{
  "patent_number": "US 8914752",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Snapchat Stories Advance with a Tap",
  "original_title": "Apparatus and method for accelerated display of ephemeral messages",
  "summary": "This patent describes how an electronic device can quickly show a series of short-lived messages, deleting the current one and showing the next in response to a simple screen tap.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent covers a system where an electronic device displays a series of 'ephemeral messages' (messages that disappear). Each message appears for a specific, short 'transitory period of time' set by a timer. If a user makes a 'haptic contact' (touches the screen) during this period, the system immediately deletes the current message and automatically displays the next message in the series, starting its own timer (Claim 1). For example, when viewing a friend's Snapchat Story, tapping the screen quickly moves you to the next photo or video in their story.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover messages that remain visible indefinitely unless manually dismissed, as all messages are deleted when their 'transitory period of time' expires (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover systems where a user gesture only dismisses a message without automatically presenting the next one in a set (Claim 1 requires 'deletes... and proceeds to present... a second ephemeral message').",
    "Does not cover messages that are deleted solely by a timer, without any user interaction accelerating their deletion or advancing to the next message (Claim 1 specifies deletion 'in response to the haptic contact signal').",
    "Does not cover systems where the display of the next message requires a separate, explicit action beyond the gesture that deleted the previous message (Claim 1 links deletion and progression directly).",
    "Does not cover messages that are not part of a 'set of ephemeral messages available for viewing' (Claim 1)."
  ],
  "filed": "2013-08-22",
  "granted": "2014-12-16",
  "expires": "2033-08-22",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Snapchat Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/snapchat-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Evan Spiegel",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/evan-spiegel"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 176,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software",
    "telecommunications"
  ],
  "abstract": "An electronic device comprises a display and an ephemeral message controller to present on the display an ephemeral message for a transitory period of time. A touch controller identifies haptic contact on the display during the transitory period of time. The ephemeral message controller terminates the ephemeral message in response to the haptic contact.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8914752/apparatus-and-method-for-accelerated-display-of-ephemeral-messages",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8914752/apparatus-and-method-for-accelerated-display-of-ephemeral-messages/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US8914752",
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}