Server, program and information processing method

Abstract

To provide a server, a program, and an information processing method that accurately display already-read information of a content.SOLUTION: A server that transmits to a second terminal a content transmitted from a first terminal includes: a control unit that performs control to detect that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal; and a communication unit that when it is detected that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal, transmits first information indicating that the content has not been transmitted, to the first terminal. When already-read information indicating that the content has been browsed is being displayed on a display unit of the first terminal, the first terminal performs control to hide the already-read information in response to the reception of the first information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a server, a program, and an information processing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technique for notifying other users that a recipient has viewed content etc. transmitted between terminals. For example, when content is displayed on the terminal of the recipient, a read notification for the content is transmitted from the terminal of the recipient via a server to the terminal of the sender (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-188239 Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a server transmits content sent from a first terminal to a second terminal, and includes a control unit that performs control to detect that the content has not been sent to the second terminal, and a communication unit that, when it is detected that the content has not been sent to the second terminal, transmits first information to the first terminal indicating that the content has not been sent, and when read information indicating that the content has been viewed is displayed on the display unit of the first terminal, the first terminal performs control to hide the read information based on the reception of the first information. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program executed by a server that transmits content transmitted from a first terminal to a second terminal, wherein the server performs control by a control unit of the server to detect that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal, and when it is detected that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal, the server performs control by a communication unit of the server to transmit first information indicating that the content has not been transmitted to the first terminal, and when read information indicating that the content has been viewed is displayed on a display unit of the first terminal, the first terminal performs control to hide the read information based on the reception of the first information. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing method of a server that transmits content transmitted from a first terminal to a second terminal, the method including: detecting, by a control unit of the server, that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal; and, when it is detected that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal, transmitting, by a communication unit of the server, first information indicating that the content has not been transmitted to the first terminal; and, when read information indicating that the content has been viewed is displayed on a display unit of the first terminal, the first terminal controls, based on the reception of the first information, to hide the read information. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a program is executed by a terminal that transmits content to a first terminal via a server, and when the server detects that a first content transmitted from the terminal has not been transmitted to the first terminal, the program receives first information indicating that the first content has not been transmitted by a communication unit of the terminal, and when read information indicating that the first content has been viewed is displayed on a display unit of the terminal in association with the first content, the program is executed by the terminal to control a control unit of the terminal to hide the read information displayed in association with the first content based on the reception of the first information. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0005] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration according to an embodiment. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by a control unit of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by a communication unit of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a storage unit of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which content that has failed to be transmitted is not displayed on the terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an error in which read information is displayed for content that has failed to be sent. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of hiding read information in which an error has occurred. [Figure 9] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of retransmitting content that has failed to be transmitted. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of displaying read information for retransmitted content. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of displaying a third content based on a first content. [Figure 13] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of deleting content that has failed to be transmitted; [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of retransmitting content that has failed to be transmitted in the third modified example (3). [Figure 16] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which content that has failed to be transmitted is not displayed on the terminal in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an error in which read information is displayed for content that has failed to be transmitted in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 19]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of hiding read information in which an error has occurred in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an error in which read information is displayed for content that has failed to be transmitted in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of retransmitting a third content based on a first content that has failed to be transmitted in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of displaying the first content and the third content in the fifth modified example (1). [Figure 24] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 25] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of displaying retransmission-related information regarding the transmission of the third content in the sixth embodiment. [Figure 26] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the sixth modified example (1). [Figure 27] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of displaying information indicating that the third content is a retransmitted content and information indicating that the first content is an error in the sixth modified example (3). [Figure 28] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of displaying content in a chat room in the seventh embodiment. [Figure 29] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device according to the eighth embodiment. [Figure 30] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processes executed by each device according to the eighth modified example (4). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0006] <Compliance with legal matters> It should be noted that the disclosures set forth herein are subject to compliance with the laws of the country of implementation, such as communications privacy, as required for the implementation of the disclosures.

[0007] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment for implementing a server, a program, and an information processing method according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0008] [System Configuration] 1 shows the configuration of a system 1 including a server according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, in the system 1, a server 10 and terminals 20 (terminal 20A, terminal 20B, terminal 20C, etc.) are connected via a network 30.

[0009] The server 10 has a function of communicating with the terminals 20 via the network 30. The number of terminals 20 connected to the server 10 is not limited.

[0010] The network 30 serves to connect one or more servers 10 and one or more terminals 20. In other words, the network 30 refers to a communication network that provides connection paths so that data can be transmitted and received between the various devices described above.

[0011] One or more portions of network 30 may or may not be a wired or wireless network. Network 30 may include, by way of example and not limitation, 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), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a cellular network, integrated service digital networks (ISDN), wireless LAN, long term evolution (LTE), code division multiple access (CDMA), Bluetooth, satellite communications, etc., or a combination of two or more thereof. Network 30 may include one or more networks 30.

[0012] The terminal 20 is a terminal used by users to transmit and receive content to and from each other, and constitutes the first terminal, second terminal, and third terminal of the present disclosure. The terminal 20 may be any information processing terminal capable of implementing the functions described in each embodiment. Examples of the terminal 20 include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones (feature phones), computers (such as, but not limited to, desktops, laptops, and tablets), media computer platforms (such as, but not limited to, cable and satellite set-top boxes and digital video recorders), handheld computer devices (such as, but not limited to, personal digital assistants (PDAs), email clients, and the like), wearable devices (such as, but not limited to, glasses-type devices and watch-type devices), and other types of computers or communication platforms. The terminal 20 may also be referred to as an information processing terminal.

[0013] Furthermore, as necessary, user information in a predetermined service associated with the terminal 20 is expressed as user information X. Note that the user information is information of a user associated with an account used by the user in the predetermined service. The user information includes, by way of example and not limitation, information associated with a user, such as the user's name, an icon image of the user, the user's age, the user's gender, the user's address, the user's hobbies and interests, a user identifier, a list of the user's friends and acquaintances, etc., which is input by the user or assigned by the predetermined service, and may be any one of these, or a combination thereof, or may not be the same.

[0014] [Hardware (HW) configuration of each device] The hardware configuration of each device included in the system 1 will be described.

[0015] (1) Hardware configuration of the terminal FIG. 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal 20. The terminal 20 includes a control unit 21 (CPU: central processing unit), a memory unit 28, a communication unit 22, an input / output unit 23, a display unit 24, a microphone 25, a speaker 26, and a camera 27. The hardware components of the terminal 20 are connected to each other via a bus, for example and not by way of limitation. It is not essential that the hardware configuration of the terminal 20 includes all of the components. For example and not by way of limitation, the terminal 20 may or may not be configured such that individual components, such as the microphone 25, the camera 27, or multiple components, are detachable.

[0016] The communication unit 22 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication is possible. The communication unit 22 has a function of communicating with various devices such as the server 10 via the network 30. The communication unit 22 transmits various data to various devices such as the server 10 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 21. The communication unit 22 also receives various data transmitted from various devices such as the server 10 and transmits it to the control unit 21. When the communication unit 22 is configured as a physically structured circuit, it may also be referred to as a communication circuit.

[0017] The input / output unit 23 includes a device for inputting various operations to the terminal 20 and a device for outputting processing results processed by the terminal 20. The input / output unit 23 may be an integrated input unit and an output unit, or may be separate input unit and output unit, or may not be so.

[0018] The input unit is realized by any one or combination of all types of devices that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 21. Examples of the input unit include, but are not limited to, hardware keys such as a touch panel, a touch display, and a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, a camera (for inputting operations via moving images), and a microphone (for inputting operations by voice).

[0019] The output unit is realized by any one or a combination of all kinds of devices that can output the processing results processed by the control unit 21. Examples of the output unit include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a speaker (audio output), a lens (for example, but not limited to, 3D (three dimensions) output or hologram output), a printer, etc.

[0020] The display unit 24 is realized by any one of all types of devices or a combination thereof that can display according to the display data written to the frame buffer. Examples of the display unit 24 include, but are not limited to, a touch panel, a touch display, a monitor (for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED)), a head mounted display (HDM), projection mapping, a hologram, and a device that can display images, text information, etc. in air (which may or may not be a vacuum). Note that these display units 24 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D.

[0021] When the input / output unit 23 is a touch panel, the input / output unit 23 and the display unit 24 may be disposed opposite each other and have approximately the same size and shape.

[0022] The control unit 21 has a circuit physically structured to execute the functions realized by the code or instructions contained in the program, and is realized by, for example and without limitation, a data processing device built into hardware. Therefore, the control unit 21 may or may not be expressed as a control circuit.

[0023] The control unit 21 includes, by way of example and not limitation, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0024] The storage unit 28 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the terminal 20. The storage unit 28 includes, but is not limited to, various storage media such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), and a read only memory (ROM). The storage unit 28 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0025] Terminal 20 stores a program in storage unit 28, and by executing this program, control unit 21 executes the processing of each unit included in control unit 21. In other words, the program stored in storage unit 28 causes terminal 20 to realize each function executed by control unit 21. Furthermore, this program may or may not be expressed as a program module.

[0026] The microphone 25 is used to input audio data, the speaker 26 is used to output audio data, and the camera 27 is used to acquire video data.

[0027] (2) Server hardware configuration FIG. 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server 10. As shown in FIG. The server 10 includes, for example and not by way of limitation, a control unit 11 (CPU), a memory unit 15, a communication unit 14, an input / output unit 12, and a display 13. The components of the HW of the server 10 are connected to each other via a bus, for example and not by way of limitation. It is not essential that the HW of the server 10 include all of the components. For example and not by way of limitation, the HW of the server 10 may or may not be configured so that the display 13 is detachable.

[0028] The control unit 11 has circuits physically structured to execute the functions realized by the codes or instructions contained in the program, and is realized by, for example and not by way of limitation, a data processing device built into hardware.

[0029] The control unit 11 is typically a central processing unit (CPU), but may also be a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an ASIC, or an FPGA. In the present disclosure, the control unit 11 is not limited to these.

[0030] The storage unit 15 has a function of storing various programs and various data required for the operation of the server 10. The storage unit 15 is realized by various storage media such as an HDD, an SSD, and a flash memory. However, in the present disclosure, the storage unit 15 is not limited to these. Furthermore, the storage unit 15 may or may not be expressed as a memory.

[0031] The communication unit 14 transmits and receives various data via the network 30. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication is possible. The communication unit 14 has a function of communicating with various devices such as the terminal 20 via the network 30. The communication unit 14 transmits various data to various devices such as the terminal 20 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 11. The communication unit 14 also receives various data transmitted from various devices such as the terminal 20 and transmits it to the control unit 11. When the communication unit 14 is configured as a physically structured circuit, it may be referred to as a communication circuit.

[0032] The input / output unit 12 is realized by a device that inputs various operations to the server 10. The input / output unit 12 is realized by any one of or a combination of all types of devices that can accept input from a user and transmit information related to the input to the control unit 11. The input / output unit 12 is typically realized by hardware keys such as a keyboard or a pointing device such as a mouse. Note that the input / output unit 12 may or may not include, for example, a touch panel, a camera (for inputting operations via moving images), or a microphone (for inputting operations via voice). However, in the present disclosure, the input / output unit 12 is not limited to these.

[0033] The display 13 is typically realized by a monitor (for example, but not limited to, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence display (OLED)). The display 13 may or may not be a head-mounted display (HDM) or the like. These displays 13 may or may not be capable of displaying display data in 3D. In the present disclosure, the display 13 is not limited to these.

[0034] (5) Other Server 10 stores a program in storage unit 15, and by executing this program, control unit 11 executes the processing of each unit included in control unit 11. In other words, the program stored in storage unit 15 causes server 10 to realize each function executed by control unit 11. This program may or may not be expressed as a program module.

[0035] In each embodiment of the present disclosure, the description will be given assuming that the CPU of the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 executes a program to realize the present invention.

[0036] The control unit 11 of the server 10 and / or the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may or may not realize each process not only by a CPU having a control circuit but also by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), or a dedicated circuit. These circuits may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and multiple processes shown in each embodiment may or may not be realized by a single integrated circuit. LSIs are sometimes referred to as VLSIs, super LSIs, ultra LSIs, etc., depending on the degree of integration. Therefore, the control units 11 and 21 may or may not be referred to as control circuits.

[0037] Furthermore, the programs of the embodiments of the present disclosure (for example, but not limited to, software programs, computer programs, or program modules) may or may not be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can store the programs in a "non-transitory tangible medium." The programs may or may not be for realizing part of the functions of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the programs may or may not be what can realize the functions of the embodiments of the present disclosure in combination with a program already recorded on a storage medium, that is, what is called a difference file (difference program).

[0038] The storage medium may include one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits (ICs) (such as, by way of example and not limitation, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or application-specific ICs (ASICs)), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid hard drives (HHDs), optical disks, optical disk drives (ODDs), magneto-optical disks, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppy disk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid-state drives (SSDs), RAM drives, secure digital cards, or drives, any other suitable storage media, or any suitable combination of two or more of these. The storage medium may be volatile, nonvolatile, or a combination of volatile and nonvolatile, where appropriate. The storage medium is not limited to these examples and may be any device or medium capable of storing a program. Furthermore, the storage medium may or may not be referred to as memory.

[0039] The server 10 and / or the terminal 20 can implement the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment by reading out a program stored in a storage medium and executing the read out program.

[0040] Furthermore, the program of the present disclosure may or may not be provided to the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 via any transmission medium capable of transmitting a program (such as a communication network or broadcast waves). The server 10 and / or the terminal 20, by way of example and not limitation, executes a program downloaded via the Internet or the like to realize the functions of the multiple functional units shown in each embodiment.

[0041] Furthermore, each embodiment of the present disclosure may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which a program is embodied by electronic transmission. At least a part of the processing in the server 10 and / or the terminal 20 may or may not be realized by cloud computing configured by one or more computers. At least a part of the processing in the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 21 of the terminal 20 may or may not be performed by the server 10. At least a part of the processing in the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20. In this case, at least a part of the processing of each functional unit of the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not be performed by the terminal 20. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the judgment configuration in the embodiments of the present disclosure is not essential, and a predetermined process may or may not be performed when the judgment condition is met, or when the judgment condition is not met.

[0042] The programs of the present disclosure are implemented using, for example and without limitation, scripting languages ​​such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), and markup languages ​​such as HTML5.

[0043] Furthermore, to reiterate, the various programs and data in this disclosure can be stored (recorded) on a computer-readable storage medium (recording medium), including various storage media such as magnetic disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, and flash memories.

[0044] First Embodiment In recent years, services for transmitting and receiving content between terminals 20 have become widespread. In this case, the user who transmitted the content determines whether or not the receiving user has viewed the content based on the read information (e.g., read display, read mark, etc.) displayed on his / her own terminal 20. For this reason, it is required to accurately display the read information of the content.

[0045] The first embodiment is an embodiment in which, when it is detected that content transmitted from terminal 20A has not been transmitted from server 10 to terminal 20B, non-transmission information indicating that the content has not been transmitted to terminal 20B is transmitted to terminal 20A. The contents described in the first embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0046] <Functional configuration> (1) Server functional configuration FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by the control unit 11 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The control unit 11 includes, for example and not by way of limitation, a server main processing unit 111 and a non-transmission detection unit 112 .

[0047] The server main processing unit 111 has a function of executing server main processing, which is processing for comprehensively controlling the server 10, in accordance with a server main processing program 151 stored in the storage unit 15. Here, when the server main processing unit 111 receives content from the transmitting terminal 20A that transmitted the content, it controls transmission of the content to the receiving terminal 20B. For example, when the server main processing unit 111 receives content transmitted from the terminal 20A to the terminal 20B, it controls transmission of the content to the terminal 20B.

[0048] The non-transmission detection unit 112 executes a non-transmission detection process in accordance with a non-transmission detection program 1511 stored in the storage unit 15 to detect whether the content has not been transmitted from the server 10 to the receiving terminal 20B.

[0049] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of functions realized by the communication unit 14 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The communication unit 14 includes, for example and not by way of limitation, a communication main processing unit 141 and an untransmitted information transmitting unit 142 .

[0050] The communication main processing unit 141 has a function of executing a communication main processing, which is a processing for transmitting and receiving content to and from the terminal 20, under the control of the control unit 11.

[0051] Under the control of the control unit 11, the unsent information transmitting unit 142 executes an unsent information transmitting process for transmitting unsent information indicating that the content has not been transmitted to the receiving terminal 20B to the transmitting terminal 20A in accordance with the unsent information transmitting program 1512 stored in the storage unit 15. At this time, when it is detected that the content has not been transmitted from the communication unit 14 to the receiving terminal 20B, the unsent information transmitting unit 142 transmits the unsent information to the transmitting terminal 20A. The untransmitted information constitutes an example of first information of the present disclosure.

[0052] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in this embodiment. The storage unit 15 stores, by way of example and not limitation, a server main processing program 151 that is read by the control unit 11 and executed as a server main processing program. Furthermore, the server main processing program 151 includes, as a subroutine program, a non-transmission detection program 1511, which is read by the control unit 11 and executed as non-transmission detection processing, as an example and not a limitation. Furthermore, the server main processing program 151 includes, as a subroutine program, an untransmitted information transmission program 1512, which is read by the control unit 11 and executed as untransmitted information transmission processing in the communication unit 14, as a non-limiting example.

[0053] Furthermore, in the storage unit 15, user information 152 is stored, for example and not by way of limitation.

[0054] The user information 152 is information for transmitting and receiving content between the terminals 20. The user information 152 includes, by way of example and not limitation, identification information of the terminal 20 (e.g., the user's name, identification number, user ID, telephone number, etc.), a list of the user's friends, acquaintances, etc.

[0055] <Information Processing> 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment. From the left, the flowchart shows an example of processing executed by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A, the control unit 11 of the server 10, and the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B. For example, terminal 20A may constitute a first terminal of the present disclosure, and terminal 20B may constitute a second terminal of the present disclosure.

[0056] Each step in each process is indicated by a combination of an uppercase letter and a number, and the term "step" is omitted in this specification. Furthermore, the flowcharts described below are merely examples of the processing in this embodiment, and some steps in the flowcharts described below may not be executed, or additional steps may be inserted. The same applies to other flowcharts in this specification.

[0057] First, for example, user A operates input / output unit 23 of terminal 20A to input a transmission instruction to transmit content addressed to user B to terminal 20B. This causes control unit 21 of terminal 20A to transmit the content addressed to user B along with user information of terminal 20B to server 10 via communication unit 22 (A1). Note that the content may be in any form capable of transmitting information such as a message, and may be composed of, for example, text information, image information, and audio information. For example, the content may include messages, images, videos, audio, contact information (e.g., a messenger ID), file information, stamps, location information, music information, advertisements, image information, chat event information (e.g., event information for which a message was canceled), gift information, link information (e.g., image information or summary information sent based on a URL transmission), call information (content displayed after a call is made), remittance information, and the like.

[0058] When the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives the content transmitted from the terminal 20A via the communication unit 14, the control unit 11 associates the content with the user information and stores the content in the storage unit 15. At this time, the control unit 11 stores the content in the storage unit 15 in association with the order in which the content was received.

[0059] Next, the control unit 11 performs a transmission process to transmit the content stored in the storage unit 15 to the terminal 20B based on the user information (B1). At this time, it is assumed that the process of transmitting the content to the terminal 20B has failed and the content has not been transmitted to the terminal 20B.

[0060] 6, when the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits the contents M1 and M2 addressed to the user B, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to display the content M2, which was transmitted after the content M1, at a position below the position at which the content M1 was displayed (the content M2 is displayed after the content M1). On the other hand, if the contents M1 and M2 are not transmitted from the server 10 to the terminal 20B, the contents M1 and M2 are not received by the terminal 20B, and the contents M1 and M2 are not displayed on the terminal 20B. Therefore, the terminal 20B does not return a read notification for the contents M1 and M2 to the server 10, and the terminal 20A does not normally display read information indicating that the contents M1 and M2 have been viewed.

[0061] The read notification is a notification indicating that the content has been viewed and is transmitted from terminal 20B that received the content, and may include, for example, identification information of the viewed content and identification information of terminal 20B. The read information is information indicating that the content has been viewed by terminal A that transmitted the content, and may include, for example, text information indicating "read" and the time of transmission.

[0062] However, as shown in FIG. 7, if the contents M1 and M2 are not sent from the server 10 to the terminal 20B, an error may occur in which the read information R1 and R2 for the contents M1 and M2 is displayed on the terminal 20A even though the user B has not viewed the contents M1 and M2.

[0063] For example, the server 10 includes a server main body that manages the transmission and reception of content, and a storage server that stores content, etc. Content transmitted from the terminal 20A is received by the server main body, and then transmitted from the server main body to the storage server where it is stored. Subsequently, the server main body transmits and receives transmission information (e.g., user information) for transmitting the content to and from the storage server, and transmits the content to the receiving terminal 20B. In such a server 10, if a problem occurs in any of the processes from receiving content from terminal 20A to transmitting it to terminal 20B, for example, in any of the transmission processes after transmitting content from the server main body to the storage server, an error may occur in the read information R1 and R2 on terminal 20A.

[0064] Therefore, the control unit 11 of the server 10 detects that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B (B2). For example, if a problem occurs in any of the transmission processes after the contents M1 and M2 are transmitted from the server main body to the storage server, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may or may not detect that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted. In this case, the control unit 11 may or may not detect the problem in the transmission process based on, for example, a log of when the contents M1 and M2 were transmitted.

[0065] Next, when the communication unit 14 of the server 10 detects that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B, it transmits non-transmission information indicating that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20A (B3).

[0066] When the communication unit 22 of terminal 20A receives the unsent information transmitted from server 10, the control unit 21 of terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to hide the read information R1 and R2 based on the unsent information (A2). Specifically, the control unit 21 determines whether the read information R1 and R2 of the contents M1 and M2 is displayed on the display unit 24. Then, as shown in Fig. 8, if the read information R1 and R2 of the contents M1 and M2 is displayed on the display unit 24, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to hide the read information R1 and R2, for example, by erasing them or replacing them with different information, based on the reception of the unsent information (A2).

[0067] At this time, the control unit 21 may control the display unit 24 to, for example and not by way of limitation, hide only the text information "read" from among the read information, and maintain the display of the sent time.

[0068] <Effects of the first embodiment> In the first embodiment, when the communication unit 14 of the server 10 detects that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B, the communication unit 14 transmits untransmitted information of the contents M1 and M2 (not limiting, but an example of first information indicating that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted) to the terminal 20A. Then, when the read information of the contents M1 and M2 is displayed on the display unit 24, the terminal 20A performs control to hide the read information of the contents M1 and M2 based on the reception of the untransmitted information. One example of the effect of this configuration is that information about content that has already been read can be displayed accurately.

[0069] In the first embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may control the display unit 24 to hide only the text information "read" from among the read information, and maintain the display of the sent time. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A of terminal 20A can know the time when an error in the read information occurred.

[0070] In addition, in the first embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 detects that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted if a problem occurs in any of the transmission processes after the contents M1 and M2 are transmitted from the server main body to the storage server. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, since terminal 20A monitors transmission processes that are likely to cause errors in read information R1 and R2, there is no need to monitor all processes of server 10, for example, all logs, and the processing load of server 10 can be reduced.

[0071] <First Modification> In the first embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 detected that the contents M1 and M2 had not been transmitted based on an error in the transmission process, but this is not limited to the above, as long as it can detect that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B. For example, if an error occurs in any of the processes from receiving the contents M1 and M2 from the terminal 20A to transmitting them to the terminal 20B, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may detect that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted. As an example of the effect of this modification, non-transmission of the contents M1 and M2 can be detected over a wide range.

[0072] Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, when the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A receives unsent information from the server 10, it determines whether or not the read information R1 and R2 of the contents M1 and M2 are displayed. However, this is not limited to this, as long as the read information R1 and R2 of the contents M1 and M2 can be hidden. In the second embodiment, the unsent information transmitted from the server 10 to the terminal 20A includes non-display information for hiding read information. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a repeated description will be omitted. The contents described in the second embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0073] <Information Processing> First, as in the first embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 detects that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B, i.e., the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted (B2), as shown in Fig. 5. At this time, the control unit 11 determines that the non-transmission of the contents M1 and M2 may result in an error in displaying the read information R1 and R2 on the transmitting terminal 20A.

[0074] For example, the control unit 11 may store logs for multiple transmission processes for transmitting the contents M1 and M2, and if an error occurs in at least one of the multiple transmission processes, the control unit 11 may detect the contents M1 and M2 in which the error occurred as contents for which read information R1 and R2 is displayed, even though the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B.

[0075] In this case, the control unit 11 transmits to the terminal 20A unsent information including non-display information for hiding the read information R1 and R2 of the contents M1 and M2 that have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B (B3).

[0076] 8, when the unsent information transmitted from the server 10 is received by the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20A, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to hide the read information R1 and R2 based on the non-display information (A2). That is, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to hide the read information R1 and R2 based on the reception of the unsent information from the server 10, without determining whether the read information R1 and R2 are displayed or not.

[0077] <Effects of the second embodiment> In the second embodiment, the unsent information includes non-display information (not limited to, an example of second information for hiding the read information R1 and R2) for hiding the read information R1 and R2 when the read information R1 and R2 indicating that the contents M1 and M2 have been viewed is displayed on the terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the terminal 20A can easily control the display of the read information R1 and R2 based on the non-display information transmitted from the server 10.

[0078] <Third embodiment> In the second embodiment, the unsent information includes non-display information for hiding the read information R1 and R2, but may include information other than the non-display information. The third embodiment is an embodiment in which image information indicating that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B is displayed on the terminal 20A. Note that the same components as those in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again. The contents described in the third embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0079] <Information Processing> FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment. Step B2 is a step of detecting non-transmission of contents M1 and M2 to terminal 20B in the flowchart shown in Fig. 5. At this time, control unit 11 of server 10 determines that non-transmission of contents M1 and M2 may cause an error in displaying read information R1 and R2 on transmitting terminal 20A.

[0080] First, similarly to the second embodiment, when the read information R1 and R2 of the contents M1 and M2 that have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B is displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits to the terminal 20A unsent information including non-display information for hiding the read information R1 and R2 (B3). At this time, the non-display information may include image display information for displaying on the terminal 20A image information indicating that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B.

[0081] When the unsent information transmitted from server 10 is received by communication unit 22 of terminal 20A, control unit 21 of terminal 20A controls display unit 24 to hide read information R1 and R2 based on the non-display information (A2). Also, control unit 21 controls display unit 24 to display image information indicating that contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to terminal 20B based on image display information included in the non-display information (A31).

[0082] For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 21 may control the display unit 24 to display image information E1 and E2 corresponding to content M1 and M2 based on the image display information. For example, when an input is made by touching image information E1 for content M1, the control unit 21 detects an operation on the image information E1 in response to the touch (A32). Then, when user A makes an operation on the image information E1, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 24 to display a selection screen S for selecting a resend button S1, a delete button S2, and a cancel button S3 on a screen (e.g., a pop-up window) separate from the screen on which content M1 is displayed (A33). In other words, the control unit 21 displays the selection screen S on a screen separate from the chat room on which content M1 is displayed. Note that a chat room is a place where content is exchanged between users (including a corporate server), as will be described later, and may also be referred to by other names, such as a talk room.

[0083] In this way, the image information E1 and E2 may include, for example and not by way of limitation, a selection screen S for resending or deleting the content M1 and M2 to the terminal 20B. Furthermore, the image information E1 and E2 may include, for example and not by way of limitation, control information for displaying the selection screen S.

[0084] Next, the control unit 21 determines whether the resend button S1 has been selected by the user A (A34). If the control unit 21 determines that the resend button S1 has been selected, it resends the content M1 addressed to the terminal 20B to the server 10 (A35). At this time, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to hide image information E1 indicating that the content M1 has not been transmitted to the terminal 20B, as shown in FIG.

[0085] Subsequently, when the server 10 receives the content M1 retransmitted from the terminal 20A, the server 10 stores the received content M1 in the storage unit 15 and then performs a transmission process to transmit the content M1 to the terminal 20B (B31). As a result, the content M1 retransmitted from the terminal 20A is received by the terminal 20B. Then, as shown in Fig. 11, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B controls the display unit 24 to display the retransmitted content M1 (C31).

[0086] As a result, content M1 that was not viewed due to a failed transmission from server 10 to terminal 20B is transmitted to terminal 20B and viewed by user B. Also, read information R1 of content M1 is transmitted from server 10 to terminal 20A, and control unit 21 of terminal 20A controls display unit 24 to display read information R1 of content M1 again. Note that, similarly to content M1, content M2 may also be retransmitted from terminal 20A to terminal 20B by user A making an input to image information E2.

[0087] The content M1 to be retransmitted may be content based on the previous content M1 that was not transmitted to the terminal 20B, and may be content different from the previous content M1. For example, the content M1 to be retransmitted may be content obtained by modifying the previous content M1, such as by adding a notice that it is a retransmission to the content of the previous content M1. 12, for example and not by way of limitation, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may control the display unit 24 to display third content M6 based on the first content M1, instead of the first content M1. The control unit 21 may also control the display unit 24 to display read information R6 of the third content M6 and not display image information E1.

[0088] On the other hand, if the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A determines in step A34 that the resend button S1 has not been selected, it determines whether the delete button S2 has been selected by the user A (A36), as shown in FIG. 13.

[0089] When the control unit 21 determines that the delete button S2 has been selected, it controls the display unit 24 to display a delete selection button D corresponding to the content, as shown in FIG. 14. Then, when the delete selection button D1 corresponding to the content M1 is selected by the user A, the control unit 21 displays a mark on the delete selection button D1. The control unit 21 may also display confirmation information Da, which finally confirms the deletion of the content M1, on a screen separate from the content M1. That is, the control unit 21 displays the confirmation information Da on a screen separate from the chat room in which the content M1 is displayed. When the delete button of the confirmation information Da is selected by the user A, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to delete the content M1 (A37).

[0090] Furthermore, if the control unit 21 determines in step A36 that the delete button S2 has not been selected, it determines whether or not the cancel button S3 has been selected by the user A (A38). If the control unit 21 determines that the cancel button S3 has been selected, it erases the selection screen S and returns to the original screen displaying the content (A39). Also, if the control unit 21 determines in step A38 that the cancel button S3 has not been selected, it returns to step A34 and repeats steps A34, A36 and A38 until the resend button S1, delete button S2 or cancel button S3 is selected.

[0091] <Effects of the third embodiment> In the third embodiment, the non-display information includes image display information (not limited to, but an example of information for displaying image information E1 and E2 on display unit 24 of terminal 20A) for hiding read information R1 and R2 displayed on terminal 20A and displaying image information E1 and E2 indicating that contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to terminal 20B on display unit 24 of terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, since image information E1 and E2 are displayed corresponding to contents M1 and M2, user A can easily understand that contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to terminal 20B.

[0092] In addition, in the third embodiment, the image information E1 and E2 may include a selection screen S (not limited to, but an example of information regarding resending the contents M1 and M2 to the terminal 20B) for resending or deleting the contents M1 and M2 to the terminal 20B when input is made to the image information E1 and E2 by the user A of the terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily retransmit the contents M1 and M2 that have not been transmitted to terminal 20B.

[0093] In addition, in the third embodiment, the image information E1 and E2 may include deletion information S2 regarding deleting the contents M1 and M2 when input is made to the image information E1 and E2 by user A of terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can easily delete the contents M1 and M2 that have not been transmitted to terminal 20B.

[0094] It is also possible for the server 10 to automatically resend the content M1 instead of the user A, but this may increase the processing load on the server 10. For example, a log relating to the sending and receiving of messages is saved, and the server 10 may determine by itself, based on the log, whether or not it is necessary to resend unsent content for which read information is erroneously displayed, and if resending is necessary, may automatically resend the content without confirming resending with the user who sent the content. However, this not only requires storing a huge amount of logs, but also poses a risk that, for example, if a reception block is set at the time of initial transmission and then released at the time of automatic retransmission, content transmitted when the reception block is set may be received by terminal 20B due to automatic retransmission. For example, consider a case where, when terminal 20A transmits content M1 addressed to user B in step A1, a reception block is set on terminal 20B to reject content from terminal 20A, and the reception block is released at the time of automatic retransmission by server 10. In this case, if server 10 automatically retransmits content M1 addressed to user B in step A35, content M1 transmitted from terminal 20A during the reception block may be received by terminal 20B. To avoid this, the block status at the time of transmission may be stored for each piece of content, and server 10 may check the stored block status for the content when attempting to automatically retransmit the content. However, this not only increases the burden of storing additional logs but also increases the processing load of server 10. Therefore, a simple configuration such as the third embodiment described above, in which user A is allowed to select whether or not retransmission is necessary, is considered to be effective.

[0095] <Third Modification (1)> In the third embodiment, the non-display information is configured to include, together with the image display information, image information E1 and E2 indicating that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B. When this non-display information is transmitted from the server 10 to the terminal 20A in step B3, the image information E1 and E2 are displayed corresponding to the contents M1 and M2, as shown in FIG. 10 . However, the non-display information is not limited to this, as long as it can display the image information E1 and E2 corresponding to the contents M1 and M2. For example, the terminal 20A may store the image information E1 and E2 in advance, and the non-display information may include only the image display information for displaying the image information E1 and E2 stored in the terminal 20A. One effect of this modification is that the amount of non-display information can be reduced.

[0096] <Third Modification (2)> In the third embodiment, the image display information is transmitted from the server 10 to the terminal 20A, but the present invention is not limited to this as long as the image information E1 and E2 can be displayed on the terminal 20A. For example, the terminal 20A may store the image display information in advance, and, based on reception of non-display information from the server 10, the control unit 21 may perform control to hide the read information R1 and R2 displayed on the terminal 20A and display the image information E1 and E2 on the display unit 24 in accordance with the image display information. As an example of the effect of this modification, the amount of non-display information can be further reduced.

[0097] <Third Modification (3)> In the third embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A displays the selection screen S and the confirmation information Da on a screen separate from the screen on which the content is displayed, but they may be displayed on the same screen as the content. For example, as shown in Fig. 15, when user A inputs image information E1, the selection screen S for selecting a resend button S1 or the like may be displayed on the same screen as the content, i.e., on the chat room (which may be called by another name such as on the talk room). As an example of the effect of this modified example, the resend button S1 can be easily selected.

[0098] <Fourth embodiment> In the fourth embodiment, when a second content is transmitted following a first content transmitted from terminal 20A to terminal 20B and it is confirmed that the second content has been viewed by user B, server 10 determines that the first content transmitted before the second content has also been viewed. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again. The contents described in the fourth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0099] <Information Processing> FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment.

[0100] First, as in the first embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits the first contents M1 and M2 addressed to the user B to the server 10 via the communication unit 22 (A1). When the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives the first contents M1 and M2 transmitted from the terminal 20A via the communication unit 14, the control unit 11 stores the first contents M1 and M2 in the storage unit 15 and performs a transmission process to transmit the first contents M1 and M2 to the terminal 20B (B1). At this time, it is assumed that the transmission process of the first contents has failed and the first contents M1 and M2 have not been received by the terminal 20B. At this stage, it is assumed that no display error has occurred in the read status information R1 and R2 for the untransmitted first contents M1 and M2 in the terminal 20A, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0101] 17, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits the second content M3 addressed to the user B to the server 10 via the communication unit 22 (A41). When the communication unit 14 receives the second content M3 transmitted from the terminal 20A, the control unit 11 of the server 10 stores the second content M3 in the storage unit 15 and performs a transmission process to transmit the second content M3 to the terminal 20B (B41). It is assumed that the transmission process of the second content M3 is successful, and the second content M3 is received by the terminal 20B. When the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B receives the second content M3 via the communication unit 22, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to display the second content M3 (C41). At this time, the first contents M1 and M2 have not been received on the display unit 24, so only the second content M3 is displayed.

[0102] When the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B detects that the user B has viewed the second content M3 based on an input to the input / output unit 23, the control unit 21 transmits a read notification indicating the viewing of the content to the server 10 (C42). Note that the detection of the viewing of the second content M3 is not limited to when a direct operation on the second content M3 is input from the input / output unit 23. For example, the control unit 21 may detect an operation on a chat room, such as user B opening a chat room, as the viewing of the second content M3.

[0103] A chat room is a place where content is exchanged between users (including corporate servers) using a service such as the server 10 or a messaging service provided by an application without a server. For example, the chat room may include a user interface that allows content sent by a user participating in the chat room 37 to be viewed by all users participating in the chat room 37. Users (including corporate servers) using the service of the server 10 or users associated with the chat room 37 can send content to the chat room 37. The users who can send messages to the chat room 37 can be set by the user who opened the chat room 37 or by users participating in the chat room 37. Users can also leave the chat room 37 at their discretion. The server 10 can also close the chat room 37 as needed. The chat room 37 may also be referred to by other names, such as a talk room. For example, opening a chat room in which users A and B are registered displays a screen showing the chat room in which users A and B exchange content.

[0104] When the communication unit 14 receives the read notification sent from the terminal 20B, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines based on the read notification that not only the second content M3 but also the first contents M1 and M2 sent before the second content M3 have been viewed by the user B (B42).

[0105] Next, terminal 20A requests server 10 to transmit read information for first contents M1 and M2 and second content M3 (A42). When terminal 20A requests transmission of read information, server 10 transmits read information indicating that first contents M1 and M2 and second content M3 have been viewed to terminal 20A via communication unit 14 (B43).

[0106] 18, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to display read information R1 and R2 for the first content M1 and M2 and to display read information R3 for the second content M3 based on the read information transmitted from the server 10. At this time, of the first content M1 and M2 and the second content M3, only the second content M3 is displayed on the terminal 20B of the user B because transmission of the first content M1 and M2 failed. Therefore, on the terminal 20A of the user A, read information R3 is displayed for the second content M3 that has been viewed, while read information R1 and R2 is also displayed for the first content M1 and M2 that has not been viewed.

[0107] In this way, in step B42, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines that the first contents M1 and M2 and the second content M3 have been viewed when the first contents M1 and M2 transmitted from terminal 20A are not received by terminal 20B, but the second content M3 transmitted from terminal 20A after the first contents M1 and M2 is received by terminal 20B, and the second content M3 is viewed by user B of terminal 20B. This determination allows the control unit 11 to reduce the amount of data processing compared to when determining that the first contents M1 and M2 and the second content M3 have been viewed, but there is a risk of erroneously determining that the first contents M1 and M2 have been viewed.

[0108] Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 detects that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B (B2). Upon detecting that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted, the communication unit 14 of the server 10 transmits to the terminal 20A non-transmission information indicating that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B (B3).

[0109] 19, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to hide the read information R1 and R2 based on the unsent information transmitted from the server 10 (A2). At this time, the control unit 21 may, by way of example and not limitation, control the display unit 24 to display the contents M1 and M2 in which the read information error occurred below the content M3 in which the read information was displayed normally (to display the contents M1 and M2 following the content M3), or may not (they may be displayed in the order M1, M2, M3).

[0110] <Effects of the Fourth Embodiment> In the fourth embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 performs control to determine the content viewed on the terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, since the already-read information of the content is displayed on the terminal 20A based on the result of the judgment of the browsing, the already-read information can be displayed more accurately.

[0111] In addition, in the fourth embodiment, if the first contents M1 and M2 transmitted from terminal 20A are not received by terminal 20B, but the second content M3 transmitted from terminal 20A after the first contents M1 and M2 is received by terminal 20B, and the second content M3 is viewed by user B of terminal 20B, the control unit 11 of server 10 may determine that the first contents M1 and M2 and the second content M3 have been viewed. As an example of the effect of this configuration, since the viewing of the first contents M1 and M2 and the second content M3 are determined together, the amount of data processing can be reduced compared to when the viewing of the first contents M1 and M2 and the second content M3 are determined separately. Furthermore, by detecting in step B2 that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to terminal 20B, it is possible to suppress errors in which read information R1 and R2 is displayed for the first contents M1 and M2. In other words, the read information of the content can be displayed more accurately while reducing the amount of data processing by control unit 11.

[0112] In addition, in the fourth embodiment, when the second content M3 is viewed by user B of terminal 20B, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine that the first contents M1 and M2 and the second content M3, which were transmitted before the second content M3 was transmitted, have been viewed by user B of terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of this configuration, since the viewing of multiple first contents M1 and M2 along with second content M3 is determined, the amount of data processing can be further reduced. Furthermore, by detecting in step B2 that first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to terminal 20B, errors in which read information R1 and R2 are displayed for first contents M1 and M2 can be suppressed. In other words, the amount of data processing by control unit 11 can be further reduced while accurately displaying read information for content.

[0113] Furthermore, in the fourth embodiment, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may perform control so that the content M3 transmitted from the terminal 20A after the contents M1 and M2 is displayed at a position subsequent to the position at which the contents M1 and M2 are displayed on the display unit 24. When the server 10 detects that the contents M1 and M2 transmitted from the terminal 20A have not been transmitted to the terminal 20A, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may perform control so that the contents M1 and M2 are displayed at a position subsequent to the position at which the content M3 is displayed on the display unit 24. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A of terminal 20A can quickly ascertain which of contents M1 and M2 has an error in the read information. Furthermore, since the contents displayed on terminal 20A are displayed in the same order as on terminal 20B, user A can easily ascertain the order in which user B has viewed the contents.

[0114] <Fourth Modification> In this embodiment, when second content M3, which was transmitted from terminal 20A after multiple first contents M1 and M2, was viewed by user B of terminal 20B, control unit 11 of server 10 determines that first contents M1 and M2 and second content M3 were viewed. However, the viewing determination according to the present disclosure is not limited to this, and it is sufficient to determine the content viewed on terminal 20B.

[0115] As an example, and not by way of limitation, when the second content is viewed by user B of terminal 20B, the control unit 11 of server 10 may determine that the second content and one or more contents transmitted before the second content was transmitted have been viewed by user B of terminal 20B.

[0116] <Effects of the Fourth Modification> In the fourth variant, when the second content is viewed by user B of terminal 20B, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines that the first content and the second content transmitted before the second content was transmitted have been viewed by user B of terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the amount of data processing by the control unit 11 can be reduced while the read information of the content can be accurately displayed.

[0117] Fifth Embodiment In the first to fourth embodiments, the terminal 20A transmits the content to one terminal 20B, but the terminal 20A may transmit the content to a plurality of terminals 20B. The fifth embodiment is an embodiment in which, when content is transmitted from terminal 20A to multiple terminals 20, control unit 11 of server 10 detects that the content has not been transmitted to at least one of the multiple terminals 20, and transmits untransmitted information to terminal 20A. Note that the same components as those in the first to fourth embodiments are assigned the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations will be omitted. The contents described in the fifth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0118] <Information Processing> FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment.

[0119] First, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits the first contents addressed to the users B and C to the server 10 (A51). When the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives the first contents from the terminal 20A, it performs a transmission process to transmit the first contents to the terminals 20B and 20C, respectively (B51). At this time, it is assumed that the transmission process of the two first contents M1 and M2 to the terminal 20B is successful, but the transmission process of the first contents M1 and M2 to the terminal 20C is unsuccessful. As a result, the first contents M1 and M2 are displayed on the terminal 20B (C51), and the first contents M1 and M2 are not displayed on the terminal 20C.

[0120] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits the second content M3 addressed to the users B and C to the server 10 (A52). When the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives the second content M3 from the terminal 20A, it performs a transmission process to transmit the second content M3 to the terminal 20B and the terminal 20C, respectively (B52). At this time, it is assumed that the transmission process of the second content M3 to the terminals 20B and 20C has been successful. As a result, the second content M3 is displayed on the terminal 20B (C52), and the second content M3 is displayed on the terminal 20C (D51).

[0121] In this way, when content transmission processing is carried out from server 10 to multiple terminals 20B and 20C, if the content transmission processing to at least one terminal 20C fails, an error may occur in which read information is displayed on terminal 20C even though user C has not viewed the content.

[0122] 21, contents M1 to M3 are displayed on terminal 20B to which server 10 has successfully transmitted all of contents M1 to M3. In contrast, terminal 20C to which server 10 has failed to transmit first contents M1 and M2 displays only second content M3 out of contents M1 to M3. If server 10 transmits read information R1 to R3 indicating that contents M1 to M3 have been viewed to terminal 20A in response to a read notification of second content M3, for example, terminal 20A may display read information R1 and R2 for first contents M1 and M2 that have not been viewed on terminal 20C.

[0123] In normal operation, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether the transmission of each content item has been successful. For example, the control unit 11 determines whether an error has occurred in the communication process based on the communication logs of the contents M1 to M3. In this example, the control unit 11 detects that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20C (B2). Then, when the control unit 11 detects that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to at least one of the terminals 20B and 20C, it transmits to the terminal 20A unsent information including non-display information for hiding the read information R1 and R2 (B3).

[0124] As in the third embodiment, when the unsent information transmitted from the server 10 is received by the communication unit 22 of the terminal 20A, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to hide the read information R1 and R2 based on the non-display information (A2). Furthermore, the control unit 21 controls the display unit 24 to display image information indicating that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20C based on the image display information included in the non-display information (A31).

[0125] For example, the control unit 21 may control the display unit 24 to display image information E1 and E2 corresponding to the first contents M1 and M2 based on the image display information, as shown in Fig. 10. For example, when the control unit 21 detects an input to the image information E1 (A32), the control unit 21 causes the display unit 24 to display a selection screen S (A33).

[0126] Then, the control unit 21 determines whether the resend button S1 has been selected by the user A (A34). If the control unit 21 determines that the resend button S1 has been selected, it transmits the third content addressed to the users B and C to the server 10 (A53). Here, the third content is content based on the first content M1 transmitted from terminal 20A in step A51, and may be content obtained by modifying the first content M1, for example, by adding a notice to the effect that it is a retransmission to the first content M1.

[0127] 22, for example and not by way of limitation, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A may control the display unit 24 to display the third content M6 instead of the first content M1. The control unit 21 may also control the display unit 24 to display the read information R6 of the third content M6 and not display the image information E1.

[0128] In this way, when the third content M6 based on the first content M1 transmitted from terminal 20A in step A51 is transmitted from terminal 20A to server 10 based on the untransmitted information, communication unit 14 of server 10 performs a transmission process to transmit the received third content M6 to terminal 20B and terminal 20C, respectively (B53).

[0129] When the communication unit 22 receives the third content M6, if the first content M1 has been received by the terminal 20B in step B51, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B controls the display unit 24 to hide the first content M1 and display the received third content M6 (C53), as shown in Fig. 22. At this time, as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B controls the display unit 24 to display the third content M6 at a position below the position of the second content M3, which was received immediately before the third content M6.

[0130] Furthermore, when the third content M6 is received by the communication unit 22, if the first content M1 has not been received by the terminal 20C in step B51, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C controls the display unit 24 to display the received third content M6 (D52). At this time, as an example and not a limitation, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20C controls the display unit 24 to display the third content M6 at a position below the position of the second content M3, which was received immediately before the third content M6.

[0131] <Effects of the Fifth Embodiment> In the fifth embodiment, first contents M1 and M2 are transmitted from terminal 20A to terminal 20C, which is different from terminal 20B, and control unit 11 of server 10 performs control to detect that first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to at least one of terminal 20B and terminal 20C. Then, when communication unit 14 of server 10 detects that first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to at least one of terminal 20B and terminal 20C, it transmits non-transmission information (not limited to this, but an example of first information indicating that content M1 has not been transmitted) to terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, terminal 20A hides the read information E1 and E2 of first contents M1 and M2 based on receiving unsent information, so that even when first contents M1 and M2 are sent from terminal 20A to multiple terminals 20B and 20C, the read information of first contents M1 and M2 can be accurately displayed.

[0132] Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment, when third content M6 based on the first content M1 transmitted from terminal 20A is transmitted from terminal 20A to server 10, communication unit 14 of server 10 may transmit third content M6 to terminals 20B and 20C based on the non-transmission information. Then, when terminal 20B receives first content M1 but terminal 20C does not receive first content M1, terminal 20B may hide first content M1 transmitted to terminal 20B from display unit 24 of terminal 20B and display transmitted third content M6 on display unit 24 of terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, since only the third content M6 is displayed out of the first content M1 and the third content M6, the sense of discomfort felt by user B due to the first content M1 and the third content M6 being displayed, which are almost identical, is suppressed, and user B can smoothly grasp the contents of the series of contents.

[0133] It is also possible for the server 10 to automatically resend the content M1 instead of the user A, but this may increase the processing load on the server 10. For example, a log relating to the sending and receiving of messages is saved, and the server 10 may determine by itself, based on the log, whether or not it is necessary to resend unsent content for which read information is erroneously displayed, and if resending is necessary, may automatically resend the content without confirming resending with the user who sent the content. However, in this case, a huge amount of log data must be stored. Furthermore, in cases where the number of registered users in a group changes between the initial transmission and the retransmission of unsent content, automatic retransmission may result in content that should not have been received being received by a user who was not registered in the group at the time of the initial transmission of the content. For example, consider a case where a new user D joins a specific group after the initial transmission of content. In this case, if the server 10 automatically retransmits third content addressed to the group in step A53, the third content may be transmitted to user D, who was not registered at the time of the initial transmission of the first content. To avoid this, group registration information at the time of transmission may be stored for each content, and the server 10 may check the group registration information stored for the content when attempting to automatically retransmit the content. However, this not only increases the burden of storing additional logs, but also increases the processing load of the server 10. Therefore, a simple configuration such as the fifth embodiment described above, in which user A is allowed to select whether or not retransmission is necessary, is effective.

[0134] <Fifth Modification (1)> In this embodiment, the terminal 20B hides the first content M1 and displays the third content M6, but the present invention is not limited to this as long as the terminal 20C can display the third content M6. For example, if the first content M1 is received at terminal 20B but the first content M1 is not received at terminal 20C, the first content M1 sent to terminal 20B may be displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B, and the sent third content M6 may be displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B.

[0135] Specifically, as in the fifth embodiment described above, in step B53, when the third content M6 based on the first content M1 transmitted from terminal 20A in step A51 is transmitted from terminal 20A to server 10 based on the untransmitted information, communication unit 14 of server 10 performs a transmission process to transmit the received third content M6 to terminal 20B and terminal 20C, respectively.

[0136] Then, as shown in FIG. 23, when the first content M1 is received at terminal 20B but not at terminal 20C, terminal 20B displays the transmitted third content M6 on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B while leaving the first content M1 transmitted to terminal 20B displayed on the display unit 24 of terminal 20B. The terminal 20C displays the received third content M6 on the display unit 24 (D52), similarly to the fifth embodiment.

[0137] <Effects of the fifth modified example (1)> In the fifth modified example (1), when third content M6 based on the first content M1 transmitted from terminal 20A is transmitted from terminal 20A to server 10, communication unit 14 of server 10 transmits third content M6 to terminals 20B and 20C based on the non-transmission information. Then, when terminal 20B receives first content M1 but terminal 20C does not receive first content M1, terminal 20B displays first content M1 transmitted to terminal 20B on display unit 24 of terminal 20B, and displays transmitted third content M6 on display unit 24 of terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, since the display of the first content M1 is maintained on the terminal 20B, the user B can grasp the details of all the content.

[0138] <Fifth Modification (2)> In this embodiment, in step A53, the terminal 20A transmits the third content M6 obtained by modifying the first content M1. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may transmit the third content M3 based on the first content M1. For example, the terminal 20A may transmit the same content as the first content M1 as the third content M3. Furthermore, the terminal 20A may transmit content including a part of the first content M1 as the third content M3. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user A can transmit the third content M3 of his / her choice depending on the content transmission status.

[0139] Sixth Embodiment In the third to fifth embodiments, terminals 20B and 20C that receive the content retransmitted from terminal 20A display only the retransmitted content, but may also display information other than the retransmitted content. The sixth embodiment is an embodiment in which the terminal 20B displays the retransmitted content and retransmission-related information related to the transmission of the content based on the reception of the retransmitted content from the terminal 20A. Note that the same components as those in the first to fifth embodiments are assigned the same reference numerals and will not be described again. The contents described in the sixth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0140] <Information Processing> First, as in the third embodiment, when the control unit 11 of the server 10 detects that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B, as shown in Fig. 9, the control unit 11 transmits non-transmission information indicating that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20A (B3). The control unit 21 of the terminal 20A causes the display unit 24 to display image information E1 and E2 indicating that the first contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B, based on the non-transmission information transmitted from the server 10, as shown in Fig. 10. Then, when the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A detects an input to the image information E1 (A32), the control unit 21 causes the display unit 24 to display a selection screen S (A33) and determines whether or not retransmission information S1 has been selected on the selection screen S (A34).

[0141] Here, if it is determined that the retransmission information S1 has been selected, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits a third content based on the first content M1 to the server 10 (A61), as shown in Fig. 24. Note that the third content is a content based on the first content M1 transmitted from the terminal 20A in step A1, and may be a content obtained by modifying the first content M1, for example, by adding to the first content M1 a notice that it is a retransmission.

[0142] In this way, when the third content based on the first content M1 is transmitted from the terminal 20A to the server 10 based on the non-transmission information, the communication unit 14 of the server 10 performs a transmission process to transmit the received third content to the terminal 20B (B61).

[0143] When the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B receives the third content via the communication unit 22, it controls the display unit 24 to display the third content M7 and retransmission-related information N1 regarding the transmission of the third content, as shown in FIG. 25 (C61).

[0144] Here, the retransmission-related information N1 may be displayed in association with the third content M7, for example, but not limited to, the first content M1. Furthermore, when the first content M1 is displayed on terminal 20B, the retransmission-related information N1 may be displayed in association with the first content M1. In this case, the retransmission-related information N1 may include information regarding the reason why the first content M1 and the third content M7, which have similar content, were transmitted, such as information displaying the text "Transmission of the first content M1 failed." Furthermore, as in the fifth embodiment, when the first content M1 has not been transmitted to some terminal 20C of the multiple terminals 20B and 20C, the retransmission-related information N1 may include information indicating this situation, such as information displaying the text "The first content M1 has not been transmitted to some terminals." This information may or may not be displayed by, for example, user B touching the retransmission-related information N1 as an input operation. Furthermore, the retransmission-related information N1 may include, for example and without limitation, information regarding the reason why the third content M7 was transmitted. The information regarding the reason why the third content M7 was transmitted may include, for example and without limitation, information indicating that the third content M7 is retransmitted content, such as information displaying the word "resent."

[0145] Note that, as an example and not a limitation, the retransmission related information N1 may be stored in advance in the memory unit 28 of the terminal 20B, or may be generated by the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B based on the received third content M7.

[0146] <Effects of the Sixth Embodiment> In the sixth embodiment, when third content M7 based on the first content M1 transmitted from terminal 20A is transmitted from terminal 20A to server 10, communication unit 14 of server 10 transmits third content M7 to terminal 20B based on the non-transmission information. Then, based on receiving the third content M7, terminal 20B displays the third content M7 and retransmission related information N1 (not limited to this, but an example of information related to the transmission of the third content M7) on display unit 24 of terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, by checking the retransmission related information N1, user B can reduce the sense of incongruity felt when the third content M7 is sent, and user B can smoothly understand the contents of the series of content.

[0147] In the sixth embodiment, the retransmission related information N1 may be displayed in association with the first content M1 or the third content M7. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, it is possible to quickly grasp that the retransmission related information N1 is information related to the transmission of the third content M7.

[0148] In the sixth embodiment, the retransmission related information N1 may also include information about the reason why the third content M7 was transmitted. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the user B can reliably suppress the sense of discomfort felt when the third content M7 is transmitted, and the user B can more smoothly grasp the details of the series of content.

[0149] In the sixth embodiment, the information regarding the reason why the third content M7 was transmitted may include information indicating that the third content M7 is a retransmitted content. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user B can understand the essential reason for transmitting the third content M7, and can more reliably suppress any sense of discomfort that the third content M7 has been transmitted.

[0150] <Sixth Modification (1)> In this embodiment, terminal 20B receives only the third content M7 from server 10 and displays the third content M7 and retransmission related information N1 on display unit 24, but this is not limited to the above as long as it is capable of displaying the third content M7 and retransmission related information N1 based on the reception of the third content M7.

[0151] For example, as shown in FIG. 26, when a third content M7 based on a first content M1 is transmitted from terminal 20A to server 10 based on untransmitted information (A61), communication unit 14 of server 10 performs a transmission process to transmit the received third content M7 and retransmission related information N1 to terminal 20B (B62). Note that the retransmission related information N1 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 15 of the server 10, for example and not by way of limitation, or may be generated by the control unit 11 of the server 10 based on the received third content M7.

[0152] Next, when the control unit 21 of the terminal 20B receives the third content M7 and the retransmission related information N1 from the server 10 via the communication unit 22, it controls the display unit 24 to display the third content M7 and the retransmission related information N1, as shown in FIG. 25 (C61).

[0153] <Effects of the sixth modified example (1)> In the sixth variant (1), when a third content M7 based on the first content M1 transmitted from the terminal 20A is transmitted from the terminal 20A to the server 10 based on the untransmitted information, the communication unit 14 of the server 10 transmits the third content M7 and the retransmission related information N1 to the terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the terminal 20B only needs to display the third content M7 and the retransmission related information N1 transmitted from the server 10, and the amount of data processing can be reduced.

[0154] <Sixth Modification (2)> In the sixth variant example (1), the communication unit 14 of the server 10 simultaneously transmitted the third content M7 and the retransmission related information N1 to the terminal 20B, but this is not limited to the above, as long as the third content M7 and the retransmission related information N1 can be transmitted to the terminal 20B.

[0155] For example, the communication unit 14 of the server 10 may transmit the retransmission related information N1 to the terminal 20B before transmitting the third content M7. As an example and not a limitation, the communication unit 14 may transmit the retransmission related information N1 to the terminal 20B when it is detected in step B2 that the first content M1 has not been transmitted to the terminal 20B. Furthermore, as an example and not a limitation, the communication unit 14 may transmit the retransmission related information N1 to the terminal 20B when the communication state between the server 10 and the terminal 20B is good, for example, when the communication speed is higher than a predetermined threshold.

[0156] <Effects of the sixth modified example (2)> In the sixth variant example (2), when the communication unit 14 of the server 10 detects that the first content M1 has not been transmitted to the terminal 20B, it transmits the retransmission related information N1 to the terminal 20B before the third content M7. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the communication unit 14 of the server 10 transmits the third content M7 and the retransmission related information N1 separately, so that the third content M7 and the retransmission related information N1 can be transmitted smoothly to the terminal 20B.

[0157] <Sixth Modification (3)> In this embodiment, the information regarding the reason why the third content M7 was transmitted included in the retransmission-related information N1 includes information indicating that the third content M7 is retransmitted content, as shown in Figure 25, but is not limited to this as long as it includes information regarding the reason why the third content M7 was transmitted. The information regarding the reason the third content M7 was sent may include, by way of example and not limitation, at least one of information indicating that the third content M7 is retransmitted content and information indicating that the first content M1 is in error.

[0158] For example, the information regarding the reason why the third content M7 was sent may include both information indicating that the third content M7 is a resent content and information indicating that the first content M1 is an error. In step B61, the communication unit 14 of the server 10 transmits the third content M7 to, for example, the terminal 20B of the fifth embodiment. As a result, based on the reception of the third content M7 from the server 10, the terminal 20B causes the display unit 24 to display the third content M7 and retransmission related information N1 including information indicating that the third content M7 is retransmitted content, as shown in FIG. 27 . Furthermore, the terminal 20B causes the display unit 24 to display retransmission related information N2 including information indicating that the first content M1 is in error. Furthermore, the terminal 20B may or may not display information regarding the reason why the first content M1 was transmitted, similar to the retransmission related information N1, by the user B performing an input operation such as touching the retransmission related information N2.

[0159] <Effects of the sixth modified example (3)> In the sixth variant (3), the information regarding the reason why the third content M7 was sent includes, by way of example and not limitation, at least one of information indicating that the third content M7 is resent content and information indicating that the first content M1 is in error. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, user B can understand the essential reason for transmitting the third content M7, and can more reliably suppress any sense of discomfort that the third content M7 has been transmitted.

[0160] Seventh Embodiment In the first to sixth embodiments, the content may be displayed in a chat room including users A to C.

[0161] For example, in the third embodiment, when content M1 is resent to terminal 20B as shown in FIG. 11 while content M2 is not resent to terminal 20B, terminal 20A may display the non-resent content M2 in a chat room including user A of terminal 20A and user B of terminal 20B.

[0162] For example, as shown in FIG. 28, terminal 20A can display, together with content M2, non-retransmission information T indicating that content M2 has not been retransmitted in the chat room of group X including user A and user B, among multiple chat rooms registered in groups X to Z.

[0163] The unsent information T may include, for example, text information or image information that prompts the user to resend the content M2. The unsent information T may be stored in advance in the storage unit 28 of the terminal 20A, or may be displayed on the terminal 20A by the control unit 11 of the server 10.

[0164] Then, when content M2 is retransmitted to terminal 20B, terminal 20A hides content M2 and non-retransmission information T that were displayed in the chat room.

[0165] <Effects of the Seventh Embodiment> In this embodiment, the content is displayed in a chat room including user A of terminal 20A and user B of terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, it is possible to reliably make user A aware that content M2 has not been resent, and to encourage resending of content M2.

[0166] Eighth Embodiment In the first to seventh embodiments, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine whether or not to transmit unsent information to the terminal 20A based on information about the contents M1 and M2 that have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B. Note that the same components as those in the first to seventh embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description will be omitted. The contents described in the eighth embodiment are applicable to any of the other embodiments.

[0167] <Information Processing> FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this embodiment.

[0168] First, similarly to the third embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 detects that the contents M1 and M2 have not been transmitted to the terminal 20B (B2). Then, based on the information on the untransmitted contents M1 and M2, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines whether or not the user A, out of the user A and the server 10, has actively transmitted the contents M1 and M2 (B81). Here, user A's proactive transmission may mean, for example, the transmission of contents M1 and M2 that have been changed only slightly on the server 10, i.e., the transmission of contents M1 and M2 that are almost the same as when user A transmitted them to terminal 20B. On the other hand, server 10's proactive transmission may mean the transmission of contents M1 and M2 that have been changed greatly on the server 10, i.e., the transmission of contents M1 and M2 that have been changed significantly from when user A transmitted them to terminal 20B.

[0169] Specifically, by way of example and not limitation, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines that the user A has actively transmitted the contents M1 and M2 when the contents M1 and M2 transmitted from the terminal 20A are transmitted to the terminal 20B as is, or when the contents M1 and M2 transmitted from the terminal 20A are slightly modified and transmitted to the terminal 20B. For example, the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines that the user A has actively transmitted the contents M1 and M2 when the message transmitted from the terminal 20A is transmitted to the terminal 20B as is, or when the message transmitted from the terminal 20A is transmitted to the terminal 20B with a supplemental message, image data, or the like added thereto.

[0170] Furthermore, as a non-limiting example, when all or almost all of the content M1 and M2 transmitted from terminal 20A are changed and transmitted to terminal 20B, control unit 11 of server 10 determines that server 10 has transmitted content M1 and M2 on its own initiative. For example, when content M1 and M2 related to money transfer (e.g., instruction information to transfer 5,000 yen to user B) is transmitted from terminal 20A, control unit 11 of server 10 increases user B's charge amount by 5,000 yen and transmits a message to terminal 20B stating "5,000 yen has been received." In this case, because the message "5,000 yen has been received," in which all of the instruction information for money transfer transmitted from terminal 20A has been changed, is transmitted, control unit 11 of server 10 determines that server 10 has transmitted content M1 and M2 on its own initiative.

[0171] If the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines that the user A has actively transmitted the contents M1 and M2 to the terminal 20B, the control unit 11 transmits unsent information to the terminal 20A (B3). As a result, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A controls the display unit 24 to hide the read information R1 and R2 based on the unsent information (A2). Then, if the resend information is selected in step A34, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A resends the content addressed to the terminal 20B to the server 10 (A35).

[0172] On the other hand, if the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines in step B81 that user A has not actively sent the contents M1 and M2, that is, if the server 10 has actively sent the contents M1 and M2 to the terminal 20B, the control ends without sending the unsent information to the terminal 20A. As a result, the display unit 24 of the terminal 20A is maintained in a state where the read information R1 and R2 is displayed.

[0173] <Effects of the Eighth Embodiment> In this embodiment, when the contents M1 and M2 that the user A has proactively transmitted to the terminal 20B are not transmitted, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits non-transmission information to the terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the content that user A actively transmits and the content that server 10 actively transmits may have different application programming interfaces (APIs), which may make it difficult for terminal 20A to retransmit the content that server 10 actively transmitted. Therefore, when the content M1 and M2 that user A actively transmitted are not transmitted, control unit 11 of server 10 transmits non-transmission information to terminal 20A, thereby enabling terminal 20A to easily retransmit the content.

[0174] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the contents M1 and M2 that the server 10 proactively transmitted to the terminal 20B are not transmitted, the control unit 11 of the server 10 does not transmit non-transmission information to the terminal 20A. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, if content that server 10 proactively transmitted is retransmitted using the logic of terminal 20A, there is a risk that the security level may be reduced, for example, by transmitting fake content. Therefore, when content M1 and M2 that server 10 proactively transmitted to terminal 20B are not transmitted, control unit 11 of server 10 does not transmit non-transmission information to terminal 20A, thereby making it possible to maintain a high level of security.

[0175] <Eighth Modification (1)> In the eighth embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine the type of the contents M1 and M2 based on the metadata of the contents M1 and M2, and further determine whether the contents M1 and M2 are contents that were actively sent by user A based on the determined type.

[0176] As an example, but not by way of limitation, in step B81, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine the type of content based on the metadata of the content, and may or may not determine whether the content is content that was actively sent by user A based on the determined type of content.

[0177] As a non-limiting example, if the types of content M1 and M2 are ordinary text messages, images, videos, audio, contact information (e.g., messenger IDs), file information, stamps, location information, music information, etc., the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine that the content was sent proactively by user A. On the other hand, if the types of content M1 and M2 are advertisements, image information, chat event information (e.g., event information for which a message was canceled), gift information, link information (e.g., image information, summary information, etc. sent based on a URL transmission), call information (content displayed after making a phone call), money transfer information, etc., the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine that the content was not content that was actively sent by user A, i.e., that the content was actively sent by the server 10, and terminate control.

[0178] As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can easily determine whether or not the content was sent proactively by user A based on the type of content that can be determined from the content metadata.

[0179] <Eighth Modification (2)> In the eighth embodiment, if the metadata of the content includes information indicating the entity that sent the content, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine whether the content was sent by user A on the basis of the information indicating the entity that sent the content.

[0180] For example, if the metadata of the content includes information indicating the content sender, the control unit 11 of the server 10 refers to the metadata of the content in step B81, and if the information indicating the sender indicates user A, determines that the content is content that was sent primarily by user A. On the other hand, if the information indicating the sender indicates server 10, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine that the content was not sent primarily by user A, that is, that the content was sent primarily by server 10, and terminate control.

[0181] As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can easily determine whether or not the content was sent voluntarily by the user A, based on the metadata of the content.

[0182] <Eighth Modification (3)> In the eighth embodiment, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may determine whether the content was sent by user A based on both the type of content included in the content metadata and information indicating the sender of the content.

[0183] For example, but not by way of limitation, in step B81, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may first determine the type of content based on metadata, and then determine whether the content is content that was actively sent by user A based on information indicating the content sender included in the content metadata. For example, the type of content determined by the server 10 may overlap with the type of content that was actively sent by user A and the type of content that was actively sent by the server 10. In such a case, it is difficult for the control unit 11 of the server 10 to identify the sender based on the type of content alone. Therefore, after determining the type of content, the control unit 11 of the server 10 may further determine whether the content is content that was actively sent by user A based on information indicating the content sender included in the content metadata.

[0184] As an example of the effect of such a configuration, the control unit 11 of the server 10 can determine with high accuracy whether or not the content is content that has been voluntarily transmitted by the user A. In this example, the server 10 first determines the type of content based on type-related information in the content metadata, and then determines the content sender based on information related to the content sender. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the server 10 may first determine the content sender based on information related to the content sender, and then determine the content type based on information related to the type, and then confirm the reliability of the determined sender. For example, there is a possibility that the information indicating the sender contained in the metadata may be incorrect. In this case, the server 10 can more accurately determine the content sender by comparing the content type with the determination result, rather than determining the content sender based solely on the information indicating the sender contained in the metadata.

[0185] <Eighth Modification (4)> As described above in relation to step B81, when the sender of the content is determined based on the content or the metadata of the content, a configuration may be adopted in which a message prompting retransmission is not sent for content whose sender is the server 10. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and a message prompting retransmission may also be sent for content whose sender is the server 10. In other words, a message prompting retransmission may be sent regardless of whether the sender is the user or the server 10. For example, whether or not to send a message prompting retransmission may be determined depending on the type of content. Furthermore, as will be described in this modified example, depending on the type of content, a message notifying of a transmission failure may be sent instead of a message urging retransmission.

[0186] <Information Processing> FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by each device in this modified example.

[0187] First, the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits, for example, content addressed to the user B that is proactively transmitted by the server 10 to the server 10 via the communication unit 22 (A1). It is assumed that the control unit 21 of the terminal 20A transmits, for example, content related to a remittance procedure addressed to the user B of the terminal 20B to the server 10.

[0188] Generally, when the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives content related to such a remittance procedure, for example, content related to a remittance procedure for remitting 5,000 yen from user A to user B, the control unit 11 of the server 10 controls the charge amount of terminal 20A to decrease by 5,000 yen and the charge amount of terminal 20B to increase by 5,000 yen. Then, the control unit 11 of the server 10 transmits content such as "5,000 yen has been remitted" to terminal 20A and "5,000 yen has been received" to terminal 20B, for example.

[0189] However, when the control unit 11 of the server 10 receives content related to the remittance procedure from the terminal 20A while a failure occurs in the transmission process, the transmission process of the content notifying the terminals 20A and 20B of the completion of the remittance may fail, and the content may not be transmitted to the terminals 20A and 20B, even though the remittance procedure has been properly completed (B1). In this case, the charge amount will decrease by 5000 yen at the terminal 20A without receiving the message "5000 yen has been remitted." On the other hand, the charge amount will increase by 5000 yen at the terminal 20B without receiving the message "5000 yen has been received."

[0190] Therefore, when the control unit 11 of the server 10 detects that such content has not been transmitted (B2), it determines whether or not user A, of user A and the server 10, actively transmitted the content based on the metadata of the untransmitted content (B81). If the control unit 11 determines that the user A has proactively transmitted the content to the terminal 20B, it transmits non-transmission information to the terminal 20A (B3).

[0191] On the other hand, if the control unit 11 of the server 10 determines that the user A did not actively send the content, that is, if the server 10 actively sent the content to the terminal 20B, the control unit 11 determines whether or not a failure occurred in the sending process in the server 10 when the content related to the remittance procedure was received from the terminal 20A (B82). Note that in the eighth modified examples (1) to (3), it may be determined whether or not a failure occurred in the server 10 in a similar manner. When it is determined that a failure has occurred in the transmission process in server 10, control unit 11 transmits a transmission failure notification to terminal 20A instead of non-transmission information prompting retransmission (B3). Similarly, control unit 11 may or may not transmit a transmission failure notification to terminal 20B. The transmission failure notification here may be information for simply notifying terminals 20A and / or 20B that the transmission has failed when server 10 detects that the content has not been transmitted.

[0192] Here, the content that has not been transmitted to terminal 20B is content that was transmitted by server 10 on its own initiative, and is content that is difficult to retransmit from terminal 20A or does not need to be retransmitted. For example, content that was transmitted by server 10 on its own initiative may be difficult to retransmit from terminal 20A due to a difference in application programming interface (API) as described above. Furthermore, content that was transmitted by server 10 on its own initiative may be significantly changed from the content transmitted by terminal 20A, and there may be no need or meaning to retransmit it from terminal 20A. Therefore, the transmission failure notification does not need to include information (such as selection screen S) that prompts retransmission as shown in FIG. 10, but only needs to include information indicating that the content has not been transmitted to terminals 20A and 20B.

[0193] On the other hand, if the control unit 11 determines that no failure has occurred in the transmission process in the server 10, it ends the control.

[0194] <Effects of the eighth modified example (4)> In this modified example, when content that was proactively transmitted by server 10 is not transmitted, control unit 11 of server 10 transmits a transmission failure notification (not limited to this, but an example of the first information) to terminal 20A indicating that the content has not been transmitted to terminal 20B. As an example of the effect of such a configuration, for content that is difficult or does not need to be resent from terminal 20A, by sending at least a transmission failure notification to terminal 20A indicating that the content has not been sent to terminal 20B, user A can be sure that the content has not been sent.

[0195] <Eighth Modification (5)> In the eighth embodiment, the contents M1 and M2 proactively transmitted by the server 10 are composed of the contents transmitted from the terminal 20A to the server 10, but this is not limited to the case as long as the contents M1 and M2 are not transmitted to the terminal 20B. The content M1 and M2 proactively transmitted by server 10 may or may not include, by way of example and not limitation, content that is not received from terminal 20A but is entirely generated by server 10.

[0196] As an example of the effect of such a configuration, if it is detected that content has not been sent, even if the content was not sent from terminal 20A, unsent information is sent to terminal 20A, so that the read information of the content can be displayed more accurately.

[0197] <Other> Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art would easily be able to make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included within the scope of the present disclosure. By way of example and not limitation, the functions included in each means, step, etc. may be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and multiple means, steps, etc. may be combined or divided into one. Furthermore, the configurations shown in each embodiment may be combined as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0198] 1 System 10 Servers 20 terminals 30 Network

Claims

1. A server that transmits content transmitted from a first terminal to a second terminal, a control unit that performs control to detect that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal; a communication unit that, when it is detected that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal, transmits to the first terminal first information indicating that the content has not been transmitted; When incorrect read information indicating that the content has been viewed is displayed on the display unit of the first terminal due to a malfunction in the transmission process on the server or a read notification of other content, the first terminal controls to hide the read information based on the reception of the first information.

2. 2. The server of claim 1, The first information includes second information for hiding read information indicating that the content has been viewed when the read information is displayed on a display unit of the first terminal.

3. 3. The server according to claim 2, The second information includes information for hiding the read information displayed on the first terminal and displaying image information on the display unit of the first terminal indicating that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal.

4. 4. The server according to claim 3, The image information includes information regarding retransmission of the content to the second terminal when an input is made to the image information by the user of the first terminal.

5. 5. The server according to claim 3 or claim 4, The image information includes information regarding deleting the content when an input is made to the image information by the user of the first terminal.

6. The server according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The control unit performs control to determine the content viewed on the second terminal.

7. 7. The server according to claim 6, the content is a first content, The control unit determines that the first content and the second content have been viewed if the first content transmitted from the first terminal is not received by the second terminal, the second content transmitted from the first terminal after the first content is received by the second terminal, and the second content is viewed by a user of the second terminal.

8. 8. The server according to claim 7, When the second content is viewed by the user of the second terminal, the control unit determines that the second content and content transmitted before the second content was transmitted have been viewed by the user of the second terminal.

9. The server according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the content is transmitted from the first terminal to a third terminal different from the second terminal; the control unit performs control to detect that the content has not been transmitted to at least one of the second terminal and the third terminal; When it is detected that the content has not been transmitted to at least one of the second terminal and the third terminal, the communication unit transmits the first information to the first terminal.

10. 10. The server of claim 9, the content is a first content, when third content based on the first content transmitted from the first terminal is transmitted from the first terminal to the server based on the reception of the first information, the communication unit transmits the third content to the second terminal and the third terminal; When the first content is received by the second terminal and the first content is not received by the third terminal, the second terminal hides the first content transmitted to the second terminal from the display unit of the second terminal and displays the transmitted third content on the display unit of the second terminal.

11. 10. The server of claim 9, the content is a first content, when third content based on the first content transmitted from the first terminal is transmitted from the first terminal to the server based on the reception of the first information, the communication unit transmits the third content to the second terminal and the third terminal; When the first content is received by the second terminal and the first content is not received by the third terminal, the second terminal displays the first content transmitted to the second terminal on a display unit of the second terminal, and displays the transmitted third content on a display unit of the second terminal.

12. The server according to any one of claims 1 to 11, the content is a first content, the communication unit, when a third content based on the first content transmitted from the first terminal is transmitted from the first terminal to the server based on the reception of the first information, transmits the third content to the second terminal; Upon receiving the third content, the second terminal displays the third content and information related to the transmission of the third content on a display unit of the second terminal.

13. 13. The server of claim 12, When, based on receiving the first information, the third content based on the first content transmitted from the first terminal is transmitted from the first terminal to the server, the communication unit transmits the third content and information regarding the transmission of the third content to the second terminal.

14. 14. The server according to claim 12 or claim 13, The information relating to the transmission of the third content is displayed in association with the first content or the third content.

15. The server according to any one of claims 12 to 14, The information regarding the transmission of the third content includes information regarding the reason why the third content was transmitted.

16. 16. The server of claim 15, The information regarding the reason why the third content was transmitted includes at least one of information indicating that the third content is a retransmitted content and information indicating that the first content is an error.

17. 17. The server according to claim 1, The content is displayed in a chat room including a user of the first terminal and a user of the second terminal.

18. A program executed by a server that transmits content transmitted from a first terminal to a second terminal, performing control by a control unit of the server to detect that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal; when it is detected that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal, transmitting first information indicating that the content has not been transmitted to the first terminal by a communication unit of the server; When incorrect read information indicating that the content has been viewed is displayed on the display unit of the first terminal due to a malfunction in the transmission process on the server or a read notification of other content, the first terminal controls to hide the read information based on the reception of the first information.

19. An information processing method of a server that transmits content transmitted from a first terminal to a second terminal, comprising: performing control by a control unit of the server to detect that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal; when it is detected that the content has not been transmitted to the second terminal, transmitting first information indicating that the content has not been transmitted to the first terminal by a communication unit of the server; When incorrect read information indicating that the content has been viewed is displayed on the display unit of the first terminal due to a malfunction in the transmission process on the server or a read notification of other content, the first terminal controls to hide the read information based on the reception of the first information.

20. A program executed by a terminal that transmits content to a first terminal via a server, receiving, by a communication unit of the terminal, first information indicating that the first content has not been transmitted, when the server detects that the first content transmitted from the terminal has not been transmitted to the first terminal; When erroneous read information indicating that the first content has been viewed, which is based on a malfunction in the transmission process on the server or a read notification of other content, is displayed on the display unit of the terminal in association with the first content, the terminal executes control such that, based on reception of the first information, the control unit of the terminal hides the read information displayed in association with the first content.

21. 21. The program of claim 20, Based on the reception of the first information, the control unit controls the terminal to hide the read information displayed on the terminal and to display image information indicating that the first content has not been transmitted to the first terminal on the display unit of the terminal.

22. 22. The program of claim 21, The terminal executes control by the control unit to transmit, by the communication unit, a third content based on the first content, based on an input by a user of the terminal for the image information.

23. 23. The program according to any one of claims 20 to 22, performing control by the control unit to display the second content transmitted from the first terminal after the first content at a position below a position at which the first content is displayed on the display unit; When the server detects that the first content transmitted from the terminal has not been transmitted to the first terminal, the terminal controls the control unit to display the first content at a position lower than the position at which the second content is displayed on the display unit.

24. 24. The program according to any one of claims 20 to 23, The first content is displayed in a chat room including the user of the terminal and the user of the first terminal.

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