Tracing messages within a message chain

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11082378-B2
Application number	US-201916380911-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 10, 2019
Priority date	Apr 10, 2019
Publication date	Aug 3, 2021
Grant date	Aug 3, 2021

Abstract

Methods and systems for tracing forwards of an electronic message. One method includes storing, for each of a plurality of forwarded messages sent via an electronic messaging application, a record in a data store, each record including a link to an original message for the forwarded message and calculating, with an electronic processor, a statistic for an electronic message based on records stored in the data store, wherein the statistic includes at least one selected from a group consisting of a number of forwards of the electronic message, a number of recipients of the electronic message including all forwards of the electronic message, and a number of requests to revoke the electronic message. The statistic is then output for display to a user via at least one user interface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of tracing forwards of an electronic message, the method comprising:
storing, for each of a plurality of forwarded messages sent via an electronic messaging application, a record in a data store, each of the plurality of forwarded messages resending an original message, and each record including linking data identifying a previous message or the original message for the forwarded message;
in response to receiving, for one of the plurality of forwarded messages, a request to revoke the one of the plurality of forwarded messages from a recipient of the one of the plurality of forwarded messages:
determining an original message of the one of the plurality of forwarded messages using one or more records in the data store and the linking data included in the record for the one of the plurality of forwarded messages, and
incrementing a counter associated with the original message tracking requests to revoke the original message;

outputting, based on a value of the counter for the original message, a number of requests to revoke the original message for display to a user via at least one user interface;
receiving, with the request to revoke, a particular reason associated with the request to revoke; and
wherein outputting the number of requests to revoke the original message includes outputting a number of requests to revoke the original message associated with the particular reason.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein storing, for each of the plurality of forwarded messages, the record in the data store includes storing, for each of the plurality of forwarded messages a record including unique identifying information for the forwarded message and unique identifying information for the original message.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein storing, for each of the plurality of forwarded messages, the record in the data store includes storing, for each of the plurality of forwarded messages a record including unique identifying information for the forwarded message and unique identifying information for a previous message of the forwarded message.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the original message of the one of the plurality of forwarded messages includes tracing a path from the one of the plurality of forwarded message to the original message via the linking data included in one or more records stored in the data store.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein outputting the number of requests to revoke the original message for display to the user via the at least one user interface includes marking the original message or the one of the plurality of forwarded messages within the at least one user interface based on the number of requests to revoke the original message to distinguish the original message from other messages associated with a different number of requests to revoke.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein outputting the number of requests to revoke the original message for display to the user via the at least one user interface includes automatically generating a notification and transmitting the notification in response to the number of requests to revoke the original message satisfying a predetermined threshold.

7. A system for tracing forwards of an electronic message, the system comprising an electronic processor configured to
store, for each of a plurality of forwarded messages sent via an electronic messaging application, a record in a data store, each of the plurality of forwarded messages resending an original message, and each record including linking data identifying a previous message or the original message for the forwarded message;
in response to receiving, for one of the plurality of forwarded messages, a request to revoke the one of the plurality of forwarded messages from a recipient of the one of the plurality of forwarded messages:
determine an original message of the one of the plurality of forwarded messages using one or more data records in the data store and linking data included in the record for the one of the plurality of forwarded messages,
increment a counter associated with the original message tracking requests to revoke the original message;

output, based on a value of the counter for the original message, a number of requests to revoke the original message for display to a user via at least one user interface;
receive, with the request to revoke, a particular reason associated with the request to revoke; and
wherein outputting the number of requests to revoke the original message includes outputting a number of requests to revoke the original message associated with the particular reason.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein storing, for each of the plurality of forwarded messages, the record in the data store includes storing, for each of the plurality of forwarded messages a record including unique identifying information for the forwarded message and unique identifying information for the original message.

9. The system of claim 7 , wherein storing, for each of the plurality of forwarded messages, the record in the data store includes storing, for each of the plurality of forwarded messages a record including unique identifying information for the forwarded message and unique identifying information for a previous message of the forwarded message.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein determining the original message of the one of the plurality of forwarded messages includes tracing a path from the one of the plurality of forwarded messages to the original message via the linking data included in one or more records stored in the data store.

11. The system of claim 7 , wherein outputting the number of requests to revoke the original message for display to the user via the at least one user interface includes marking the electronic message within the at least one user interface based on the number of requests to revoke the original message to distinguish the electronic message from other messages associated with a different number of requests to revoke.

12. The system of claim 7 , wherein outputting the number of requests to revoke the original message for display to the user via the at least one user interface includes automatically generating a notification and transmitting the notification in response to the number of requests to revoke the original message satisfying a predetermined threshold.

13. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by an electronic processor, perform a set of functions, the set of functions configured to:
store, for each of a plurality of forwarded messages sent via an electronic messaging application, a record in a data store, each of the plurality of forwarded messages resending an original message and each record including linking data identifying a previous message or the original message for the forwarded message;
in response to receiving, for one of the plurality of forwarded messages, a request to revoke the one of the plurality of forwarded messages form a recipient of the one of the plurality of forwarded messages:
determine an original message of the one of the plurality of forwarded messages using one or more data records in the data store and linking data included in the record for the one of the plurality of forwarded messages, and
increment a counter associated with the original message tracking requests to revoke the original message; and

output, based on a value of the counter for the original message, a number of requests to revoke the original message for display to a user via at least one user interface;
wherein outputting the number of requests to revoke includes outputting a review

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Rajagopal Sukanya
• Kumar Manohar
• Joshi Aayushi
• Khosla Vikhyat
• Maryala Nikhil
• Midha Rakesh
• Pratinidhi Deepak Kumar
• Kumar Rajiv
• Kumar Vinay

Classifications

• H04L51/234 Primary

  for tracking messages · CPC title

• H04L51/214

  using selective forwarding · CPC title

• H04L51/212 Primary

  using filtering or selective blocking · CPC title

• H04L51/046

  Interoperability with other network applications or services · CPC title

• H04L51/12 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic