Facebook, Inc.

Ashot Petrosian

Leo Litterello Mancini

Sharon Zeng

Andrew Buteau

Exemplary embodiments relate to techniques for representing conversations in a messaging system, where content serves as the organizing feature or primitive of a messaging inbox. In the messaging inbox, a first level of organization allows for the selection of a user account associated with shared content. Upon selecting the user account, the account's content (e.g., photographs, videos, etc.) appear as a second level of organization. Thus, content may be aggregated in two hierarchical tiers: first, on a per-sender basis, and second on a per-content basis. In some embodiments, messages generated in response to the content may be displayed on the content. The content may be made progressively darker as more replies are received. Messages can be made temporary using a number of different ephemerality models. Messages may also be made permanent, with previously shared content shown in respective inbox drawers.

Interfaces for a messaging inbox

Exemplary embodiments relate to techniques for representing conversations in a messaging system, where content serves as the organizing feature or primitive of a messaging inbox. In the messaging inbox, content may be aggregated in two hierarchical tiers: first, on a per-sender basis, and second on a per-content basis. Conversational threads may be stored in buckets represented by a relationship tuple (sender, receiver). Individual content threads may be represented by a thread identifier of the structure (content ID, sender, receiver). One piece of content may be associated with multiple conversations through the thread ID. Replies may be organized in a hierarchy under the thread ID tuple. Content ephemerality may be implemented by tying the content identifier to ephemerality conditions. Different users may view the content at different times, since the thread ID tuple can be removed from a sender bucket without removing the associated content.

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Ashot Petrosian