Unsend feature in messaging applications

A method for preserving privacy of messages in a messaging service, the method comprising:

• transmitting a message from a sender device to a recipient device via a network causing the recipient device to display the message in a modified format at least partly obscuring content of the message;
• receiving an input from a user to unsend the transmitted message after transmitting the message to the recipient device;
• determining whether the message has been displayed in an unobscured format at the recipient device;
• responsive to the message not having been displayed in the unobscured format at the recipient device, transmitting a command to the recipient device to delete the message at the recipient device.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising executable computer program code, the computer program code when executed by a processor causing the processor to:

• receive a message from a sender device via a network;
• display the received message by a receiving device in a modified format at least partly obscuring content of the message;
• responsive to receiving an input from a user to display the received message in an unobscured form, decode the received message;
• display the decoded message in the unobscured form;
• and
• responsive to receiving an unsend command from the sender device, delete the message.

A method for preserving privacy of messages in a messaging service, the method comprising:

• receiving at a messaging server via a network, a message generated at a sender device;
• transmitting the message to a recipient device, causing the recipient device to display the message in a modified format at least partly obscuring content of the message;
• receiving a command from the sender device to unsend the transmitted message after transmitting the message to the recipient device;
• determining whether the message has been displayed in an unobscured form at the recipient device;
• and
• responsive to the message not having been displayed in the unobscured form at the recipient device, transmitting a command to the recipient device to delete the message at the recipient device.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising executable computer program code, the computer program code when executed by a processor causing the processor to:

• receive a message from a sender device via a network;
• transmit the message to a recipient device, causing the recipient device to display the message in a modified format at least partly obscuring content of the message;
• receive a command from the sender device to unsend the transmitted message after transmitting the message to the recipient device;
• determine whether the message has been displayed in an unobscured form at the recipient device;
• and
• responsive to the message not having been displayed in the unobscured form at the recipient device, transmit a command to the recipient device to delete the message at the recipient device.