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AppleGranted patentPhones & computersInterest 6/10

Apple patents how to leave mixed-service group chats on your phone

Apple has patented a method for managing group chats that include people using different messaging apps. The patent describes how a user can remove themselves from such a chat, which then triggers the app to delete the conversation from their device.

Why it mattersThis improves how users manage their inboxes when chatting with friends who use different platforms, like iMessage and WhatsApp, by giving them a clear way to exit and clean up the conversation.

In the filing’s own words

Some embodiments described in this disclosure are directed to one or more electronic devices that display a plurality of user interfaces corresponding to messaging in hybrid group messaging conversations. Some embodiments described in this disclosure are directed to adding a user to a hybrid group messaging conversation. Some embodiments described in this disclosure are directed towards deleting a hybrid group messaging conversation.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method comprising: at an electronic device in communication with a display generation component and one or more input devices: while a user of the electronic device is part of a first group messaging conversation comprising a plurality of users, wherein the first group messaging conversation includes at least a respective user of the plurality of users that is not part of a same messaging service, and while displaying, via the display generation component, a user interface associated with a messaging application via which the first group messaging conversation is conducted, receiving, via the one or more input devices, an indication to remove the user of the electronic device from the first group messaging conversation; and in response to receiving the indication to remove the user of the electronic device from the first group messaging conversation: initiating a process to delete the first group messaging conversation in the messaging application.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
User interfaces for displaying, transmitting, and receiving communications
Patent number
US12769437B2
Application number
18658850
Filed
May 8, 2024
Granted
Oct 20, 2026
Inventors
1
Claims
24

Classified under

G06F 3/0484 Physics & computingH04L 51/212 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.