ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 8 -- United States Patent no. 12,438,839, issued on Oct. 7, was assigned to Snap Inc. (Santa Monica, Calif.).
"Rule-based messaging and user interaction system" was invented by Jacob Catalano (Santa Monica, Calif.), Christie Marie Heikkinen (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Vineet Kapil (Santa Monica, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Some examples relate to a system and method for enhancing digital communication through a rule-based messaging and user interaction system. The system allows users to apply user-selected rules to messages, which dictate the conditions under which certain aspects of the message, such as images or text, are obscured or revealed. For example, a "...