Abstract: A system and methods are provided for aggregating communication connections. Multiple users connect to a system (e.g., a web-based system) that hosts an application or service for exchanging communications. Users who exchange communications among themselves may be considered “associates.” When one user who is on-line with the application sends a communication through the system for an associate, the system determines whether the associate is on-line or off-line. If the associate is off-line, the system crafts and sends toward the associate a notification regarding the communication, including an address of the communication server to which the one user is connected. When the associate's device receives the notification, the application may attempt to connect to the specified address. In this way associated users' connections will aggregate or gravitate toward the same communication server, thereby eliminating the latency and cost of exchanging users' communications between multiple communication servers.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments relate to techniques for improving the speed and rendering quality of an image (e.g., a JPEG), and are especially useful in an end-to-end encrypted environment. The image may be analyzed on the sending-client side and the image data is broken into multiple categories. In one embodiment, the image data is broken into four chunks, where each chunk could be rendered (in conjunction with previous chunks) to provide increasingly high levels of quality (e.g., a thumbnail chunk, a mid-quality chunk, a high-quality chunk, and a full-quality chunk). The image is uploaded to a blob store, and a message is sent to the receiving client with image information. At the recipient side, the JPEG image data is retrieved from the blob store and each chunk is rendered at progressively increasing levels of quality. Consequently, images are rendered faster, and the quality increases over time.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments relate to techniques for transmitting ephemeral content messages. A sending client may establish an end-to-end encrypted session with possible recipients of the message, using a first decryption key during initial session setup. The client may send an ephemeral content message, including encrypted content and a second key, to the recipients through a server. The server may be unable to retrieve the encrypted content due to a lack of the second key. The server may filter a list of intended recipients, and may forward the ephemeral content message to the recipients on the filtered list. The recipients may retrieve the second key from the message, and use the first and second keys to decrypt the encrypted content. The sending client may change the second key each time the recipient list changes from the perspective of the sending client, as determined at the time the ephemeral content message is transmitted.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments are directed to a method for allowing a user at a first client device to provide access to restricted content on a content provider server to a user at a second client device without providing identifying information of the second client device or the user to the content provider. The content provider receives a request from a messaging app on a first client device for sharing of a content item with a second client device and generates a metadata block comprising at least a link to the content item. The metadata block is sent to the first client device and, in response, a public key of a private/public key pair of the second client device is received from the first client device. A request for the content item, is then received and contains a data item digitally signed using the private key of the private/public key pair of the second client device. The public key is then used to verify the digitally signed data item, thereby confirming the identity of the second client device.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments relate to techniques for sending ephemeral content messages via a communications service. An interface may be presented to allow a user to initially access ephemeral content functionality and select content for inclusion in the ephemeral content message. The interface may present a streamlined set of use cases without regard to the manner in which the content was initially captured. Different types of content may be used as ephemeral content, including images, videos, weather reports, news stories, text, audio recordings, location tags, etc. The ephemeral content may be sent through the communications service as an end-to-end encrypted message. When a user replies to an ephemeral content message, the reply may trigger a one-to-one conversation between the originating user and the replying user. Alternatively, an ephemeral content message may be initially sent to a selected group, and replies may be sent back to the entire group.

Abstract: Techniques for templated messages are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus may comprise a messaging component operative to receive a templated-message package at a client, the templated-message package comprising a message-template identifier and one or more parameters; retrieve a message template based on the message-template identifier; and generate a templated message based on the retrieved message template and the one or more parameters; and a user interface component operative to display the templated message in the client. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments relate to techniques for anonymizing information in an end-to-end (E2E) encrypted environment; the information may include, for example, statistical data about unique page/message views, view counts, view time, what users selected on the message or page, etc. Exemplary embodiments may prevent an E2E system server from being able to identify which user is associated with which record. Various examples are described, including an embodiment in which an originating client generates the data, encrypts it, and sends it to a random contact. The contact decrypts the data, re-encrypts it, and sends it to another random contact. The procedure continues for a set amount of time or for a set number of hops. Other embodiments relate to wrapping the data in various layers of encryption and sending the data to clients in a chain. The encrypted layers prevent clients along the chain from being able to view the anonymized data.

Abstract: Techniques for media item display configuration are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus may comprise a media management component operative to retrieve a plurality of contact-associated media items associated with a plurality of contacts for a user account associated with a messaging client by a messaging system; retrieve an engagement score for each of the plurality of contacts; and order the plurality of contact-associated media items based on the engagement score for each of the plurality of contacts; and a user interface component operative to receive a mixed-contact media display interface invocation in the messaging client for the messaging system; and display the plurality of contact-associated media items in a mixed-contact media display interface according to the ordering of the plurality of contact-associated media items. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: Techniques to perform the dynamic configuration of load-balanced relay operations are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus may comprise a first load balancer component, a second load balancer component, a first relay server component, a second relay server component, and a persistent shared-memory storage component. The apparatus may be operative to perform the dynamic configuration of load-balanced relay operations for a two-tier relay system using persistent shared-memory storage in which a session identifier received from client devices is used to coordinate the activities of the relay server components based on information shared via the persistent shared-memory storage component. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: Exemplary embodiments relate to techniques for providing more accurate counts relating to unread messages in a communications system. Conventionally, the unread count for an app may be inaccurate, because the local application does not synchronize its understanding of the unread messages with the server. In the described embodiments, both the server and the application inform each other of what they understand the unread count to be. The client also informs the server of when the local application is backgrounded and foregrounded. With this information, the server is able to update its badge count more accurately, and the local client is able to estimate how far off the server's count is. Using the techniques described herein, the server may inform the client of its badge-count understanding in a way that does not cause the application to wake up on the local device, thereby resulting in less battery consumption.

Abstract: Techniques to dynamically select a video encoder for streaming video encoding are described. For example, in one embodiment, an apparatus may include an encoding configuration component operative to receive network performance information for a video stream at a sending device, the video stream at a first video bitrate with a first video encoding codec, and assign a second video bitrate with a second video encoding codec to a media component based on the network performance information, wherein the second video encoding codec is used based on generating the video stream at the second video bitrate, the media component operative to generate the video stream at the sending device at the second video bitrate with the second video encoding code, and the network component operative to send the video stream from the sending device to the receiving device using the second video encoding codec. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: Techniques to visualize messaging flow are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus may comprise a messaging component operative to receive a message package at a client device, the message package comprising a primary message portion and a quoted message portion, the quoted message portion comprising a quoted message identifier; determine whether a quoted message store corresponding to the quoted message identifier is present on the client device; retrieve a primary message from the primary message portion; retrieve a quoted message based on the quoted message store where the quoted message store corresponding to the quoted message identifier is present on the client device; and retrieve the quoted message from the quoted message portion of the message package where the quoted message store corresponding to the quoted message identifier is not present on the client device. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: A messaging server establishes a video chat between first and second endpoints through a first and second router. In parallel, the messaging server transmits instructions to the first endpoint causing the first endpoint to transmit packets through a plurality of ports of the first router to a designated port of the second router. In addition, the messaging server transmits instructions to the second endpoint causing the second endpoint to transmit packets through a plurality of ports of the second router to a corresponding plurality of ports of the first router. A P2P connection is established between the first and second endpoints in response to a first port of the plurality of ports of the first router receiving a data packet from the designated port of the second router. The video chat is seamlessly transferred from the connection established through the messaging server to the established P2P connection.

Abstract: A server receives a request for a business account with the messaging system that includes a business name and a contact point. The server determines whether users of the messaging system associate the business name with the contact point. The server also determines whether the business name and/or the contact point has characteristics consistent with the request originating from a genuine business. The business account is validated if users of the messaging system associate the business name with the contact point and at least one of the business name or the contact point have characteristics consistent with the request originating from a genuine business. The business account profile is updated to indicate it is verified. Client devices are adapted to display messages from the business account in conjunction with a visual indicator that the business account is verified.

Abstract: Techniques to dynamically configure a sender bitrate for streaming media connections are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus may comprise a media component operative to generate a media stream at a sending client device, the media stream comprising a video stream and an audio stream, the media stream configured for a sending bitrate; and modifying the sending bitrate based on a receiver-side bitrate value; a network component operative to send the media stream to a receiving client device; and a bitrate determination component operative to receive the receiver-side bitrate value from the receiving client device, the receiver-side bitrate value based on a first network performance measure and a second network performance measure, the first network performance measure based on the video stream in isolation from the audio stream, the second network performance measure based on the audio stream in isolation from the video stream. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Abstract: A messaging system establishes a secure call session between multiple parties. The call session is secured using an entropy value shared among parties in the call session. During the call session, the messaging system receives an instruction from a party in the call session to modify the call session. The call session may be modified by a party being added or removed from the session. Based on the received instruction, the messaging system performs an entropy value update to ensure that the call session is secure after the modification is made. A new entropy value is generated by a party in the call session and transmitted to other parties in the call session. Using the new entropy value, the messaging system establishes the modified secure call session.

Abstract: A system and methods are provided for establishing an authenticated and encrypted communication connection between two devices with at most two round-trip communications. During establishment of an initial authenticated, encrypted communication connection (or afterward), a first device (e.g., a server) provides the second device (e.g., a client) with a token (e.g., a challenge) that lives or persists beyond the current connection. After that connection is terminated and the second device initiates a new connection, it uses the token as part of the handshaking process to reduce the necessary round-trip communications to one.

Abstract: Techniques to dynamically configure target bitrate for streaming network connections are described.

Abstract: A system and methods are provided for conveying connection-oriented communications (e.g., textual messages among multiple users) via a protocol such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). When a device operating a communication application that features a custom application layer protocol for formatting messages for transmission cannot connect to the system hosting the application using a default protocol stack that include the custom application layer protocol, it instead connects using HTTP's chunked mode of transfer encoding. Each outgoing communication is encapsulated in a separate HTTP chunk, and communications to multiple different users may be conveyed via the one connection. Incoming communications (e.g., from the multiple users) are received as separate chunks and are unwrapped or de-encapsulated to retrieve the communication for presentation to a user.