Email System Multi-Group Privacy Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing email systems lack an efficient method to send messages to multiple groups while maintaining recipient privacy, requiring users to send the same message multiple times to prevent disclosure of identities and addresses outside each group, leading to inefficiency and loss of time.
Innovation Solution
An email forwarding program that allows users to compose and send a single email to multiple groups by adding separate recipient groups, preventing inter-group disclosure of identities and addresses, through an additional 'to:' field in the email composing system, enabling efficient transmission without duplicating the composition or transmission process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a user sends the same message multiple times to different groups to prevent identity disclosure, then recipient privacy is protected, but time and efficiency are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments recipients into multiple groups (first group, second group, etc.) and uses separate 'to:' fields for each group. This segmentation allows a single message to be sent to multiple groups while maintaining privacy within each group, eliminating the need to send separate messages and thus resolving the contradiction between protecting privacy and saving time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the email system with multiple 'to:' fields) that manages group-based recipient segmentation. This intermediary handles the complexity of privacy management automatically, allowing users to compose one message while the system ensures proper delivery and privacy protection, thus resolving the time loss issue.
2Loss of information
If all recipient addresses are placed in the bcc field to hide identities, then complete privacy is maintained, but the ability to share identities within groups is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments recipients into multiple groups with separate 'to:' fields, allowing identities to be visible within each group while hidden from other groups. This selective visibility approach maintains privacy while enabling necessary identity sharing within groups, unlike the all-or-nothing approach of using bcc for everyone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different privacy levels to different groups locally. Each group receives the message with appropriate visibility settings where members can see each other's identities within their group, while identities remain hidden from other groups. This local quality approach resolves the contradiction between complete privacy and group-based identity sharing.
3Loss of information
If multiple separate emails are sent to different groups, then privacy between groups is maintained, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple recipient groups into a single email message by providing multiple 'to:' fields. This combining approach allows one message to reach multiple groups simultaneously while maintaining inter-group privacy, thereby eliminating the need to send separate messages and significantly improving productivity without compromising privacy.
4Productivity
If a single email is sent to multiple groups, then efficiency is improved, but risk of identity disclosure between groups increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the recipient list into multiple distinct groups with separate 'to:' fields. This segmentation ensures that even though a single email is sent, the system treats each group separately and prevents identity disclosure between groups, thus maintaining security while improving efficiency through single-message transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus, and computer program product for transmitting an email message to multiple groups of recipients is disclosed herein. In selected embodiments, a method may include composing an email message including digitally encoded content and email addresses associated with a first group of intended recipients. The method may further include adding, in response to a user request, email addresses associated with a second group of intended recipients. The email message may then be sent to the first and second groups of intended recipients. The method may further include preventing the first group of intended recipients from determining the identities of the second group of intended recipients, and preventing the second group of intended recipients from determining the identities of the first group of intended recipients.