Off-the-record e-mail methods and apparatus

Abstract

This invention provides for an off-the-record e-mail system that can ensure that messages, particularly sensitive messages, are available only for the intended recipient and never reside on permanent storage media. Control of the existence of the off-the-record e-mail can lie completely with the sender. The sender of the off-the-record e-mail sets the time-to-live (TTL) for the message content. When an off-the-record e-mail message is deleted, there is preferably no trace of the e-mail message on any computer backup system. The sender may also update the e-mail content at any time. The off-the-record e-mail system can include a personal server that combines the functions of a web server and an e-mail transfer server. The personal server may reside on an individual's personal workstation and might serve no one but that particular user. The personal server acts as a broker between the sender and the sender's SMTP server. Therefore, the personal server preferably does not have to be backed-up to disk or tape.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.