Method and system for highlighting email recipients

A computer program product for highlighting email recipients, the computer program product comprising:

• a non-transient computer readable medium;
• and
• computer program instructions operative to:
• receive an email message at a specific user's email client, to which the email message is displayed on an email graphical interface, the email message having multiple recipients, one of the recipients being the specific user;
• retrieve contacts of the specific user, from one or more contact resources;
• obtain a social network list for the specific user, incorporating information on relationship strengths of relationships of the specific user with the retrieved contacts;
• assign contacts on the social network list with a relationship score representing a strength of the relationship of the contact with the specific user;
• generate a user contact list including retrieved contacts on the social network list determined to have a relationship with the user with a relationship strength above a predetermined threshold;
• compare the generated user contact list to the email message recipients;
• select a sub-group of the multiple recipients based on the comparison, the sub-group including those of the multiple recipients having a relationship strength above the predetermined threshold;
• and
• highlight email addresses of recipients in the email message who are also in the selected sub-group, in a header of the email message displayed by an email graphical interface, such that only email addresses of a sub group of the recipients of the email, considered more closely related to the specific user, are highlighted;
• wherein said program instructions are stored on said computer readable medium.

A system for highlighting email recipients, comprising:

• a display;
• and
• a processor configured:
• to receive an email message at an email client of a specific user to which the email message is displayed on an email graphical interface, the email message having multiple recipients, one of the recipients being the specific user;
• to retrieve contacts of the specific user, from one or more contact resources;
• to obtain a social network list for a specific user, incorporating information on relationship strengths of relationships of the specific user with the retrieved contacts;
• to assign contacts on the social network list with a relationship score representing the strength of the relationship of the contact with the specific user;
• to generate a user contact list including retrieved contacts on the social network list, having with a relationship score above a predetermined threshold;
• to compare the multiple recipients of the email message to the generated user contact list;
• to select a sub-group of the multiple recipients based on the comparison, the sub-group including, those of the multiple recipients having a relationship strength above the predetermined threshold;
• and
• to display the email message, on the display,
• to highlight email addresses of recipients in the sub-group, in a header of the email messages displayed to the specific user by the email client application, such that only email addresses of a sub group of the recipients of an email, considered more closely related to the specific user, are highlighted.