to participate in the live streaming room and conditions that the person requesting use of the matching service must meet to participate in the live streaming room. The conditions that the person requesting use of the matching service must meet to participate in the live streaming room may include, for example, residing in a specific area, being a specific gender, etc., but various other embodiments may also exist.

[0086] Whether or not a person requesting to use the matching service can participate in a live streaming room may be determined based on whether or not the user satisfies the filter conditions set for each live streaming room, but in some embodiments, information from the user terminal 110 may be sent to the host terminal 130, and the host may individually determine whether or not the user can participate (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 5). As such, various embodiments may exist in the present disclosure.

[0087] The server 120 provides information about the determined one or more live streaming rooms to the user terminal 110 (403), and the user terminal 110 provides the user with information related to participating in the live streaming (operation 203 in FIG. 2).

[0088] However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited by the example of FIG. 4. According to one embodiment, the server 120 may determine one or more live streaming rooms to offer a user a chance to participate in, taking into account conditions other than the filter conditions, or may determine one or more live streaming rooms based solely on other conditions without taking the filter conditions into account. For example, the server 120 may determine one or more live streaming rooms based on the user's preferences, and may select and offer to the user a live streaming room that is predicted to be preferred by the user based on the user's country, language, gender, interests, the rank of each host, etc. In this case, the expression "offering a user a chance to participate" may seem somewhat unnatural, but in reality, the user is essentially registered in a waiting queue, and can be understood as a similar context.

[0089] As a more specific example, with respect to one or more live streaming rooms that provide a user with an opportunity to participate, the server 120 may determine the matching suitability between the user and one or more hosts based on the matching logic of the matching service, assuming that one or more hosts corresponding to each of the one or more live streaming rooms have requested use of the matching service (i.e., assuming that the host has used the matching service as another user). The server 120 may determine the live streaming room in which the user will participate based on the determined matching suitability. When determining the matching suitability in this manner, the host's filter conditions may be taken into consideration, as described above, and the user's preferences may also be taken into consideration.

[0090] When taking user preferences into consideration in this way, the logic for recommending broadcasts that should generally be viewed may be used as is, or a unique logic may be set separately when recommending broadcasts to those who request the use of a matching service.

[0091] Returning to FIG. 2 , the server 120 according to an embodiment may acquire user waiting information. As a specific example, the server 120 may acquire the user waiting information based on at least some of the user's priority in relation to participating in one or more live streaming rooms, the priority of other users requesting to use the matching service, and the priority of viewers of one or more live streaming rooms. In this regard, the other users or viewers whose priority is to be evaluated may be understood as those who have been offered the opportunity to participate in one or more live streaming rooms. In some embodiments, the waiting information may be displayed on the screen of the user terminal 110.

[0092] Various embodiments may be possible regarding the determination of priority. According to one embodiment, the server 120 may determine the priority of a user based on logic for selecting broadcast participants from among viewers, assuming that the user is a viewer of one or more live broadcasting rooms. According to another embodiment, the logic for determining the priority of a viewer and the logic for determining the priority of a person requesting use of the matching service may be different from each other.

[0093] The priority determination logic may take into account the order in which users started waiting, but is not limited to this. In other words, depending on the embodiment, a user who registered for waiting later may be given priority in joining the live streaming room over a user who registered for waiting earlier.

[0094] In some embodiments, the user's waiting information may be determined based on other methods instead of considering priority. For example, the server 120 may set a candidate participant set for each host or broadcast in advance and invite broadcast participants based on the real-time connection status of those who belong to that candidate set. Various other embodiments for determining waiting information may also be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0095] The user terminal 110 provides one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of the live streaming room in which the user participates 204. The user terminal 110 can provide the content directly to the viewer's terminal, or can provide the content to another device (e.g., the host terminal 130) so that the viewer can indirectly receive the content.

[0096] The one or more pieces of content may include, for example, a user's profile picture, name, nickname, etc., although the particular type of content does not limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0097] It should be noted that one or more pieces of content may be modulated before being presented to the viewer, and that additional functionality may be provided to demodulate the content, as will be described in more detail and illustrated in Figures 6-8 below.

[0098] When a user leaves a live streaming room, the user can join another live streaming room or return to the matching service with others. The user's departure may be due to the user's own discretion or due to the user receiving information that disallows the user from participating in the live streaming. The user may also leave the room for various reasons, depending on the embodiment. Furthermore, whether the user joins another live streaming room or returns to the matching service with others may be determined based on user input or may be determined according to the service's policy, and various other embodiments exist in this regard.

[0099] FIG. 5 is an operational flow diagram illustrating a method for providing information in the host terminal 130 according to one embodiment.

[0100] 5, in relation to a user requesting to use a matching service for matching with others, the host terminal 130 according to an embodiment checks whether to provide the user with an opportunity to participate in the host's live streaming room 501. As described above, the determination of whether to provide the live streaming participation service may be made by the server 120, and the host terminal 130 may receive the determination result from the server 120 and check whether to provide the user with an opportunity to participate. In addition, with regard to whether to provide the live streaming participation service, at least a portion of the operation of the server 120 described above may be performed by the host terminal 130, and in that case, the above description may also apply, as described above.

[0101] For example, when the host terminal 130 checks whether to provide a user with an opportunity to participate in a host's live streaming room, the host terminal 130 may receive user information from the user terminal 110 or the server 120 and determine whether to allow the user to participate in the streaming room based on the filter conditions, instead of transmitting filter conditions set for each of multiple live streaming rooms to the server 120 (i.e., instead of the operation of reference numeral 401 in FIG. 4). In this way, by determining whether the user can participate in each of one or more hosts' broadcasts, the host terminal 130 may determine one or more live streaming rooms to provide the user with an opportunity to participate (this is partially related to the operation of reference numeral 402 in FIG. 4, but this operation is executed in the host terminal 130).

[0102] When the server 120 determines whether to provide a live streaming participation service (for example, related to the operation of reference numeral 302 in FIG. 3), the server 120 according to one embodiment may provide user information to the host terminal 130 (for example, related to the operation of reference numeral 305 in FIG. 3), and the host terminal 130 provided with the user information may confirm that the user has an opportunity to participate in the host's live streaming room.

[0103] If it is determined that the user will be offered the opportunity to participate in the host's live streaming room, the host terminal 130 may check the user's priority in relation to participating in the host's live streaming room 502. As described above, the user's priority may be determined by the server 120, and the host terminal 130 may receive the determination result from the server 120 and check whether to offer the user the opportunity to participate in the live streaming room. On the other hand, with regard to determining the user's priority, at least a part of the operations of the server 120 described above may be performed by the host terminal 130, and as already mentioned, the above description also applies in this case.

[0104] In some embodiments, when a user's priority is determined by the server 120, the "user information" provided by the server 120 (related to the operation of reference numeral 305 in FIG. 3) may further include user priority information.

[0105] Also, the "priority" should be understood as an example of information for determining whether a user's turn to join a live streaming room has come. That is, the operation of "checking user priority" in reference numeral 502 should be understood to include various operations of "checking information that is the basis for determining the order in which users join."

[0106] The host terminal 130 determines whether the user should join the live streaming room based on the priority 503, and if the user joins the live streaming room, can provide one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of the live streaming room 504. In some embodiments, the host terminal 130 can provide one or more pieces of content to viewers when it is the user's turn to join the live streaming room (even if the user has not actually joined), or can provide one or more pieces of content only after the user has joined the streaming room, and various other embodiments are within the scope of this disclosure.

[0107] According to one embodiment, when a user participates in a live broadcast, one or more pieces of information related to the user's participation in the live broadcast may be recorded. The entity performing the recording operation may include one or more of the user terminal 110, the server 120, and the host terminal 130, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the specific entity performing the recording operation.

[0108] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen for providing a live streaming participation service to a user who requests to use a matching service according to an embodiment.

[0109] 6, in one embodiment, when it is confirmed that a live streaming participation service will be provided to the user, the user terminal 110 provides the user with information related to participating in the live streaming, an example of which is shown on the left. The information related to participating in the live streaming may include information on one or more live streaming rooms offering the user the opportunity to participate, an example of which is shown at reference numeral 601. The information related to participating in the live streaming may also include an interface for obtaining the user's consent to the provision of the live streaming participation service, an example of which is shown at reference numeral 602.

[0110] The user's consent or refusal can be confirmed through the interface of reference numeral 602. In some embodiments, a "Don't confirm again" button may be further provided to the user, and if the user clicks the button, it may be determined that the user has explicitly consented or explicitly refused to be provided with the live streaming participation service thereafter.

[0111] When a user joins a live streaming room (e.g., when a user input corresponding to "Agree" is received in the interface indicated by reference numeral 602), an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal 110 is shown on the right. The user terminal 110 can provide one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of the live streaming room in which the user is participating. According to one example, the user terminal 110 can also provide (e.g., display on the screen) one or more pieces of content provided to viewers to the user, thereby enabling the user to see how content related to the user is displayed to others (see reference numeral 603). In addition, the user terminal 110 can be provided with information related to the host's live streaming room (e.g., real-time streaming video), an example of which is indicated by reference numeral 604.

[0112] On the other hand, when a user participates in a live broadcast, at least a portion of one or more pieces of content may be modulated and provided to viewers in the live broadcast room. "Modulation" may include, for example, masking part of the user's name, blurring the user's profile picture, or modulating the user's speech in real time. By providing modulated content in this manner, it is possible to prevent the user's personal information from being exposed to a large number of viewers as much as possible. There are also various embodiments regarding the entity and timing of the modulation operation, such as a case where the user terminal 110 modulates one or more pieces of content and transmits them to another device (e.g., the server 120 or the host terminal 130), or a case where the user terminal 110 provides unmodulated content, and the server 120 or the host terminal 130 modulates the information and provides it to viewers.

[0113] In some embodiments, when a person who has requested use of the matching service participates in a broadcast, the content is modulated and provided to the viewer, but when a viewer participates in a broadcast, the related content may be provided to other viewers without being modulated.

[0114] In some embodiments, even when a user becomes available to participate in a live streaming room, the user may not be allowed to participate immediately, but may be reconfirmed as to whether or not the user intends to participate. After confirming the user's intention to participate, one or more pieces of content related to the user (e.g., the content corresponding to drawing reference numeral 603) may be provided to the viewer. In this case, an example of an interface for reconfirming the user's intention to participate may be shown in drawing reference numeral 605. However, even in this case, the content corresponding to drawing reference numeral 603 may be displayed on the user terminal 110 (this content is not provided to the viewer, but is displayed for the user to confirm).

[0115] According to one embodiment, users participating in a broadcast may be provided with one or more functions for interacting with the host (e.g., a chat function with the host, a video call function with the host, etc.). In such cases, the function for interacting with the host may be displayed as an interface or the like on the user terminal 110. Furthermore, depending on the embodiment, various embodiments may be included within the scope of the present disclosure, such as providing the user with an interaction function first, and then allowing the user to participate in the live broadcast only after a subsequent action that satisfies a set condition occurs.

[0116] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of a screen for providing a live streaming participation service to a user who requests to use a matching service according to an embodiment.

[0117] Referring to FIG. 7, in one embodiment, when it is confirmed that a live streaming participation service is provided to a user, the user terminal 110 provides the user with information notifying the user that the user can participate in the live streaming (a type of information related to participating in the live streaming), an example of which is shown by reference numeral 701 on the left.

[0118] According to one embodiment, an interface for obtaining a user's consent to the provision of the live streaming participation service may be provided on a screen where the user has joined the live streaming room, an example of which is shown on the right as reference numeral 702. The interface for obtaining a user's consent may be displayed on a screen providing information related to participating in the live streaming, as shown as reference numeral 602, or may be displayed on a screen where the user has joined the live streaming room, as shown as reference numeral 702. Various embodiments may be possible with regard to specific methods of providing the interface.

[0119] The user terminal 110 can display one or more pieces of content to be provided to the viewer on the screen (see reference numeral 703), and can provide one or more pieces of content related to the user to the viewer only when the user's intention to participate is confirmed through the interface of reference numeral 702. Meanwhile, if the user declines the provision of the live streaming participation service, the user generally returns to the matching service, but the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and various embodiments may exist, for example, the user may be allowed to participate as a viewer of the live streaming (or whether or not the user intends to participate as a viewer may be confirmed).

[0120] Additionally, various embodiments may be within the scope of the present disclosure, such as providing modulated content to a viewer even before the user's intent to participate is confirmed, and providing de-modulated content to the viewer after receiving user input on an "Agree" button.

[0121] 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where one or more pieces of content related to a user are de-modulated and provided to viewers in a live streaming room, according to an embodiment. The example shown in FIG. 8 can be understood as a screen displayed on the user terminal 110.

[0122] Referring to FIG. 8 , in one embodiment, when a “set condition” is met, modulation of one or more pieces of content may be deactivated, and one or more pieces of unmodulated content may be provided to viewers of the live streaming room. In this regard, the set condition may include one or more of the following: an explicit user request; a viewer meeting a set criterion; and another person participating in the live streaming room meeting a set criterion. An example of a case where an explicit user request is made may include receiving a user input on the “Unblur” button (801). An example of a case where a viewer meets a set criterion may include a case where the total amount of goods paid by the viewer for the user (or host) after the user participates in the live streaming exceeds a set criterion. An example of a case where another person participating in the live streaming room meets a set criterion may include a case where a competition is held among multiple participants in the live streaming room, and modulation is deactivated for the remaining participants who lost due to some participants winning.

[0123] FIG. 9 illustrates an example related to multiple participants participating in a live broadcast. The example illustrated in FIG. 9 may be understood as a screen displayed on the user terminal 110. Further referring to FIG. 9 , a live broadcast room may have multiple participation slots. In this case, multiple participants can simultaneously participate in the live broadcast room by arranging participants in each participation slot. Furthermore, the multiple participation slots do not necessarily need to be fixedly allocated to a single type of participant. That is, according to an embodiment, some of the multiple participation slots may be allocated to those who request to use the matching service, and the rest may be allocated to viewers of the live broadcast room. For example, the participation slot designated by reference numeral 901 may be allocated to those who request to use the matching service with others, and the participation slot designated by reference numeral 902 may be allocated to general viewers.

[0124] It should be noted that each slot does not necessarily have to be fixedly assigned to a specific type of participant; various embodiments are possible, such as all participants being general viewers or all participants requesting use of the matching service, as long as they meet the participation conditions.

[0125] On the other hand, in the example of Fig. 9, the content with drawing code 901 has an "Unblur" button, but the content with drawing code 902 does not have an "Unblur" button, which may be because the screen of Fig. 9 is a screen provided to a user corresponding to the content with drawing code 901. However, apart from this, if the person corresponding to the content with drawing code 902 is a general viewer, there may be cases where content that has not been modulated is provided to other viewers (as described above in relation to the related embodiments).

[0126] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where a user receives instruction information disallowing the user from participating in a live broadcast while the user is participating in the live broadcast, according to an embodiment. The examples shown on the left and right sides of FIG. 10 can be understood as screens displayed on the user terminal 110.

[0127] Referring to FIG. 10 , according to one embodiment, while a user who has requested to use a matching service with others is participating in a host's streaming room (1001), the host can adjust the streaming filter conditions to deny the requester from participating in the streaming (e.g., displaying “VC guest mode OFF”). In this case, the host terminal 130 can transmit instruction information denying the user's participation in the live streaming to at least one of the server 120 and the user terminal 110 (if transmitted to the server 120, the server 120 may forward the information to the user terminal 110). When instruction information denying the user's participation in the live streaming is obtained, the user terminal 110 can stop providing at least some of the information related to participating in the live streaming. For example, in the example of drawing reference numeral 1002, one or more pieces of content related to the user may no longer be displayed on the user terminal 110, thereby allowing the user to understand that they are no longer participating in the host's streaming and that one or more pieces of content related to the user are no longer being provided to viewers.

[0128] FIG. 11 is an example of the configuration of a user terminal 110 according to an embodiment.

[0129] 11, the user terminal 110 includes a transceiver 1110, a processor 1120, and a memory 1130. The user terminal 110 is connected to a server 120, a host terminal 130, other external devices, etc. via the transceiver 1110, and can exchange data with them.

[0130] The processor 1120 may include at least one device described above in Figures 1 through 10 or may perform at least one method described above in Figures 1 through 10. The memory 1130 may store information for performing at least one method described above in Figures 1 through 10. The memory 1130 may be volatile or non-volatile memory.

[0131] The processor 1120 can execute programs and control the user terminal 110 to provide information. Code for the programs executed by the processor 1120 can be stored in the memory 1130.

[0132] In addition, the user terminal 110 according to an embodiment may further include an interface for providing information to the user.

[0133] Although the present specification and drawings disclose preferred embodiments of the present invention, even if specific terms are used, they are used in a general sense to easily explain the technical content of the present invention and to aid in understanding the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical concept of the present invention can be implemented in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0134] The recommendation server, electronic device, or terminal according to the above-described embodiments may include a processor, memory for storing and executing program data, permanent storage such as a disk drive, a communication port for communicating with external devices, and user interface devices such as a touch panel, keys, and buttons. A method implemented by a software module or algorithm may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium as computer-readable code or program instructions executable on the processor. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic recording media (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and optical recording media (e.g., CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD)). Furthermore, the computer-readable recording media may be distributed across computer systems connected via a network, allowing the computer-readable code to be stored and executed in a distributed manner. The medium may be read by a computer, stored in memory, and executed by a processor.

[0135] The present embodiments may be expressed in terms of functional blocks and various processing steps. These functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and / or software entities that perform specific functions. For example, the present embodiments may employ integrated circuitry, such as memory, processing, logic, and look-up tables, to perform various functions with one or more microprocessors or other control devices. While components may be implemented in software programming or software elements, the present embodiments may include various algorithms implemented using a combination of data structures, processes, routines, and other programming entities, and may be implemented in programming / scripting languages ​​such as C, C++, Java, assembler, and Python. Functional aspects may be implemented as algorithms executed by one or more processors. The present embodiments may also employ conventional techniques for electronic configuration, signal processing, data processing, and the like. Terms such as "mechanism," "element," "means," and "entity" are used broadly and are not limited to mechanical or physical entities. These terms may also refer to a series of operations (routines) in software in conjunction with a processor or the like.

[0136] The above-described embodiments are by way of example only and other embodiments are possible within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method for providing information at a user terminal, comprising: obtaining an input requesting use of a matching service to match with others; a step of confirming whether to provide the user with a live streaming participation service in response to an input requesting use of the matching service; providing the user with information related to participating in the live streaming when it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service will be provided to the user; and providing one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of a live streaming room in which the user participates; How to provide information, including:

2. The step of confirming whether to provide the live streaming participation service to the user includes: acquiring, from a server, information instructing whether or not to provide the user with a live streaming participation service; The method for providing information described in claim 1, characterized in that the server checks one or more pieces of information related to the user, and determines whether to provide the user with a live streaming participation service based on the one or more pieces of information.

3. One or more pieces of information related to the user: information indicating the user's preferences related to the provision of the live streaming participation service; and information about the user's history of attempts to match with other users; 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising one or more of:

4. History information related to cases where the live streaming participation service has been provided to the user in the past; and history information relating to past attempts to provide the live streaming participation service to the user; 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the information indicative of the user's preferences is obtained based on one or more of:

5. Information related to participating in the live broadcast: Information on one or more live streaming rooms that provide the user with an opportunity to participate; and waiting information of the user for the one or more live streaming rooms; 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising one or more of:

6. In connection with the person requesting use of the matching service participating in a streaming room, a filter condition set for each of the plurality of live streaming rooms is confirmed in a server; The method for providing information according to claim 5 , wherein the one or more live streaming rooms are determined by the server from among the plurality of live streaming rooms based on the filter condition.

7. The filter condition is: Whether or not the person requesting the use of the matching service is permitted to participate in the live streaming room; and the conditions that a person requesting the use of the matching service must meet in order to participate in the live streaming room; 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising one or more of:

8. The filter condition is: The method for providing information according to claim 6, wherein the setting function is provided to the host of the live streaming room in exchange for paying a good.

9. The method for providing information described in claim 5, characterized in that the user's waiting information is obtained by a server based on at least part of the user's priority related to participating in the one or more live streaming rooms, the priority of others requesting to use the matching service, and the priority of viewers of the one or more live streaming rooms.

10. The method for providing information described in claim 9, characterized in that, assuming that the user is a viewer of one or more live streaming rooms, the priority of the user is determined by the server based on logic for selecting streaming participants from among the viewers.

11. When there are multiple participation slots related to a specific live streaming room included in the one or more live streaming rooms, The method of providing information described in claim 5, characterized in that a portion of the plurality of participation slots are allocated for participation by persons requesting use of the matching service, and the remainder are allocated for participation by viewers of the specific live streaming room.

12. The step of providing information related to participating in the live broadcast includes:

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising providing a function for interacting with a host of the one or more live streaming rooms.

13. In connection with one or more live streaming rooms that provide the user with an opportunity to participate, Assuming that one or more hosts corresponding to each of the one or more live streaming rooms have requested to use the matching service, a server determines a matching suitability between the user and the one or more hosts based on a matching logic of the matching service; The method of claim 1 , wherein the server determines a live streaming room in which the user will participate based on the matching suitability.

14. If, while the user is participating in a live broadcast, information instructing that the user's participation in the live broadcast is not permitted is obtained, The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of ceasing provision of at least a portion of the information associated with participating in the live broadcast.

15. When the user participates in a live broadcast, 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording one or more pieces of information related to the user's participation in a live broadcast.

16. The method for providing information according to claim 1 , wherein when the user participates in a live broadcast, at least a portion of the one or more contents is modulated and provided to viewers in the live broadcast room.

17. When a set condition is met, the modulation is cancelled and the one or more unmodulated contents are provided to viewers of the live streaming room; 17. The method of providing information described in claim 16, wherein the set conditions include one or more of: when there is an explicit request from the user; when the viewer meets set criteria; and when other people who have joined the live streaming room meet set criteria.

18. A computer-readable non-transitory recording medium having a program recorded thereon for causing a computer to execute the method of claim 1.

19. A terminal of a user who provides information, a transceiver, a memory for storing instructions, and a processor; the processor is coupled to the transceiver and the memory; Obtaining an input requesting use of a matching service to match with others; confirming whether to provide a live streaming participation service to the user in response to an input requesting use of the matching service; A user's terminal that, when it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service will be provided to the user, provides the user with information related to participating in the live streaming and provides one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of the live streaming room in which the user is participating.

20. 1. A method of providing information at a server, comprising: A step of confirming whether to provide a live streaming participation service to a user who requests to use a matching service for matching with other users; When it is confirmed that the live streaming participation service is to be provided to the user, acquiring information on one or more live streaming rooms that will provide the user with an opportunity to participate; providing information of the user to at least some of the terminals of one or more hosts in association with each of the one or more live streaming rooms; How to provide information, including:

21. 1. A method for providing information at a host terminal, comprising: In relation to a user who requests to use a matching service for matching with others, confirming whether the user is offered an opportunity to participate in the host's live streaming room; When it is confirmed that the user is to be provided with an opportunity to participate in the host's live streaming room, confirming the user's priority in relation to participating in the host's live streaming room; determining whether the user will participate in the live streaming room based on the priority; When the user participates in the live streaming room, providing one or more pieces of content related to the user to viewers of the live streaming room; How to provide information, including:

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