PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10419377-B2
Application Number: US-201715610564-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Method and system for categorizing instant messages

Abstract:
According to one embodiment, in response to a request received from a messaging system to categorize a message received from a remote sender, a messaging extension associated with the messaging client is identified. The message without a recipient identifier (ID) identifying a recipient of the message is transmitted to the messaging extension via a first application programming interface (API). The messaging extension is executed within a first sandboxed environment and the messaging extension is to perform a content analysis on the message to categorize the message. In response to a first analysis result received from the messaging extension, a response representing the first analysis result is transmitted to the messaging system, wherein the response indicates whether the message should be delivered or filtered.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A computer-implemented method for categorizing messages, the method comprising:
 in response to a request received from a messaging system to categorize a message received from a remote sender, identify a messaging extension associated with a messaging client; 
 transmitting the message without a recipient identifier (ID) identifying a recipient of the message to the messaging extension via a first application programming interface (API), wherein the messaging extension is executed within a first sandboxed environment, and wherein the messaging extension is to perform a content analysis on the message to categorize the message; and 
 in response to a first analysis result received from the messaging extension, transmitting a response representing the first analysis result to the messaging system, wherein the response indicates whether the message should be delivered or filtered. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 examining the first analysis result to determine whether the messaging extension defers the content analysis to a remote server; 
 in response to determining that the content analysis should be deferred, transmitting the message without the recipient ID to the remote server via a second API, wherein the remote server is to perform the content analysis; and 
 in response to receiving a second analysis result from the remote server, generating the response to be transmitted to the messaging system based on the second analysis result. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 in response to the second analysis result, forwarding the second analysis result to the messaging extension via the first API; 
 receiving a third analysis result from the messaging extension, wherein the third analysis result was generated by the messaging extension based on the second analysis result; and 
 generating the response to be transmitted to the messaging system based on the third analysis result. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the messaging system is executed within a second sandboxed environment that is different from the first sandboxed environment. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 2 , wherein transmitting the message without the recipient ID to the remote server comprises transmitting the message without the recipient ID to a network daemon executed in a third sandboxed environment via a third API, wherein the network daemon is to transmit the message without the recipient ID to the remote server. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the message is received from the messaging system when the sender is unknown to a user associated with the messaging system. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the sender is unknown to the user when a sender ID identifying the sender cannot be found in an address book of the user. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 6 , wherein the sender is unknown to the user when the user has responded to messages received from the sender less than a predetermined number of times. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the recipient ID represents at least one of a phone number of the recipient, an email address of the recipient, and a name of the recipient. 
     
     
       10. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations for categorizing messages, the operations comprising:
 in response to a request received from a messaging system to categorize a message received from a remote sender, identify a messaging extension associated with a messaging client; 
 transmitting the message without a recipient identifier (ID) identifying a recipient of the message to the messaging extension via a first application programming interface (API), wherein the messaging extension is executed within a first sandboxed environment, and wherein the messaging extension is to perform a content analysis on the message to categorize the message; and 
 in response to a first analysis result received from the messaging extension, transmitting a response representing the first analysis result to the messaging system, wherein the response indicates whether the message should be delivered or filtered. 
 
     
     
       11. The machine-readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 examining the first analysis result to determine whether the messaging extension defers the content analysis to a remote server; 
 in response to determining that the content analysis should be deferred, transmitting the message without the recipient ID to the remote server via a second API, wherein the remote server is to perform the content analysis; and 
 in response to receiving a second analysis result from the remote server, generating the response to be transmitted to the messaging system based on the second analysis result. 
 
     
     
       12. The machine-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 in response to the second analysis result, forwarding the second analysis result to the messaging extension via the first API; 
 receiving a third analysis result from the messaging extension, wherein the third analysis result was generated by the messaging extension based on the second analysis result; and 
 generating the response to be transmitted to the messaging system based on the third analysis result. 
 
     
     
       13. The machine-readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the messaging system is executed within a second sandboxed environment that is different from the first sandboxed environment. 
     
     
       14. The machine-readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein transmitting the message without the recipient ID to the remote server comprises transmitting the message without the recipient ID to a network daemon executed in a third sandboxed environment via a third API, wherein the network daemon is to transmit the message without the recipient ID to the remote server. 
     
     
       15. The machine-readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the message is received from the messaging system when the sender is unknown to a user associated with the messaging system. 
     
     
       16. The machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the sender is unknown to the user when a sender ID identifying the sender cannot be found in an address book of the user. 
     
     
       17. The machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the sender is unknown to the user when the user has responded to messages received from the sender less than a predetermined number of times. 
     
     
       18. The machine-readable medium of  claim 10 , wherein the recipient ID represents at least one of a phone number of the recipient, an email address of the recipient, and a name of the recipient. 
     
     
       19. A data processing system, comprising:
 at least one processor; and 
 at least one memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations, the operations including
 in response to a request received from a messaging system to categorize a message received from a remote sender, identify a messaging extension associated with a messaging client, 
 transmitting the message without a recipient identifier (ID) identifying a recipient of the message to the messaging extension via a first application programming interface (API), wherein the messaging extension is executed within a first sandboxed environment, and wherein the messaging extension is to perform a content analysis on the message to categorize the message, and 
 in response to a first analysis result received from the messaging extension, transmitting a response representing the first analysis result to the messaging system, wherein the response indicates whether the message should be delivered or filtered. 
 
 
     
     
       20. The system of  claim 19 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 examining the first analysis result to determine whether the messaging extension defers the content analysis to a remote server; 
 in response to determining that the content analysis should be deferred, transmitting the message without the recipient ID to the remote server via a second API, wherein the remote server is to perform the content analysis; and 
 in response to receiving a second analysis result from the remote server, generating the response to be transmitted to the messaging system based on the second analysis result. 
 
     
     
       21. The system of  claim 20 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 in response to the second analysis result, forwarding the second analysis result to the messaging extension via the first API; 
 receiving a third analysis result from the messaging extension, wherein the third analysis result was generated by the messaging extension based on the second analysis result; and 
 generating the response to be transmitted to the messaging system based on the third analysis result. 
 
     
     
       22. A computer-implemented method for categorizing messages, the method comprising:
 in response to a messaging received at a messaging system from a remote sender over a network, determining whether the remote sender is known to a user operating the messaging system; 
 in response to determining that the remote sender is unknown to the user, transmitting the message without a recipient identifier (ID) identifying the user to a third-party messaging extension via a first application programming interface (API), wherein the third-party messaging extension is executed within a first sandboxed environment, and wherein the third-party messaging extension is to perform a content analysis on the message to categorize the message; and 
 in response to an analysis result received from the third-party messaging extension, processing the message based on the analysis result. 
 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 22 , wherein determining whether the remote sender is known to a user operating the messaging system comprising determining whether a sender ID of the remote sender is found in an address book of the user. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 23 , wherein determining whether the remote sender is known to a user operating the messaging system comprising determining whether the user has responded to messages received from the sender more than a predetermined number of times. 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 22 , wherein processing the message based on the analysis result comprises:
 delivering the message to an inbox of the user if the analysis result indicates that the message is allowed for delivery; and 
 storing the message in a spam folder if the analysis result indicates that the message should be filtered.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to instant messaging systems. More particularly, embodiments of the disclosure relate to categorizing instant messages. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Instant messaging (IM) is a set of communication technologies used for text-based communication between two or more participants over the Internet or other types of networks. IM-chat happens in real-time. Of importance is that online chat and instant messaging differ from other technologies such as email due to the perceived quasi-synchrony of the communications by the users. IM allows effective and efficient communication, allowing immediate receipt of acknowledgment or reply. 
     As IM is getting more popular, more often users have become targets of unsolicited spam and more unwanted messages may be received from unknown or unwanted sources. There has been a lack of sufficient spam filtering techniques available to counter the unwanted instant messages. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an example of architecture of an operating system according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an example of a messaging extension point according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a flow processing diagram illustrating a processing flow of categorizing messages according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating a process of categorizing messages according to one embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating a process of categorizing messages according to another embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is flow diagram illustrating a process of categorizing messages according to another embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a processing flow diagram illustrating a process of providing feedback of content analysis on messages according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating a data processing system according to one embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments and aspects of the disclosures will be described with reference to details discussed below, and the accompanying drawings will illustrate the various embodiments. The following description and drawings are illustrative of the disclosure and are not to be construed as limiting the disclosure. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. However, in certain instances, well-known or conventional details are not described in order to provide a concise discussion of embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. 
     According to one aspect of the disclosure, an interface (e.g., inter-process communication or IPC interface) is provided to allow a messaging system or messaging application to invoke a messaging extension (e.g., a plug-in application) to perform a service of categorizing messages. For example, when a messaging system receives a message (e.g., an IM message), the messaging system can send the message without recipient identifying information of the message to a messaging extension through a predefined application programming interface (API). The message being sent to the messaging extension may only include the body or content of the message without any identifying information such as recipient identifying information of the message. Sender identifying information such as a sender identifier (ID) may also be sent to the messaging extension. The messaging extension then performs a content analysis on the message and/or the sender ID to categorize the message. The result of the content analysis is returned to the messaging system via the predefined API. The predefined API is referred to herein as an extension point, such as a messaging extension point to allow a messaging system to communicate with a messaging extension. The messaging extension may be a third party content analysis application that operates as a plug-in with respect to the messaging system. The content analysis result may include information indicating whether the message is a legitimate message that should be delivered to a user, an unwanted message that should be filtered, or unknown. 
     According to one embodiment, in response to a request received from a messaging system to categorize a message that was received from a remote sender, a messaging extension associated with the messaging system is identified and launched. Recipient identifying information is removed from the message. The body of the message may be optionally scanned to remove or redact any recipient identifying information from the message body such as a phone number, an email address, and/or a name of the recipient. The message without recipient identifying information is transmitted to the messaging extension via a first application programming interface (API). The messaging extension is running within a sandboxed environment within which the message extension is configured to perform a content analysis based on the message and/or the sender ID to categorize the message. A first analysis result is then returned from the messaging extension, wherein the first analysis result includes information indicating whether the message should be delivered to a user or filtered as an unwanted message. A response to the request is generated based on the first analysis result and the response is then transmitted back to the messaging system to allow the messaging system to determine whether the message should be delivered to the user. 
     According to another embodiment, the first analysis result is examined to determine whether the messaging extension defers the content analysis to be performed at a remote content analysis server. If the first analysis result indicates that the content analysis should be deferred to the remote server, the message without recipient identifying information is transmitted to the remote server via a second API. The remote server is configured to perform the content analysis on the message to determine a category of the message. A second analysis result is received from the remote server. The response to the request to be sent back to the messaging system is generated based on the second analysis result. According to a further embodiment, the second analysis result received from the remote server is forwarded to the messaging extension, where the messaging extension generates a third analysis result as a final analysis result based on the second analysis result. When the third analysis result is received from the messaging extension, the third analysis result is then forwarded to the messaging system. As a result, in this configuration, the messaging system can invoke a third-party content analysis expertise to provide a content analysis application as a messaging extension to the messaging system and the content analysis extension can be updated from time to time without having to modify the messaging system. 
     According to another aspect of the disclosure, when a messaging system receives a message (e.g., an instant message) from a remote sender, the messaging system examines the message to determine whether the sender is known to a user operating the messaging system as a recipient. The sender is known to the user if a sender ID (e.g., phone number or email address) of the sender can be found in an address book (e.g., contact) of the user. Alternatively, if the user has responded to messages sent by the sender more than a predetermined number of times in a past predetermined period of time, the sender is considered known to the user. The rationale behind this is that if the user has communicated with the sender several times, it is more likely that the user knows the sender. If it is determined that the sender is unknown to the user, the message without recipient identifying information is transmitted to a messaging extension via a predefined API or extension point. The messaging extension may be running within a dedicated sandboxed environment to perform a content analysis on the message. In response to an analysis result received from the messaging extension, the messaging system determines whether the message should be delivered to the user or filtered out based the analysis result. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an example of architecture of an operating system according to one embodiment of the disclosure. Operating system  100  may represent any of the operating systems running with data processing systems. For example, operating system  100  may be an iOS™ from Apple®, Android™ from Google®, Windows™ from Microsoft®, or other operating systems (e.g., UNIX, LINUX, real-time or embedded operating systems). A data processing system may be a server, a desktop (e.g., iMac™ available from Apple Inc.® of Cupertino, Calif.), a laptop (e.g., MacBook™), a tablet (e.g., iPad™), a server, a mobile phone (e.g., iPhone™), a media player (e.g., iPod™ or iPod Touch™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a Smartwatch (e.g., Apple Watch™), a personal communicator, a gaming device, a network router or hub, a wireless access point (AP) or repeater, a set-top box (e.g., Apple TV™ box), or a combination thereof. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , operating system  100  includes, amongst others, a set of one or more extension points  103 - 105  to allow various clients, such as messaging application or system  101  and messaging extension  102 , to access a set of extensions via extension points  103 - 105 . A client can be an application or an extension. Each of extension points  103 - 105  represents a set of predefined APIs or protocols to allow one client as a host application to obtain a predefined service or services provided by another client as an extension that extends at least a portion of functionalities of another application as a container application. Each of extension points  103 - 105  may further define the resources, scheduling, and termination schemes (e.g., which of the process should be terminated first, etc.) for the processes associated with the extension point. In one embodiment, extension points  103 - 105  may include various commonly used or popular functionalities or services associated with operating system  100 . An extension point defines a set of predefined application programming interfaces (APIs) or communications protocols that allow a client to access or to provide a service from and to another client. A service provided by an extension point may be provided by a standard component of the operating system or a third party function provided by a third party vendor. 
     Extension points  103 - 105  may be managed by extension manager  110 , where extension points  103 - 105  may be collectively referred to as an extension interface, an extension layer, or an extension framework, as part of system component of operating system  100 . For example, when extension  102 , as well as its corresponding container application (not shown), is installed, installation module  120  parses metadata of an application bundle containing extension  102  and its container application. Based on the metadata associated with extension  102 , installation module  120  recognizes that extension  102  is specifically designed and developed for extension point  104 . For example, extension  102  may be developed using a specific extension template and compiled with a specific set of libraries corresponding to extension point  104 . Extension  102  may be provided by a third party or a provider of operating system  100 . 
     Installation module  120  then installs extension  102  in operating system  100  and stores any information related to extension  102  in launch database  108 . For example, a security profile (e.g., configuration file) of extension  102  may be compiled and stored as a part of extension profiles  122  in launch database  108 . Similarly, each application operating as a client to extensions points  103 - 105  may be associated with an application profile stored as a part of application profiles  121  in launch database (DB)  108 . A security profile may include information indicating that extension  102  is capable of providing a particular service or services through extension point  104 . The security profile may further include resource entitlements and/or restrictions that may be subsequently utilized to configure a sandboxed environment when extension  102  is launched. Other extensions may be installed in a similar way by installation module  120 . In addition, extension  102  may also be registered in extension registry  150 , which may be used subsequently for searching extension services in response to a query for a particular type or class of extension services. Note that extension registry  150  and launch database  108  may be integrated into a single repository having a query application programming interface (API). 
     Subsequently, when a client, in this example, messaging system or application  101 , inquires by communicating via extension  104  about a service available for extension point  104  (also referred to as an extension service), in this example, a content analysis service, extension manager  110  invokes launch module  112  (or discovery module, not shown) to discover any extensions installed in the system that are capable of providing the inquired service. In response, launch module  112  searches within launch database  108  to identify and determine which of the installed extensions are capable of providing such a service. 
     In one embodiment, the inquiry may include information specifying certain specific resources that are required for the service. In response, launch module  112  searches and identifies those who can handle the specified resources. For example, a host application may specify the data size that a service is required to handle. Thus, the extension framework as shown in  FIG. 1  is able to match the capabilities of extensions with the specification of the requested services. Alternatively, extension manager  110  may query extension registry  150  to identify a list of extensions that are capable of providing the requested extension service or services, where launch DB  108  contains information for configuring a sandboxed operating environment when launching an extension based on extension profiles  122 . 
     If there is only one extension installed capable of providing services for extension point  104 , launch module  112  may automatically launch the identified extension. If there are multiple extensions that are capable of providing services for extension point  104 , launch module  112  may present a list of the extensions to allow a user or client  101  to select one of them for launching. Once the selected extension, in this example, messaging extension  102 , has been launched, extension manager  110  invokes inter-process communications (IPC) service module  115  to facilitate IPC communications between client  101  and client  102  via extension point  104 . In one embodiment, the communications between client  101  and client  102  are asynchronous message-based communications, such as the XPC framework available from Apple Inc. In one embodiment, each of extension points  103 - 105  includes at least two sets of APIs, one for host applications (e.g., client  101 ) to invoke extension services and the other for extensions (e.g., client  102 ) to provide extension services. 
     In one embodiment, extension points  103 - 105  include a messaging extension point, in this example, messaging extension point  104 , to allow a messaging system or application to invoke a messaging extension to perform a content analysis on a message, such as an instant message, received from a remote sender. The messaging extension point may be managed by messaging extension manager  111 . The messaging extension may be provided as a part of operating system  100 . Alternatively, the messaging extension may be a third-party content analysis application provided by a third-party vendor. When the messaging system requires a content analysis on a particular message, the message excluding the recipient identifying information is transmitted to the messaging extension for content analysis via the corresponding extension point. Based on the content analysis performed by the messaging extension, the messaging system can determine whether the message should be delivered to an inbox of the user. If it is determined that the message is an unwanted message based on the content analysis performed by the messaging extension, the message may be dropped or stored in a spam folder of the user. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an example of a messaging extension point according to one embodiment of the disclosure. Messaging extension point  200  may be implemented as any one of extension points  102 - 105  of  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , messaging system or application  101  and messaging extension  102  are communicatively coupled to messaging extension manager  111  via messaging extension point APIs  210 . In this example, messaging extension manager  111  and messaging extension point APIs  210  logically represent a messaging extension point. In one embodiment, messaging system  101  is executed within sandbox  211  and messaging extension  102  is executed within sandbox  212 . Sandboxes  211 - 212  are separate sandboxes. Messaging system  101  may be provided by a provider of the operating system, while messaging extension  102  may be provided by a third party or the provider of the operating system. 
     Since messaging system  101  and messaging extension  102  are executed in separate sandboxed environments as sandboxed processes, they normally cannot directly communicate with each other. Rather, messaging system  101 , as a host application in this example, communicates using a first set of APIs or protocols associated with extension point  210  to access system resources such as messaging extension manager  111 , launch module  112 , and IPC service module  115 , etc. Similarly, messaging extension  102 , as an extension in this example, communicates using a second set of APIs or protocols associated with messaging extension point  210  to access messaging extension manager  111 , launch module  112 , and IPC service module  115 . In order to access messaging extension point  210 , messaging system/application  101  and messaging extension  102  may be compiled and linked using a software development kit (SDK) that is associated with extension point  210  during the software development. 
     A sandboxed process refers to a process that has been restricted within a restricted operating environment (e.g., sandbox) that limits the process to a set of predefined resources. Each sandboxed process may be associated with a set of dedicated system resources, such as, for example, a dedicated memory space, a dedicated storage area, or a virtual machine, etc. One of the purposes of sandboxing an application is to isolate the application from accessing other unnecessary or unrelated system resources of another application or a system component, such that any damage caused by the application would not spill over to other areas of system  100 . 
     To provide security, an application may be “contained” by restricting its functionality to a subset of operations and only allowing operations that are necessary for the proper operation, i.e., operation according to its intended functionality. One method to implement a limited set of policies for each application is to contain, or “sandbox” the application. Sandboxing of an application or process can be achieved using operating system level protection to provide containment and to enforce security policies, such as policies that restrict the ability of the application to take actions beyond those functions needed for it to provide its intended functionalities. 
     When an application has been sandboxed during execution, the application is executed as a sandboxed process or thread within the system that is contained within a sandbox (also referred to as an application container), in which it cannot access certain system resources or another territory (e.g., sandbox) of another application, subject to a security profile associated with the sandboxed application, which is referred to as a sandboxed process or a sandboxed application. 
     A sandboxed process is the application or other program for which security containment will be implemented. In many cases, a sandboxed process is a user application, but it could be another program implemented on the computing device such as a daemon or a service. To increase security and provide an efficient mechanism, portions of the security system are implemented or executed in a kernel space. In addition, a monitor process module (not shown) is executed in a separate memory space from the sandboxed processes to further insulate them from each other. In particular, a sandboxed process is restricted from accessing memory outside of its process or address space and is further prohibited from spawning a non-sandboxed process. For example, a security profile of a sandboxed process may include a rule or policy that denies the sandboxed process from using certain system calls, which may be a mechanism that allows processes to alter each other&#39;s address spaces. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , when messaging system  101  receives a message from remote sender  201 , messaging system  101  determines whether the message needs to be categorized. In one embodiment, if sender  201  is unknown to a user operating the system, messaging system  101  transmits the message to messaging extension manager  111  via a first API of messaging extension point APIs  210 . In one embodiment, messaging system  101  may remove any recipient identifying information from the message prior to sending the message to the messaging extension point. Messaging system  101  may optionally scan the message body to identify and remove or redact any recipient identifying information from the message body. Sender  201  is known to the user if a sender ID of sender  201  is listed in an address book or contact of the user. A message can be a short messaging service (SMS) message, a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message, or any other proprietary messages such as an iMessage™ from Apple Inc. A sender ID can be a mobile phone number and/or an email address of sender  201 . Alternatively, if the user has prior communications with the sender  201  for a period of time, the sender may be considered known to the user. For example, if the user has responded to messages received from sender  201  for more than a predetermined number of times (e.g., three times) sender  201  is considered known to the user. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , when messaging extension manager  111  receives the message from messaging system  101  via the first API via path  301 , messaging extension manager  111  stores the message as a part of messages  205  in buffer  202 . In addition, according to one embodiment, messaging extension manager  111  removes from the message recipient identifying information of a recipient of the message, in this example, any user identifying information of the user. Messaging extension manager  111  may optionally scan the message body to remove or redact any recipient identifying information such as a phone number, an email address, and/or a name of the recipient. In one embodiment, the recipient information may be removed by messaging system  101 . The message may be buffered in buffer  202  as part of messages  205 . The recipient identifying information may include a phone number and/or an email address of a recipient. Messaging extension manager  111  transmits via a second API the message without recipient identifying information to messaging extension  102  via path  302 . In one embodiment, messaging extension manager  111  sends only the body of the message (e.g., content of the message body) and a sender ID of the sender to messaging extension  102 . 
     In response to the message received from messaging extension manager, at block  303 , messaging extension  102  performs a content analysis on the message and/or sender ID to categorize the message. Once the content analysis has been performed, messaging extension  102  transmits a first analysis result back to messaging extension manager  111  via path  304 . The first analysis result may include information indicating whether the message should be delivered to the user or the message should be filtered out. In one embodiment, the category of a message may be one of 1) allowed, 2) filtered, and 3) deferred. When a message is categorized as “allowed,” the message should be delivered to the user. When a message is categorized as “filtered,” the message should be filtered out without delivering to the user. When a message is categorized as “deferred,” it means that messaging extension  102  is not able to categorize the message. Instead, messaging extension  102  defers the content analysis to a remote server such as remote server  250 . For example, messaging extension  102  may not have the latest data pattern definitions or rules to categorize the message. Rather, remote server  250  may have up-to-date data pattern definitions or rules to sufficiently categorize the message. 
     At block  305 , messaging extension manager  111  examines the first analysis result to determine whether the first analysis result indicates that the content analysis should be deferred. If it is determined that the first analysis result contains either an “allowed” category or a “filtered” category, messaging extension manager  111  forwards the first analysis result to messaging system  101  via path  306  and messaging system  101  can determine whether to deliver the message to the user or filter out the message at block  313 . 
     If it is determined that the category of the message determined by messaging extension  102  is “deferred,” messaging extension manager  111  transmits the message (without recipient identifying information) to remote content analysis server  250  via path  307  and requests content analysis server  250  to perform the content analysis. In one embodiment, in response to the first analysis result received from messaging extension  102  indicating that the category of the message is “deferred,” messaging extension manager  111  retrieves the buffered message from buffer  202 . Messaging extension manager  111  transmits the retrieved message to network daemon  220  via a third API. Network daemon  220  is executed within sandbox  213  that is separated from sandboxes  211 - 212 . Network daemon  220  is responsible for establishing a network connection with a remote entity, in this example, content analysis server  250 . 
     In one embodiment, messaging extension manager  111  retrieves a network address associated with server  250  from extension profile  230  that is associated with messaging extension  102 . In this example, extension profile  230  contains a universal resource locator (URL) link that has been previously configured during the installation of messaging extension  102 . Messaging extension manager  111  transmits the message and the network address to network daemon  220  via the third API to request network daemon  220  to transmit the message to the network address. In response, network daemon  220  transmits message to content analysis server  250  according to the network address received from messaging extension manager  111 . 
     According to one embodiment, all network requests are performed by network daemon  220  and extension  102  is prevented from accessing the network directly via a sandbox profile. In some cases, only HTTPS (secured hypertext transport protocol) URLs are permitted for network requests, and must not require any special application transport security (ATS) configuration settings. A dedicated configuration can be used to ensure network requests do not persist HTTP cookies. Extension  102  may be prevented from writing data to a storage location shared with messaging system  101  via a sandbox profile. After installing a container application containing messaging extension  102 , a user may be asked to explicitly opt-in to use it. In some cases, a single extension  102  can be enabled at a time instead of multiple versions of extensions  102  being enabled at a time. 
     Typically, messaging extension  102  has a relationship with server  250 , where server  250  serves as a backend server to messaging extension  102 . When messaging extension  102  cannot determine the category of a message, messaging extension  102  may request server  250  for help. Note that since messaging extension  102  is executed in sandbox  212 , whatever messaging extension  102  does would be maintained within sandbox  212 . For example, messaging extension  102  cannot directly communicate with network daemon  220  or remote server  250 . Rather, messaging extension  102  has to go through the messaging extension point, i.e., messaging extension manager  111 , in order to reach server  250 . Messaging extension manager  111  does not forward any data generated from messaging extension  102  to content analysis server  250 . As a result, messaging extension  102  and/or server  250  cannot profile a recipient of the message such as building a social graph about the recipient based on the messages. Even if messaging extension  102  might be able to profile the recipient, it cannot communicate the profiling information outside of the corresponding sandbox  212  to reach server  250 . 
     At block  308 , server  250  performs a content analysis on the message and transmits a second analysis result back to messaging extension manager  111  via path  309 . The second analysis result may indicate that the category of the message is “allowed” or “filtered.” In response to the second analysis result, messaging extension manager  111  may directly forward the second analysis result to messaging system  101  to allow message system  101  to determine whether the message should be delivered to the user at block  313 . Alternatively, according to one embodiment, messaging extension manager  111  forwards via the second API the second analysis result to messaging extension  102  via path  310 . In response to the second analysis result, messaging extension  102  generates a third analysis result as the final result based on the second analysis result and transmits the third analysis result back to messaging extension manager  111  via path  311 . The third analysis result may indicate that the category of the message is “allowed” or “filtered.” In response to the third analysis result, messaging extension manager  111  generates a response based on the third analysis result and transmits the response to messaging system  101  via path  312 . At block  313 , messaging system  101  determines whether the message should be delivered to the user based on the third analysis result. 
     According to another embodiment, when messaging extension  102  cannot definitely categorize a message or remote server  250  is unavailable, messaging extension  102  categorize the message as “unknown.” For example, after deferring the content analysis to remote server  250 , due to the network congestion, the network connection with server  250  times out. In this situation, the message may be categorized with an “unknown” category. When messaging system  101  receives a response from the extension point indicating that the message&#39;s category is unknown, it is up to messaging system  101  to decide whether the message should be delivered to the user. Alternatively, when messaging system  101  does not hear anything back from the messaging extension point after a timeout period (e.g., 10 seconds), messaging system  101  may deliver the message to the recipient as usual. 
     Note that a message may include sensitive information such as personal information (e.g., personal contact information) or confidential information (e.g., bank account information, social security number) concerning a sender and/or a recipient. The user as a recipient may not want to send the message to a third party application to determine whether the message is an unwanted message. In one embodiment, a mechanism is in placed to allow a user to opt in or opt out regarding whether a message should be sent to a third-party content analysis application. 
     The present disclosure recognizes that the use of personal information data (such as sender identifying information collected by the third-party content analysis application), in the present technology, can be used to the benefit of users. For example, the personal information data can be used to determine or train a machine-learning algorithm to determine whether messages from a particular source are more likely unwanted messages. The present disclosure further contemplates that the entities (e.g., third-party content analysis application) responsible for the collection, analysis, disclosure, transfer, storage, or other use of such personal information data will comply with well-established privacy policies and/or privacy practices. 
     In particular, such entities should implement and consistently use privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining personal information data private and secure. For example, personal information from users should be collected for legitimate and reasonable uses of the entity and not shared or sold outside of those legitimate uses. Further, such collection should occur only after receiving the informed consent of the users. Additionally, such entities would take any needed steps for safeguarding and securing access to such personal information data and ensuring that others with access to the personal information data adhere to their privacy policies and procedures. Further, such entities can subject themselves to evaluation by third parties to certify their adherence to widely accepted privacy policies and practices. 
     Despite the foregoing, the present disclosure also contemplates embodiments in which users selectively block the use of, or access to, personal information data. That is, the present disclosure contemplates that hardware and/or software elements can be provided to prevent or block access to such personal information data. For example, in the case of messaging spam filtering, the present technology can be configured to allow users to select to “opt in” or “opt out” of participation sending messages to a third-party content analysis application. 
     According to one embodiment, before allowing an application or an extension to access a Web site or a server, the application or the extension is examined whether the application or the extension is authorized to access that particular Web site or server. In this example, before messaging extension  102  is allowed to access, indirectly via messaging extension point API  210 , server  250 , its extension profile  230  is examined to determine whether messaging extension  102  is entitled to access server  250  using a website-to-application association mechanism. The authorization process can be performed during the installation of messaging extension  102  or at real-time in response to a request to defer the content analysis to server  250 . 
     In one embodiment, in order to enable messaging extension  102  to access server  250 , extension profile  230  has to be configured to include an entitlement of a domain associated with server  250 . When messaging extension  102  is installed, installer  120  scans extension profile  230  to identify the entitlement and access a predefined URL of server  250  to download and verify a signature of a website-to-application association file from server  250 . If the verification is successful, messaging extension  102  is associated with the domain of server  250  and messaging extension  102  can “access” server  250 . This prevents random software developers from using other developers&#39; web servers without permission (e.g. developer B attempts to use the same URL as developer A without first gaining developer A&#39;s permission). In this example, messaging extension  102  is prevented from deferring content analysis to a web server that is not authorized, associated, or not entitled to. Further detailed information concerning the techniques of website-to-application association mechanism can be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/732,612, filed Jun. 5, 2015, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow diagram illustrating a process of categorizing messages according to one embodiment of the disclosure. Process  400  may be performed by processing logic that includes hardware (e.g. circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software (e.g., embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium), or a combination thereof. For example, process  400  may be performed by messaging extension manager  111  of  FIG. 2 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , in operation  401 , processing logic receives a request from a messaging system to categorize a message that was received from a sender. In response to the request, in operation  402 , processing logic identifies a messaging extension (e.g., a third-party content analysis application) that is associated with the messaging system. In operation  403 , processing logic transmits the message without recipient identifying information of a recipient of the message to the messaging extension via a first API. The messaging extension is to perform a content analysis on the message to determine a category of the message. A category of the message can be “allowed” or “filtered.” In operation  404 , an analysis result is received from the messaging extension. A response to the request is then created based on the analysis result and in operation  405 , the response is transmitted to the messaging system to allow the messaging system to determine whether the message should be delivered to the intended recipient. If the message has been categorized as “allowed,” the message may be delivered to an inbox of the messaging system. If the message has been categorized as “filtered,” the message may be delivered to a spam or an unknown sender folder of the messaging system or not shown. 
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating a process of categorizing messages according to another embodiment of the disclosure. Process  500  may be performed by processing logic that includes hardware (e.g. circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software (e.g., embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium), or a combination thereof. For example, process  500  may be performed by messaging extension manager  111  of  FIG. 2 . Referring to  FIG. 5 , in response to a request received from a messaging client to categorize a message, in operation  501 , processing logic identifies a content analysis extension (e.g., messaging extension) associated with the messaging client. In operation  502 , processing logic transmits the message (without recipient information identifying a recipient of the message) to the content analysis extension to allow the content analysis extension to perform a content analysis on the message. In operation  503 , processing logic receives a first analysis result from the content analysis extension, the first analysis result including one of “allowed,” “filtered,” or “deferred” category. If the category of the message is not a deferred category, in operation  504 , processing logic generates a response to the request based on the category of the message and transmits the response to the messaging client to allow the messaging client to determine whether the message should be delivered to the intended recipient. 
     If it is determined that the category in the first analysis result is “deferred,” in operation  505 , processing logic transmits the message without recipient information to a remote server via a second API. The remote server is to perform a content analysis on the message. In operation  506 , processing logic receives a second analysis result from the remote server. The second analysis result may indicate whether the message has been categorized as “allowed” or “filtered.” Based on the second analysis result, processing logic can generate a response to the request and transmit the response to the messaging client. The response may simply indicates the category of the message as one of “allowed” or “filtered.” Alternatively, in operation  507 , processing logic forwards the second analysis result to the content analysis extension. The content analysis extension can generate a third analysis result as the final analysis result based on the second analysis result. In operation  508 , processing logic then receives the third analysis result from the content analysis extension. In operation  504 , processing logic generates a response based on the third analysis result and transmits the response to content analysis extension. 
       FIG. 6  is flow diagram illustrating a process of categorizing messages according to another embodiment of the invention. Process  600  may be performed by messaging system  101 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , in response to a message received from a remote sender, in operation  601 , processing logic determines whether the sender is a known sender. A sender is known to a user as a recipient if a sender ID (e.g., phone number, email address) of the sender is found in an address book or contact of the recipient. Alternatively, a sender is known to the user if the user has responded to messages sent by the sender in the past more than a predetermined number of times. If the sender is known to the user as a recipient, in operation  604 , the message is then delivered to the user. 
     If it is determined that the sender is unknown to the user, in operation  602 , processing logic transmits the message to a content analysis extension via a predetermined extension point to request for categorizing the message. In operation  603 , processing logic receives a response from the content analysis extension via the extension point. If the response indicates the message is allowed to be delivered to the user, in operation  604 , the message is then delivered to the user. Otherwise, in operation  605 , the message is filtered out. 
     The above communications framework has been described for the purpose of categorizing messages. In one embodiment, the above communications framework can also be utilized to provide a feedback to the messaging extension or the remote server. For example, messaging system may provide a user interface to allow a user to specify certain sender or message is not a spam sender or spam message, even if it was categorized by the content analysis system as a spam sender or spam message. The user can send a request to the system requesting that a certain sender to be taken off from the spam sender list, etc. 
       FIG. 7  is a processing flow diagram illustrating a process of providing feedback of content analysis on messages according to one embodiment. Referring to  FIG. 7 , messaging system  101  sends a feedback to messaging extension manager  111  via path  701 . The feedback can be an indication of whether a particular message or sender is not a spam message or sender. A GUI may be implemented to receive the feedback from a recipient to whitelist or blacklist certain messages and/or senders. The feedback may be utilized to train and adjust the content analysis algorithms. In response, messaging extension manager  111  sends the feedback to messaging extension  102  via path  702 . At block  703 , messaging extension  102  updates its internal data structure or algorithm based on the feedback. Messaging extension manager  111  receives a response from messaging extension  102  via path  704 . If the response indicates that the feedback should be deferred to remote server  250  at block  705 , the feedback is then transmitted to remote server  250  via path  707 . In this configuration, messaging extension  102  can send the feedback to server  250 , for example, anonymously. Otherwise, messaging extension manager  111  may optionally send a status or acknowledgement back to messaging system  101  via path  706 . In response to the feedback, at block  708 , server  250  updates its internal data structure or algorithm based on the feedback. Server  250  may optionally sends a status/acknowledgement back to messaging extension manager  111  via path  709  and messaging extension manager  111  may optionally forward the same back to messaging system  101  via path  710 . 
     Note that some or all of the components as shown and described above may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For example, such components can be implemented as software installed and stored in a persistent storage device, which can be loaded and executed in a memory by a processor (not shown) to carry out the processes or operations described throughout this application. Alternatively, such components can be implemented as executable code programmed or embedded into dedicated hardware such as an integrated circuit (e.g., an application specific IC or ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which can be accessed via a corresponding driver and/or operating system from an application. Furthermore, such components can be implemented as specific hardware logic in a processor or processor core as part of an instruction set accessible by a software component via one or more specific instructions. 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating an example of a data processing system which may be used with one embodiment of the disclosure. For example, system  1500  may represents any of data processing systems described above performing any of the processes or methods described above, such as system  100  of  FIG. 1 . System  1500  can include many different components. These components can be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions thereof, discrete electronic devices, or other modules adapted to a circuit board such as a motherboard or add-in card of the computer system, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of the computer system. 
     Note also that system  1500  is intended to show a high level view of many components of the computer system. However, it is to be understood that additional components may be present in certain implementations and furthermore, different arrangement of the components shown may occur in other implementations. System  1500  may represent a desktop (e.g., iMac™ available from Apple Inc.® of Cupertino, Calif.), a laptop (e.g., MacBook™), a tablet (e.g., iPad™), a server, a mobile phone (e.g., iPhone™), a media player (e.g., iPod™ or iPod Touch™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a Smartwatch (e.g., Apple Watch™), a personal communicator, a gaming device, a network router or hub, a wireless access point (AP) or repeater, a set-top box (e.g., Apple TV™ box), or a combination thereof. Further, while only a single machine or system is illustrated, the term “machine” or “system” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines or systems that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. 
     In one embodiment, system  1500  includes processor  1501 , memory  1503 , and devices  1505 - 1508  via a bus or an interconnect  1510 . Processor  1501  may represent a single processor or multiple processors with a single processor core or multiple processor cores included therein. Processor  1501  may represent one or more general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), or the like. More particularly, processor  1501  may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor  1501  may also be one or more special-purpose processors such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a cellular or baseband processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), a network processor, a graphics processor, a network processor, a communications processor, a cryptographic processor, a co-processor, an embedded processor, or any other type of logic capable of processing instructions. 
     Processor  1501 , which may be a low power multi-core processor socket such as an ultra-low voltage processor, may act as a main processing unit and central hub for communication with the various components of the system. Such processor can be implemented as a system on chip (SoC). Processor  1501  is configured to execute instructions for performing the operations and steps discussed herein. System  1500  may further include a graphics interface that communicates with optional graphics subsystem  1504 , which may include a display controller, a graphics processor, and/or a display device. 
     Processor  1501  may communicate with memory  1503 , which in one embodiment can be implemented via multiple memory devices to provide for a given amount of system memory. Memory  1503  may include one or more volatile storage (or memory) devices such as random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM (SRAM), or other types of storage devices. Memory  1503  may store information including sequences of instructions that are executed by processor  1501 , or any other device. For example, executable code and/or data of a variety of operating systems, device drivers, firmware (e.g., input output basic system or BIOS), and/or applications can be loaded in memory  1503  and executed by processor  1501 . An operating system can be any kind of operating systems, such as, for example, Windows® operating system from Microsoft®, Mac OS®/iOS® from Apple, Android® from Google®, Linux®, Unix®, or other real-time or embedded operating systems such as VxWorks. 
     System  1500  may further include IO devices such as devices  1505 - 1508 , including network interface device(s)  1505 , optional input device(s)  1506 , and other optional IO device(s)  1507 . Network interface device  1505  may include a wireless transceiver and/or a network interface card (NIC). The wireless transceiver may be a WiFi transceiver, an infrared transceiver, a Bluetooth transceiver, a WiMax transceiver, a wireless cellular telephony transceiver, a satellite transceiver (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) transceiver), or other radio frequency (RF) transceivers, or a combination thereof. The NIC may be an Ethernet card. 
     Input device(s)  1506  may include a mouse, a touch pad, a touch sensitive screen (which may be integrated with display device  1504 ), a pointer device such as a stylus, and/or a keyboard (e.g., physical keyboard or a virtual keyboard displayed as part of a touch sensitive screen). For example, input device  1506  may include a touch screen controller coupled to a touch screen. The touch screen and touch screen controller can, for example, detect contact and movement or break thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with the touch screen. 
     IO devices  1507  may include an audio device. An audio device may include a speaker and/or a microphone to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, voice replication, digital recording, and/or telephony functions. Other IO devices  1507  may further include universal serial bus (USB) port(s), parallel port(s), serial port(s), a printer, a network interface, a bus bridge (e.g., a PCI-PCI bridge), sensor(s) (e.g., a motion sensor such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, a magnetometer, a light sensor, compass, a proximity sensor, etc.), or a combination thereof. Devices  1507  may further include an imaging processing subsystem (e.g., a camera), which may include an optical sensor, such as a charged coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) optical sensor, utilized to facilitate camera functions, such as recording photographs and video clips. Certain sensors may be coupled to interconnect  1510  via a sensor hub (not shown), while other devices such as a keyboard or thermal sensor may be controlled by an embedded controller (not shown), dependent upon the specific configuration or design of system  1500 . 
     To provide for persistent storage of information such as data, applications, one or more operating systems and so forth, a mass storage (not shown) may also couple to processor  1501 . In various embodiments, to enable a thinner and lighter system design as well as to improve system responsiveness, this mass storage may be implemented via a solid state device (SSD). However in other embodiments, the mass storage may primarily be implemented using a hard disk drive (HDD) with a smaller amount of SSD storage to act as a SSD cache to enable non-volatile storage of context state and other such information during power down events so that a fast power up can occur on re-initiation of system activities. Also a flash device may be coupled to processor  1501 , e.g., via a serial peripheral interface (SPI). This flash device may provide for non-volatile storage of system software, including a basic input/output software (BIOS) as well as other firmware of the system. 
     Storage device  1508  may include computer-accessible storage medium  1509  (also known as a machine-readable storage medium or a computer-readable medium) on which is stored one or more sets of instructions or software (e.g., module, unit, and/or logic  1528 ) embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Module/unit/logic  1528  may represent any of the components described above, such as, for example, messaging extension manager  111 . Module/unit/logic  1528  may also reside, completely or at least partially, within memory  1503  and/or within processor  1501  during execution thereof by data processing system  1500 , memory  1503  and processor  1501  also constituting machine-accessible storage media. Module/unit/logic  1528  may further be transmitted or received over a network via network interface device  1505 . 
     Computer-readable storage medium  1509  may also be used to store the some software functionalities described above persistently. While computer-readable storage medium  1509  is shown in an exemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The terms “computer-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present disclosure. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media, or any other non-transitory machine-readable medium. 
     Module/unit/logic  1528 , components and other features described herein can be implemented as discrete hardware components or integrated in the functionality of hardware components such as ASICS, FPGAs, DSPs or similar devices. In addition, module/unit/logic  1528  can be implemented as firmware or functional circuitry within hardware devices. Further, module/unit/logic  1528  can be implemented in any combination hardware devices and software components. 
     Note that while system  1500  is illustrated with various components of a data processing system, it is not intended to represent any particular architecture or manner of interconnecting the components; as such details are not germane to embodiments of the present disclosure. It will also be appreciated that network computers, handheld computers, mobile phones, servers, and/or other data processing systems which have fewer components or perhaps more components may also be used with embodiments of the disclosure. 
     It is apparent for those skilled in the art that, for the particular operation processes of the units/modules described above, reference may be made to the corresponding operations in the related method embodiment sharing the same or similar concept and the reference is regarded as the disclosure of the related units/modules also. And therefore some of the particular operation processes will not be described repeatedly or in detail for convenience and concision of description. 
     It is also apparent for those skilled in the art that the units/modules can be implemented in an electronic device in the manner of software, hardware and/or combination of software and hardware. Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. In particular, units according to each embodiment of the present disclosure may be integrated in one physical component or may exist in various separate physical components. The various implementations of units in the electronic device are all included within the scope of protection of the disclosure. 
     It should be understood that the unit, apparatus, and device described above may be implemented in form of software, hardware known or developed in the future and/or the combination of such software and hardware. It is apparent for persons in the art that the operations or functional blocks described above may be implemented in form of software, hardware and/or the combination of such software and hardware, depending on the particular application environment. At least some of the operations or functional blocks described above can be implemented by running instructions in general processor, with the instructions stored in storage. At least some of the operations or functional blocks described above can also be implemented by various hardware, including but not limited to DSP, FPGA, ASIC etc. For example, the components, modules, units, and/or functional blocks described above may be implemented by instructions running in CPU or by special processor such as DSP, FPGA, ASIC implementing the functionality of the components, modules, units, and/or functional blocks. 
     Some portions of the preceding detailed descriptions have been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the ways used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. The operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. 
     It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as those set forth in the claims below, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system&#39;s registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. 
     Embodiments of the disclosure also relate to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. Such a computer program is stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes a machine (e.g., a computer) readable storage medium (e.g., read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices). 
     The processes or methods depicted in the preceding figures may be performed by processing logic that comprises hardware (e.g. circuitry, dedicated logic, etc.), software (e.g., embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium), or a combination of both. Although the processes or methods are described above in terms of some sequential operations, it should be appreciated that some of the operations described may be performed in a different order. Moreover, some operations may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of embodiments of the disclosure as described herein. 
     In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the disclosure have been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the disclosure as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20170531
Publication Date: 20190917
Grant Date: 20190917
Priority Date: 20170531
Inventors: LINDEMAN, KEVIN J.
RAUENBUEHLER, KEITH W.
MONTGOMERY, STUART T.
WADYCKI, ANDREW
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F21/53", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/046", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/046", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/12", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F21/53", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/212", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/212", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L51/046", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 64460848