Facebook, Inc.

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Meta Platforms, Inc.

Nora Micheva

Shyamalan Pather

Michelle Ruby Hwang

Matthew Hidinger

Akhilesh Kaza

Andrew Clinick

Pablo Jose Barvo

Zheng Fang

Ashwini Kumar Varma

Lei Xu

Theron Thomas Fennel

Ali Rafiee

Jason Duane Clark

Stephane Taine

Jaclyn Carley Knapp

Poorva Singal

Joel Alexander Bullard

Anne Raynor

Andrew Tyler Bares

Hoang Le

Candace Button Disco

Joseph Stephen Gonzalez

Kelly Nicole Stevens

Exemplary embodiments relate to the application of coordinated or cooperative effects to a coordinated activity. A coordinated activity protocol is provided for synchronizing interactive effects and experiences across multiple devices. The protocol allows effects to be initiated and coordinated on multiple devices via a real-time communications (RTC) channel. Messages may be exchanged to cooperatively initiate the effect, and (once initiated) generic data may be exchanged via application programming interface (API) calls. According to some embodiments, the coordinated activity is a shared video experience, such as a video conference or shared video-watching experience. According to other embodiments, the coordinated activity relates to other types of experiences, such as single- or multi-player games, shared book reading, communal interactions with a photo album, etc.

Coordinated effects in experiences

In one embodiment, a method includes, by a client system of a first user, receiving a request from a second user to initiate a first game within a first layer of a communication interface, wherein the communication interface includes several layers, wherein a first layer includes a video communication of the second user, and wherein a second layer of the communication interface includes a thumbnail view of a video communication of the first user; generating a first game container in a third layer of the communication interface, wherein the third layer contains the first game in an augmented reality overlay; expanding the second layer into a full-screen view within the communication interface; and displaying the third layer as the augmented reality overlay over the second layer, wherein the first layer is closed responsive to the overlaying of the augmented reality overlay onto the second layer.

Augmented-reality game overlays in video communications

This disclosure describes a video co-watching system that can efficiently, flexibly, and securely provide access to, and synchronize, co-watching digital video content across multiple participant devices while providing live digital video chat streams between the participant devices. For example, the video co-watching system can enable the participant devices to simultaneously present co-watching digital video content together with a presentation of a video chat. In addition, the video co-watching system can synchronize the co-watching digital video content at each participant device while also facilitating video chatting between the participant devices by transmitting a playback modifier signal to cause one participant device to perform a modification to the playback made at another participant device.

Synchronizing streams of co-watching digital video content while providing live digital video chat streams across multiple client devices

Exemplary embodiments relate to the application of media effects to visual data such as a video. A coordinated activity protocol is provided for synchronizing interactive effects and experiences across multiple devices. The protocol allows effects to be initiated and coordinated on multiple devices via a real-time communications (RTC) channel. Messages may be exchanged to cooperatively initiate the effect, and (once initiated) generic data may be exchanged via application programming interface (API) calls. Accordingly, the system is both data-type and platform agnostic, allowing effects developers to define how data will be interpreted. In some embodiments, higher-level services may be provided to exchange data of predefined types (e.g., for common activities such as turn negotiations, turn yielding, scorekeeping, leadership elections, etc.).

Methods and systems for initiating a coordinated effect

Coordinated effects in videos

A facility for providing enhanced time-sensitive notifications on an electronic device is described. In some such notifications, the facility replaces an icon or name of an application presenting the notification with another image or other text, respectively. In some such notifications, the facility renders certain aspects of the notification on an optional basis, such as based on the capabilities of the electronic device.

Enhanced notifications

In one embodiment, a method includes, by a client system of a first user, receiving an input to initiate a game within a first layer of a communication interface, wherein the communication interface comprises one or more layers containing a live video communication between the first user and a second user, wherein the first layer comprises a video communication of the second user; executing a gaming protocol associated with the game; generating a game container in a second layer of the communication interface, wherein the second layer contains the game in an augmented reality overlay; and displaying the second layer as the augmented reality overlay over the first layer containing the video communication of the second user, wherein the game in the second layer contains one or more game elements that correspond to one or more features in the video communication of the second user in the first layer.

Techniques involving control of interaction with an application launcher are described. In one or more implementations, interaction with a plurality of representations of applications or content in an application launcher is controlled by a computing device. The plurality of representations are selectable to navigate to a user interface corresponding with a respective said application or content. The controlling includes detection of which of a plurality of types of interaction are used by a user in relation to the application launcher. Responsive to the detection that a gesture type of interaction is used, a manage mode is entered in which customization or commands of the representations is initiated using gestures that are not usable to initiate the customization or commands outside the manage mode. Responsive to detection that a cursor or keyboard type of interaction is used, the customization or the commands of the representations is enabled using a cursor control device or keyboard, respectively, without entering the manage mode.

Control of representation interaction within an application launcher

Users of multiple clients participate in a video chat session by exchanging video streams. A user initiates generation of a high-quality composite image of the video chat session. The clients each capture high-quality local images and send the images to a chat server via a communications channel that is out-of-band from the video streams. The chat server stores the images in a repository. The initiating user views the images and selects images and a layout to use for the composite image. The chat server assembles the composite image based on the selections and saves the composite image to the repository. The initiating user can retrieve the composite image and view it, post it to social media, and/or use it for other purposes.

Generating images of video chat sessions

Providing context from a dynamic icon to an underlying application. A method includes displaying dynamically, at a dynamic icon, a plurality of context elements. Each of the context elements corresponds to an item available in an application underlying the dynamic icon. The method further includes receiving user input at the dynamic icon indicating a desire to open an application underlying the dynamic icon. The method further includes, providing to the application underlying the dynamic icon an indication of a context element that was being displayed at the dynamic icon when the user input was received.

Growing community of inventors

Seattle, WA, United States of America

Nora Micheva