Instant Messaging Alert Interception During Display Sharing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Instant messaging applications often generate distracting and potentially intrusive alerts during display sharing, compromising privacy and presentation flow, as users may inadvertently receive personal or professional messages, and existing solutions like disabling the app or status changes are not always effective.

Innovation Solution

A method to automatically detect display sharing and intercept incoming instant messages, allowing users to configure behavior such as queuing or deleting messages, and generating alerts to senders, ensuring messages are only displayed when the user is not sharing their screen.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If visible or pop-up alerts are displayed for incoming instant messages, then users can be notified of new messages, but privacy is compromised and presentation flow is disrupted during display sharing

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemessage notification reliabilityVSAvoidprivacy leakage and distraction

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of display sharing status before displaying instant message alerts. By checking whether a display sharing tool is currently active and sharing the display with other participants, the system proactively prevents harmful alerts from being displayed during sharing sessions, thus resolving the contradiction between notification reliability and privacy protection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The instant messaging application acts as an intermediary between the operating system and display sharing tools. It monitors display sharing status through system APIs and mediates alert display behavior accordingly, blocking alerts when sharing is detected and allowing them when it is not, thus protecting privacy while maintaining notification functionality

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If users disable the instant messaging application or block incoming messages to prevent alerts during display sharing, then privacy is protected, but communication functionality is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy protectionVSAvoidcommunication functionality

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts its behavior based on real-time display sharing status. Instead of permanently disabling the application or blocking all messages, it adaptively controls alert display by detecting whether a display sharing tool is currently active, thus protecting privacy during sharing while maintaining full communication functionality when sharing is not occurring

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system automatically detects display sharing status and self-regulates alert display behavior without requiring user intervention. The instant messaging application monitors system state through APIs and autonomously decides whether to display alerts, eliminating the need for users to manually disable the application or configure complex blocking rules

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Object-affected harmful factors

If users change status to 'away' with alert messages to warn senders during display sharing, then some privacy protection is achieved, but users may forget to change status or senders may ignore it

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy protectionVSAvoidprivacy protection reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system continuously monitors display sharing tool status through system APIs and provides real-time feedback to control alert display behavior. When display sharing is detected, the system immediately blocks alerts; when sharing stops, alerts are restored. This continuous feedback mechanism ensures reliable privacy protection without user intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS7747685B2Method for automatic detection of display sharing and alert generation in instant messaging

Publication Date: 2010.06.29 X CORP

AI summary

A method and apparatus is provided for automatically detecting display sharing, setting display sharing status, and generating alerts in instant messaging. If the display is shared, the present invention intercepts an instant message before it is displayed and generates alerts to senders. Senders have options to display the message, delete the message, or allow the message to be queued until display is no longer shared. Alternatively, if the sender's instant messaging application supports the functionality, the mechanism of the present invention may present the user with options to display the message or allow the message to be queued until display is no longer shared without sending an alert message. A privacy list of contacts may be automatically built when integrated with a calendar system for controlling instant messaging access and behavior.