Messaging Group Creation Using Email Placeholders
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing messaging systems require administrators to know the mobile numbers of users to set up groups, which is burdensome and violates user privacy, especially in large organizations with complex structures, as they often do not have up-to-date mobile numbers and prefer not to disclose them.
Innovation Solution
A messaging system that allows administrators to create groups using email addresses as placeholders, which are later linked to user accounts by the users themselves, enabling access to messaging groups without revealing mobile numbers, and supports hierarchical group structures without needing mobile numbers for group setup.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If administrators use mobile numbers to create messaging groups, then group creation is straightforward and direct, but user privacy is violated and administrative burden increases in large organizations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces email addresses as an intermediary identifier system. Instead of directly using mobile numbers for group creation, the system uses email addresses as a mediator that does not reveal sensitive personal information. Users can bind their mobile numbers to email addresses privately, allowing group creation via email without exposing mobile numbers to administrators.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the sensitive mobile number information from the group creation process. By separating the identification function (using email) from the communication function (using mobile number), the system removes the harmful element (privacy violation) while preserving the useful function (group creation).
2Manufacturing precision
If administrators need up-to-date mobile numbers for all users, then accurate group setup is achieved, but operational complexity and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service mechanism where users automatically bind their mobile numbers to their email addresses through the messaging system. This eliminates the need for administrators to manually collect and verify mobile numbers, allowing accurate group creation without time-consuming administrative effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary binding of mobile numbers to email addresses before group creation. Users can pre-bind their identifiers, so when administrators create groups using email addresses, the correct users are automatically identified and added, ensuring accuracy without manual intervention.
3Measurement precision
If the system requires mobile numbers for group creation, then direct user identification is possible, but user disclosure reluctance increases and privacy concerns arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the email address serve multiple functions: it acts as both the group creation identifier and the user identification key. This universal identifier system maintains precise user identification while adapting to privacy concerns by not requiring mobile number disclosure for group setup.
4Loss of information
If administrators manually collect mobile numbers for group setup, then complete user information is obtained, but administrative workload and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically collects and stores the binding between email addresses and mobile numbers through user-initiated actions. This self-service information collection ensures completeness of user information without requiring complex administrative processes for data gathering and verification.
Data Source
AI summary
A messaging system comprising: computer storage holding messaging accounts for users of the messaging system, each comprising a user identifier of a first type; an account manager for managing the messaging accounts; a group manager configured to grant participant users access to messaging groups by creating, in the computer storage, associations between the messaging groups and the messaging accounts of the participant users; a group messaging service configured for use in transmitting and receiving messages, in each of the plurality of messaging groups, between the participant users granted access to that messaging group, using the user identifiers of the first type in their messaging accounts.