US-12626009-B1 - In-transit email review and data collection

Abstract

Systems and methods for in-transit email review and data collection. In one embodiment, a method may include receiving a plurality of original emails at an alias email address. The alias email address may be associated with a user. Once a plurality of original emails are received at the alias email address, the method may include analyzing the plurality of original emails to identify relevant data contained within the plurality of original emails, and storing a copy of the identified relevant data in a database that is accessible by the user.

Inventors

• Vinith Raj
• SriHarsha Angara

Assignees

• Gen Digital Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240102

Claims (18)

1. 1 . A computer-implemented method for email review and data collection, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing device comprising one or more processors, the method comprising: receiving one or more original emails at an alias email address, wherein the alias email address is associated with a user; analyzing the content of the one or more original emails to identify relevant data contained within the content of the one or more original emails; storing a copy of the identified relevant data in a database that is accessible by the user; for each original email in the one or more original emails that includes relevant data, determining whether the relevant data includes sensitive data; in response to a determination that the relevant data of a first original email in the one or more original emails includes sensitive data, extracting the sensitive data from the first original email to create a modified email; and forwarding the modified email to a personal email address that is associated with the user.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the database is a private vault.
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the relevant data includes information that falls within one or more categories specified by the user.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: in response to a determination that the relevant data of a second original email in the one or more original emails lacks sensitive data, forwarding the second original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user.
5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining, for each original email in the one or more original emails, whether an importance threshold is met; in response to a determination that a second original email in the one or more original emails does not exceed the importance threshold, discarding the second original email without forwarding the second original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user; and in response to a determination that a third original email in the one or more original emails exceeds the importance threshold, forwarding the third original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: generating a summary email that contains a summary of the relevant data stored in the database; and sending the summary email to the personal email address that is associated with the user.
7. 7 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising one or more computer-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method for email review and data collection, the method comprising: receiving one or more original emails at an alias email address, wherein the alias email address is associated with a user; analyzing the content of the one or more original emails to identify relevant data contained within the content of the one or more original emails; storing a copy of the identified relevant data in a database that is accessible by the user; for each original email that includes relevant data in the one or more original emails, determining whether the relevant data includes sensitive data; in response to a determination that the relevant data of a first original email in the one or more original emails includes sensitive data, extracting the sensitive data from the first original email to create a modified email; and forwarding the modified email to a personal email address that is associated with the user.
8. 8 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7 , wherein the database is a private vault.
9. 9 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7 , wherein the relevant data includes information that falls within one or more categories specified by the user.
10. 10 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7 , further comprising: in response to a determination that the relevant data of a second original email in the one or more original emails lacks sensitive data, forwarding the second original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user.
11. 11 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7 , further comprising: determining, for each original email in the one or more original emails, whether an importance threshold is met; in response to a determination that a second original email in the one or more original emails does not exceed the importance threshold, discarding the second original email without forwarding the second original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user; and in response to a determination that a third original email in the one or more original emails exceeds the importance threshold, forwarding the third original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user.
12. 12 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7 , further comprising: generating a summary email that contains a summary of the relevant data stored in the database; and sending the summary email to the personal email address that is associated with the user.
13. 13 . A computing device comprising: one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising one or more computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to perform a method for email review and data collection, the method comprising: receiving one or more original emails at an alias email address, wherein the alias email address is associated with a user; analyzing the content of the one or more original emails to identify relevant data contained within the content of the one or more original emails; storing a copy of the identified relevant data in a database that is accessible by the user; for each original email that includes relevant data in the one or more original emails, determining whether the relevant data includes sensitive data; in response to a determination that the relevant data of a first original email in the one or more original emails includes sensitive data, extracting the sensitive data from the first original email to create a modified email; and forwarding the modified email to a personal email address that is associated with the user.
14. 14 . The computing device of claim 13 , wherein the relevant data includes information that falls within one or more categories specified by the user.
15. 15 . The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the one or more categories include marketing and sales information, contact information, product information, travel information, entertainment data, login credentials, or sensitive data.
16. 16 . The computing device of claim 13 , the method further comprising: in response to a determination that the relevant data of a second original email in the one or more original emails lacks sensitive data, forwarding the second original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user.
17. 17 . The computing device of claim 13 , the method further comprising: determining, for each original email in the one or more original emails, whether an importance threshold is met; in response to a determination that a second original email in the one or more original emails does not exceed the importance threshold, discarding the second original email without forwarding the second original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user; and in response to a determination that a third original email in the one or more original emails exceeds the importance threshold, forwarding the third original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user.
18. 18 . The computing device of claim 13 , the method further comprising: generating a summary email that contains a summary of the relevant data stored in the database; and sending the summary email to the personal email address that is associated with the user.

Description

BACKGROUND An average person may receive more than 100 emails every day. While many of these emails are unwanted junk that is sent out in bulk to an indiscriminate recipient list, some emails are valuable, containing important information and calls to action. However, the sheer volume of emails received in an average day makes it difficult for users to identify, prioritize, and focus on the important messages. This inevitably leads to important information being lost and calls to action being missed. To avoid missing messages containing important information and calls to action, some users are constantly reviewing received emails and checking email accounts for new emails. However, with so many incoming emails, this task can be time consuming and overwhelming, which may lead to a significant decrease in daily productivity. In addition, emails are commonly used to spread malware, perpetrate scams, and perform other cyberattacks. If significant care is not exercised, users may inadvertently interact with malicious actors and divulge personal information. The receipt of excessive emails increases the risk of falling victim to these threats, as it is often impossible to exercise the required level of care when interacting with a large volume of emails. Thus, improved methods and systems for identifying important information and calls to action within emails are needed. The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced. SUMMARY In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for in-transit email review and data collection may be performed, at least in part, by a computing device comprising one or more processors. The method may include receiving one or more original emails at an alias email address. The alias email address may be associated with a user. Once original emails are received at the alias email address, the method may include analyzing the original emails to identify relevant data contained within the original emails, and storing a copy of the identified relevant data in a database that is accessible by the user. In some embodiments, the database may include a privacy preserving aspect such that the data stored in the database can only be accessed by the user, such as a private vault. For example, the private vault may be encrypted using a key provided only to the user. In some embodiments, the relevant data may include information that falls within one or more categories specified by the user. In these embodiments, the one or more categories may include marketing and sales information, contact information, product information, travel information, entertainment data, login credentials, or sensitive data. In some embodiments, the method may further include, for each original email that includes relevant data, determining whether the relevant data includes sensitive data. In response to a determination that the relevant data of a first original email includes sensitive data, the method may also include extracting the sensitive data from the first original email to create a modified email and forwarding the modified email to a personal email address that is associated with the user. In response to a determination that the relevant data of a second original email lacks sensitive data, the method may further include forwarding the second original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user. In some embodiments, the method may further include, determining, for each original email, whether an importance threshold is met. In these embodiments, in response to a determination that a first original email does not exceeds the importance threshold, the method may include discarding the first email without forwarding the original email to a personal email address that is associated with the user. Alternatively, in response to a determination that a second original email exceeds the importance threshold, the method may include forwarding the second original email to the personal email address that is associated with the user. In some embodiments, the method may further include generating a summary email that contains a summary of the relevant data stored in the database and sending the summary email to a personal email address that is associated with the user. In some embodiments, one or more non-transitory computer-readable media may comprise one or more computer-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method for in-transit email review and data collection. In some embodiments, a computing device comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising one or more computer-readable instructions that, when execut