Instant Message Access Control for Selective History Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing instant messaging systems lack the ability to selectively control the display of past messages, forcing users to either repeat previous conversations or start new sessions when new participants join, which can lead to unwanted sharing of sensitive information.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an access control mechanism that allows participants to selectively mark instant messages as public or private, enabling new participants to only view tagged or selected messages based on their profile, department, or social relationships, thereby controlling the visibility of past conversations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If all past instant messages are displayed to new participants, then complete information is provided, but privacy and security are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the chat history into multiple parts by allowing selective display of messages. New participants can be shown only specific portions of the conversation history that are relevant to them, rather than displaying the entire chat log. This is achieved through message filtering mechanisms that divide the information stream based on participant-specific criteria.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by making different portions of the chat history visible to different participants based on their specific needs and permissions. Each participant receives a customized view of the past messages tailored to their role, department, or relationship to the conversation, rather than a uniform display of all messages.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a new instant messaging session is started to protect sensitive information, then privacy is maintained, but communication efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control over message visibility within the same chat session. The system can dynamically adjust which messages are displayed to which participants based on real-time permissions and relevance criteria, eliminating the need to create static separate sessions while maintaining privacy protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the instant messaging session universal by allowing it to serve multiple purposes simultaneously: maintaining conversation continuity for all participants while providing personalized information filtering for each participant. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate sessions.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If selective message display is implemented, then privacy control is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the system automatically filters and displays appropriate messages to each participant based on pre-defined criteria such as department, role, or message tags. This automation reduces the manual complexity of managing selective display while maintaining strong privacy control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary components (such as message filtering services or permission management layers) that handle the complexity of selective display automatically. These intermediaries mediate between the raw chat messages and the participant views, managing the complexity centrally rather than requiring complex client-side logic.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for allowing selective display of past instant messages includes establishing an instant messaging session among at least two participants. Each participant has an associated computer system, with all of the associated computing systems in communication across a network. A list of instant messages between the at least two participants is displayed on monitors associated with the computing systems. At least one instant message is selected from the list of instant messages using an access control. At least one new participant is invited to join the instant messaging session. When the selected at least one instant message corresponds to the at least one new participant, the selected at least one instant message is displayed on a monitor used by the at least one new participant.