Method, apparatus, and computer program product for sharing interface annotations among participating devices within a group-based communication system

An apparatus for sharing interface annotations to a shared interface of a group-based communication interface among an interface sharing device and a plurality of devices in a group-based communication system,

• each of the participating devices having a display configured to render the shared interface of the group-based communication interface,
• wherein the shared interface is shared by the interface sharing device to the plurality of participating devices, and
• wherein the shared interface comprises a plurality of layers corresponding to the plurality of participating devices,
• the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
• receive the shared interface to be rendered on respective displays of the participating devices, the shared interface comprising a first displayed content;
• create a first interface annotation on the shared interface while the shared interface comprising the first displayed content is shared among the plurality of participating devices, the first interface annotation generating a first set of display input data based upon user engagement with an annotating device corresponding to a visual annotation marking of the displayed content;
• associate the first set of display input data with a layer corresponding to the annotating device;
• and
• cause the first set of display input data to be transmitted to an interface sharing device of which the shared interface originated, wherein a first set of interface annotation instructions are generated by the interface sharing device and outputted to each of the plurality of participating devices except for the first annotating device that originated the first display input data for rendering as the first interface annotation on the shared interface of the group-based communication interface.

A method of sharing interface annotations to a shared interface among an interface sharing device and a plurality of participating devices in a system, each of the participating devices having a display configured to render the shared interface, wherein the shared interface is shared by the interface sharing device to the plurality of participating devices, and wherein the shared interface comprises a plurality of layers corresponding to the plurality of participating devices, the method comprising:

• causing the shared interface to be rendered on respective displays of the plurality of participating devices, the shared interface comprising a first displayed content;
• receiving a first set of display input data from a first annotating device of a plurality of participating devices, the first set of display input data generated based upon user engagement with the first annotating device corresponding to a visual annotation marking of the displayed content;
• associating the first set of display data with a layer corresponding to the first annotating device;
• generating a first set of interface annotation instructions based on the received first set of display input data;
• and
• outputting the first set of interface annotation instructions to each of the plurality of participating devices except for the first annotating device that originated the first display input data for rendering as a first interface annotation on the shared interface.