Server equipment

Abstract

To provide users with a means to verify the identity of the other party. [Solution] A server device 1 that realizes a messenger platform between multiple users stores the smart contract address and token ID related to the NFT of the profile image in association with the user account information. It receives message data from the sender's user terminal along with the recipient's user ID. It combines the smart contract address and token ID associated with the sender's user ID with the NFT marketplace domain and the endpoint for requesting NFT information to generate a URL for a web page that displays the NFT information of the profile image. It embeds this URL as a link destination in the sender's profile image and sends it to the recipient's user terminal along with the message data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a server device.

Background Art

[0002] SNS (Social Networking Service) is an online service for facilitating communication between users and sharing photos, videos, texts, etc. Many SNS platforms also provide a messaging function. In a messenger, messages can be exchanged between users or groups by text, image, or voice. Due to its immediacy and privacy, it is highly convenient and has become widespread.

[0003] However, there are times when there is no proof that the person who sent the message is truly the individual and not a so-called "impersonation" where the identity and identity of the individual are disguised. Currently, no means for verifying identity is provided, and various measures such as users asking personal questions of the other party or verifying identity by voice via a call function or phone are required for identity verification.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] It is to provide users with a means to verify the identity of the other party.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] This disclosure relates to a server device that realizes a messenger platform for mediating message data between multiple users. The server device comprises a storage unit that stores account information, including a user ID and password for each user, associated with the smart contract address and token ID related to the NFT of each user's profile image; a receiving unit that receives the message data from the user terminal of the sender, along with the recipient's user ID; a generating unit that generates a URL for a web page displaying the NFT information of the profile image by combining the smart contract address and token ID associated with the sender's user ID with an NFT marketplace domain and an endpoint that requests NFT information; an embedding unit that embeds the web page URL as a link destination in the sender's profile image; and a transmitting unit that sends the profile image with the embedded web page URL, along with the message data, to the user terminal logged in by the recipient using their own account information. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system including a server device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the server device shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of user information stored in the storage device shown in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the messenger processing procedure performed by the server device shown in Figure 1. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an example of a messenger screen provided by the server device shown in Figure 1. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows another example of the messenger screen provided by the server device shown in Figure 1. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example of an SNS profile page provided by the server device shown in Figure 1. [Figure 8]Figure 8 shows another example of an SNS profile page provided by the server device shown in Figure 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] The server device according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, components having substantially the same function and configuration will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be given only when necessary.

[0008] This embodiment applies to social networking services (SNS) where multiple users publish personal profiles and post text, images, videos, links, etc., as digital content (digital assets) to share and communicate with other users, and to messenger services such as those attached to SNS services where multiple users send and receive message data. In order to use these services, users register account information including a user ID and password, as well as a username and profile picture. The profile picture is an image such as a photograph or illustration of a face used to identify oneself or others, and is displayed along with posts, comments, or messages. As a premise of this embodiment, users acquire an NFT (Non-Fungible Token) for their profile picture via an NFT marketplace such as OpenSea®. The blockchain records the smart contract to which the NFT belongs, the token ID, current owner information, owner history information, and the URL where the metadata of the profile picture (name, description, URL where the profile image data is stored, attributes, etc.) is stored. A smart contract is program code that automatically creates, manages, and trades NFTs. By specifying a token ID to the smart contract, it is possible to obtain current owner information, owner history information, and a metadata URL. Furthermore, by accessing the metadata URL, it is possible to obtain the name, description, and profile image data. Generally, metadata and profile image data are stored in the NFT marketplace.

[0009] As shown in Figure 1, the server device 1 according to this embodiment realizes a platform for SNS and messenger services. The server device 1 is connected to multiple user terminals 4, 5 related to multiple users who use the SNS and messenger services, and to an NFT marketplace server device 6 via an internet line 2, which is a public telecommunications network. A blockchain 8 consisting of many nodes (computers) 7 is connected to the internet line 2. The blockchain 8 records NFT information, typically token ID, smart contract, ownership information (current owner, ownership history), and URLs for storing metadata of profile images (name, description, URL where profile image data is stored, attributes, etc.).

[0010] The NFT marketplace server device 6 stores profile image data and profile image metadata, and provides a web interface and application for users to search for NFTs. The NFT marketplace server device 6 also deploys smart contracts necessary for NFT creation, management, and trading to blockchain 8, and can retrieve, update, transfer, and distribute royalties for NFT information by calling smart contracts from blockchain 8 according to the smart contract address and specifying the token ID.

[0011] As shown in Figure 2, the server device 1 according to this embodiment has a processor 11, to which RAM 12, ROM 13, storage device 14, and communication device 17 are connected via a data / control bus 10. The processor 11 consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). RAM 12 functions as the main memory, work area, etc., of the processor 11. ROM 13 stores data such as the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and operating system programs (OS) executed by the processor 11. Storage device 14 stores programs necessary for realizing the SNS and messenger service platform, user information, and various other data. The communication device 17 has a communication module compliant with any standard and sends and receives data to and from user terminals 4, 5 and the NFT marketplace server device 6 according to the control of the processor 11.

[0012] Figure 3(a) illustrates user information. User information includes account information, such as the user ID and password for each user registered for the SNS and messenger service. The account information is associated with the username, the user's self-introduction and profile page description, the user's profile, and the file path of the profile image data. The profile image data is typically stored in the storage device 14, but is not limited to that. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the smart contract address and unique token ID of the NFT of the profile image are associated with the account information.

[0013] The processor 11 combines the smart contract address and token ID associated with the logged-in user's account information with the NFT marketplace domain and an endpoint for requesting NFT information, to generate a request URL for requesting NFT information (assets) from the NFT marketplace. In other words, it generates a URL for a web page that displays the NFT information of the profile image. This URL is embedded as a link destination in each user's profile image by the processor 11 and sent to the user terminal 5 of the recipient along with the message data.

[0014] As shown in Figure 3(b), the user information may be associated with a "URL of a web page displaying NFT information for a profile picture," which combines the smart contract address and token ID with the NFT marketplace domain and the endpoint for requesting NFT information. Here, we will explain assuming that the smart contract address and token ID are stored as user information.

[0015] As an example of a "web page URL for displaying NFT information for a profile picture," this URL is a request URL for requesting NFT information (assets) from a specific NFT marketplace. For example, if the domain of the NFT marketplace is "AAA" and the endpoint for requesting NFT information is "asset / ", then it is constructed as follows using the smart contract address and token ID as variables.

[0016] https: / / AAA / asset / {contract_address} / {token_id} / When a message recipient taps the link (URL) embedded in the profile image displayed with the message, the URL is sent from the user terminal 5 to the NFT marketplace server device 6 as a request for sending NFT information of the profile image. Upon receiving this, the NFT marketplace server device 6 calls a smart contract from blockchain 8 using the smart contract address in the URL. By specifying the token ID in the URL to the smart contract, the NFT marketplace server device 6 obtains the current owner information, owner history information, and the URL where the profile image metadata (name, description, URL where the profile image data is stored, attributes, etc.) is stored from blockchain 8. By accessing the URL of the obtained metadata, the NFT marketplace server device 6 also obtains the name, description, and profile image data. By laying out the obtained current owner information, owner history information, profile image, its name, description, attributes, etc. in a predetermined template, the NFT marketplace server device 6 generates a "web page for displaying NFT information of the profile image" and sends it to the requesting user terminal 5. The "web page for displaying NFT information of the profile image" is displayed on the user terminal 5's display. This allows the message recipient to verify the message sender from the current owner information of the profile image.

[0017] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure by the processor 11 of the server device 1. First, the server device 1 receives an authentication request including a user ID and password from a user terminal 4 owned by user A, who is the sender of the message (S11). The processor 11 of the server device 1 reads user information related to the user ID from the storage device 14 (S12), and performs authentication processing including verification with the password (S13). The server device 1 receives from sender A's user terminal 4 the message entered by sender A via user terminal 4, and the user ID of recipient B, who is the destination of that message (S14).

[0018] The processor 11 reads from the storage device 14 the token ID, smart contract address, and file path of the profile image data related to the user ID, and further reads the profile image data according to the file path (S15).

[0019] The processor 11 generates the "URL of the web page for displaying the information of the NFT of the profile image" from the read token ID and smart contract address (S16). Specifically, as described above, the smart contract address and token ID are combined with the domain of the NFT marketplace and the endpoint for requesting information related to the NFT.

[0020] The processor 11 embeds the generated "URL of the web page for displaying the information of the NFT of the profile image" as the link destination in the read profile image (S17). The data of the profile image with the URL embedded is distributed to the user terminal 5 of the recipient B together with the message data received in step S14 (S18).

[0021] The above steps S11 - S18 are repeated while the sender A and the recipient B are appropriately interchanged until the messenger app ends.

[0022] FIG. 5 illustrates the display screen of the messenger app on the user terminal 5 of the recipient B. On the left side of the messenger screen, a plurality of received messages are arranged in chronological order from top to bottom. Similarly, a plurality of messages sent are also arranged on the right side of the messenger screen in chronological order from top to bottom. A profile image of the sender A is arranged to the left of the message received from the sender A. Since the "URL of the web page for displaying the information of the NFT of the profile image" is embedded as a link in the profile image of the sender, by tapping the profile image, a URL is sent from the user terminal 5 of the recipient B to the NFT marketplace server device 6 as a request for transmitting the information of the NFT of the profile image. In the NFT marketplace server device 6, the smart contract is called from the blockchain 8 by the smart contract address in the URL, and by specifying the token ID in the URL for the smart contract, the URL of the storage location of the current owner information, the owner's history information, the metadata of the profile image (name, description, URL of the storage location of the profile image data, attributes, etc.) is obtained from the blockchain 8, and by accessing the URL of the obtained metadata, the name, description, and data of the profile image are obtained. By laying out the obtained current owner information, owner's history information, profile image, its name, description, attributes, etc. in a predetermined template, a "web page for displaying the information of the NFT of the profile image" is generated and sent to the user terminal 5 of the requester. The "web page for displaying the information of the NFT of the profile image" is displayed on the display of the user terminal 5. Thereby, the recipient of the message can confirm the sender of the message from the current owner information of the profile image.

[0023] In the above explanation, the URL of the web page displaying the NFT information of the profile image is embedded as a link destination in the profile image. However, this URL is not limited to the profile image and may be embedded in other designated images or marks, such as a mark labeled "NFT" as shown in Figure 6, and the mark may be placed near the profile image and message, for example, below the profile image. Tapping the mark will display the web page displaying the NFT information of the profile image.

[0024] Furthermore, in the above explanation, the profile image displayed alongside the messenger message has a link embedded to a web page that displays the NFT information of the profile image, allowing the sender to be identified from the NFT information of that profile image. However, as illustrated in Figure 7, the link can also be embedded in the profile image on the SNS profile page to display the URL of a web page that displays the NFT information of the profile image.

[0025] In other words, the storage unit of the server device that implements the SNS platform stores user information that associates the username, profile image file path, file path of posts (photos, videos, or text), and smart contract address and token ID related to the NFT of the profile image with each of multiple users, as well as the profile image data and post data.

[0026] In response to a user request, the processor generates a profile page containing the username, profile picture, and a list of posts based on user information about the specific user, and sends the data related to the profile page to the user terminal that sent the user request.

[0027] The processor combines the smart contract address and token ID of the user information for a specific user corresponding to the user request with the NFT marketplace domain and the endpoint for requesting NFT information to generate a URL for a web page that displays the NFT information of the profile image, and embeds this URL as a link destination in the profile image. Of course, as shown in Figure 8, this URL may also be embedded in a mark labeled "NFT" and placed near the profile image on the profile page.

[0028] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0029] 1...Server device, 2...Internet connection, 3...User terminal (sender), 4...User terminal (receiver), 6...NFT marketplace server device, 7...Node (computer), 8...Blockchain.

Claims

1. A server device that realizes a messenger platform for mediating message data between multiple users, A storage unit that stores account information including the user ID and password for each user, associating the smart contract address and token ID related to the NFT of each user's profile image with the account information, A receiving unit that receives the message data from the user terminal of the user who is the sender of the message data, along with the user ID of the user who is the recipient of the message data, A generation unit combines the smart contract address and token ID associated with the sender's user ID with the NFT marketplace domain and an endpoint for requesting NFT information to generate a URL for a web page that displays the NFT information of the profile image. An embedding section that embeds the URL of the web page as a link destination in the profile image of the sender, A server device comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the profile image, in which the URL of the aforementioned web page is embedded, along with the message data, to a user terminal logged in by the recipient using their own account information.

2. A server device that realizes a messenger platform for mediating message data between multiple users, A storage unit that stores account information including the user ID and password for each of the aforementioned users, and associates the URL of a web page that displays the NFT information of each of the aforementioned users with the account information, An embedding section that embeds the URL of the web page as a link destination in the profile image of the sender of the message data among the users, A server device comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the profile image, in which the URL of the aforementioned web page is embedded, along with the message data, to a user terminal logged in by the recipient of the message data using their own account information.

3. A server device that realizes a messenger platform for mediating message data between multiple users, A storage unit that stores account information including the user ID and password for each user, associating the smart contract address and token ID related to the NFT of each user's profile image with the account information, A receiving unit that receives the message data along with the recipient's user ID from the user terminal of the sender among the aforementioned users, A generation unit combines the smart contract address and token ID associated with the sender's user ID with the NFT marketplace domain and an endpoint for requesting NFT information to generate a URL for a web page that displays the NFT information of the profile image. An embedding section that embeds the URL of the aforementioned web page as a link destination in a predetermined mark, A server device comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the mark, in which the URL of the aforementioned web page is embedded, along with the profile image and the message data, to a user terminal logged in by the recipient using their own account information.

4. A server device that implements an SNS platform, A storage unit that stores user information, which includes account information for each of multiple users, such as user ID and password, user name, file path of profile image, file path of post (photo, video or text), and smart contract address and token ID related to the NFT of the profile image, as well as the data of the profile image and the data of the post. A profile page generation unit that, in response to a user request, generates a profile page including the username, profile picture, and a list of posts based on user information about a specific user, The system comprises a transmission unit that transmits data relating to the aforementioned profile page to the user terminal that is the source of the user request, A generation unit combines the smart contract address and token ID of the user information relating to the specific user with the domain of the NFT marketplace and an endpoint for requesting NFT information to generate a URL for a web page that displays the NFT information of the profile image. A server device further comprising an embedding unit that embeds the URL of a web page displaying NFT information for the aforementioned profile image into the profile image of a specific user, with the URL of the web page being the link destination.

5. A server device that implements an SNS platform, A storage unit that stores user information, which associates user name, profile image file path, photo, video or text post file path, and URL of a web page displaying NFT information for the profile image with account information including user ID and password for each of multiple users, the profile image data, and the post data. A profile page generation unit that, in response to a user request, generates a profile page including the username, profile picture, and a list of posts based on user information about a specific user, The system comprises a transmission unit that transmits data relating to the aforementioned profile page to the user terminal that is the source of the user request, The profile page generation unit is a server device that embeds the URL included in the user information of the specific user as a link destination into the profile image of the specific user.

Images