Link Expansion Service for URL Metadata Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in determining the content associated with shortened URLs, as they often lack information about the destination, making it difficult to identify potential hazards like phishing sites without navigating to the link.
Innovation Solution
An application and service collaboration that identifies links, requests information from sources, and returns it in a consumable format, such as XML or JSON, allowing users to access metadata like titles, authors, and content previews without navigating to the link.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If URL shorteners are used to reduce character count, then the length of the URL is reduced, but the user loses insight into the content associated with the link
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the URL information into two separate components: the shortened URL itself and the expanded URL information (including title, description, and other metadata). This segmentation allows the shortened URL to be used for space-efficient sharing while the expanded information provides content insights, resolving the contradiction between URL length reduction and information preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary service that acts as a mediator between the shortened URL and the full URL information. When a user encounters a shortened URL, the intermediary service automatically retrieves and displays the expanded URL information (title, description, etc.) without requiring the user to manually visit the link, thus providing content insights while maintaining URL shortening benefits.
2Reliability
If users navigate to shortened links to determine content, then they can assess safety, but they expose themselves to potential harmful sites
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by automatically retrieving and displaying expanded URL information (title, description, metadata) before the user visits the shortened link. This allows users to assess the safety and relevance of the content in advance, making an informed decision about whether to proceed to the actual link, thus verifying content reliability without exposing users to potential harmful sites.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary service acts as a safety buffer between users and potentially harmful content. By providing expanded URL information and metadata through this intermediary layer, users can evaluate link safety without directly accessing the destination, reducing exposure to harmful factors while maintaining the ability to verify content reliability.
3Loss of information
If full URLs are used to provide content information, then users gain insight into the content, but the character space for additional information is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments URL information into a compact shortened form for sharing and an expanded form for information display. The shortened URL consumes minimal character space for sharing, while the expanded information (title, description, metadata) is retrieved and displayed separately by the intermediary service, thus providing full content information without consuming additional character space in the original message.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by retrieving and displaying a copy of the expanded URL information (title, description, metadata) through the intermediary service rather than requiring the full URL to be present in the original message. This allows content information to be provided without consuming character space in the original communication, as the full information is obtained through automated retrieval of a copy.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments enable an application to obtain information associated with a link to content without navigating to the link. The application can be configured to identify a link, receive input to attain information associated with the link, and send a request to a service for the information. In one or more embodiments, a service can be configured to receive a request for information associated with a link, ascertain one or more sources from which to gather the information, determine appropriate mechanisms by which to obtain the information, and acquire the information. Alternately or additionally, the service can further assemble the information into a consumable format, and return the consumable format to a requesting application or device.