Nothing’s quite as fun as hanging out with your friends and watching a show or movie together, but sometimes you can’t all make it into the same room. In today’s modern streaming age, that’s no longer a problem. Find out all the ways you can watch Netflix with friends online.
Watch Netflix together with Netflix Party
Source: Netflix Party
By far the most popular option on this list, Netflix Party is being used by more than a million people around the world.
Once you have this extension installed in your Chrome browser, starting a watch party is pretty easy. Just go to your Netflix account to find the video you and your friends want to watch. Start playing the video and immediately hit pause. Then click on the Netflix Party icon in Chrome’s address bar. Start the party and send the URL to your friends.
When your friends get the URL, it will send them to the Netflix website. When they click on the Netflix Party icon in their Chrome browser, they’ll automatically join your watch party.
Netflix Party keeps the video in synch and gives everyone control over playback. In addition, everyone gets HD-quality video since they are all connected directly to Netflix. (Subject to their Netflix subscription and any limits on their broadband.)
There are some limitations to Netflix Party. All of your friends must have their own Netflix account, they all have to use the Chrome browser, and they all need to install the Netflix Party extension.
Watch Netflix together with Kast
Source: Kast
Kast is a video chat app with built-in support for watch parties. Once you’ve set up a free account, you can create a party. Clicking the “Invite Friends” button will notify your friends who already have Kast. It will also generate a link you can send to other friends. A nice thing about Kast is that they set your parties to private by default so randos won’t be able to crash the party.
Although you can access Kast through a browser, this is an app-based service. And that’s where things get tricky. Although Kast has apps for the Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, those apps aren’t feature-complete. Mac users, for example, have to install a third-party app in order to share audio.
Another downside is Kast’s freemium business model. You’ll need to subscribe to Kast Premium to get high-definition video streams, remove Kast’s advertising, post instant comments and use better emojis. The subscription costs $5 per month or you can shell out $50 for a year.
Watch Netflix together with Metastream
Source: Metastream
Metastream is a browser-based service with extensions for both Chrome and Firefox. The extension synchronizes playback on Netflix and other streaming services and supports real-time, text-based chat.
As long as your friends also have the Metastream extension, all you have to do is go to the Netflix website and start a session by clicking on the Metastream browser icon. You can create a playlist of shows by simply dropping the URL into your session’s queue. As the host, you can decide how much control your friends can have over the playback. Metastream also supports fullscreen video.
Watch Netflix together with Rave
Source: Rave
Many of the options on this list got their start on desktop browsers. Rave was designed for the mobile generation and is only available on iOS and Android. In addition to letting you watch Netflix with friends, you can create shared experiences by watching content on YouTube, Vimeo, Viki and other content sites.
Watch Netflix together with Scener
Source: Scener
Scener combines video sync and chat to let you watch Netflix together with the help of a Chrome extension. Limited to Netflix subscribers in the United States, Scener supports watch parties — called Scenes — of up to 10 people. Technically, only one person can control playback, but that person can pass control to someone else in the Scene.
One feature that separates Scener from the other options is its video chat function. By giving the Scener extension access to your webcam, you and your friends can interact directly.
Scener also has an iOS app that creates a “Bitmoji movie theater”. You can find other people watching the stream, chat and throw virtual popcorn at each other. However, you have to log in through your Snapchat account.
Watch Netflix together with TwoSeven
Source: TwoSeven
TwoSeven is another Chrome extension that works with Netflix, Disney+ and several other streaming services. To start a shared stream, click on the extension button and log into TwoSeven. Then go to the Netflix website and click the “Watch TwoSeven” button.
This is a Freemium service. You get support for Netflix as part of the free tier. If you want to share Hulu or Disney+ streams and get access to other features, you’ll have to support TwoSeven through Patreon. That used to cost $10 per month, but a new Social Distancer support level gives you the same benefits for only $3 per month.
Since TwoSeven only synchronizes your video, all of your friends need to have the TwoSeven extension, their own Netflix accounts and access to the same Netflix catalog. If your friends live in countries where that content isn’t in the Netflix catalog, then TwoSeven won’t work.
Chris Casper • Author
Chris Casper is a former tech industry product manager who escaped from California for New Mexico. Now he writes about science and tech while searching for the perfect green chile sauce.
Davan Hamilton • Editor
Davan Hamilton is an editor and writer based in Jacksonville, FL. Holding a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, her writing spans a wide range, from essays on film criticism and analysis to surreal poetry. Now, she works for Flixed as an editor, continuing to ignore the list of passion projects she’s accumulated. When she’s not glued to her computer, you can find her building endless amounts of Lego sets, binge-reading manga, or playing with (fighting) her cat.
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