How to watch movies together online: every method compared

If you last planned a long-distance film night in 2021, two of the big options have gone. Disney+ switched off GroupWatch on 18 September 2023, and Amazon told users that Prime Video Watch Party would be discontinued as of 31 March 2024, with "no plans" for a replacement. Netflix doesn't appear to have a watch party of its own either, and we found no sign that it supports SharePlay as of October 2026.

What's left falls into two families, and knowing which one you need saves most of the trial and error.

Sync tools or sharing: the question that decides everything

Sync tools start the same film on both of your devices at the same moment and keep it lined up. Each of you streams your own copy from your own account, so the picture is full quality and copy protection isn't a problem. The catch is that both of you need access to the service.

Sharing means one person plays the film and the other sees a live stream of their screen or browser tab on a call. Only one person needs the video, and you're already on camera together. The catch is that films from protected services usually reach the other person as a black screen, and the quality depends on the sharer's upload speed.

So start with one question: do both of you have the thing you want to watch? If yes, use a sync tool. If no, sharing is the only route, and it works best with content that isn't copy-protected.

Every option at a glance

The sync tools

Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party)

A browser extension and app that started life as Netflix Party. According to Teleparty's support page, everyone who joins needs their own account on the streaming service being used, and the extension runs in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Opera on a computer, with apps for Android and iOS. It isn't available for Firefox, smart TVs or games consoles.

The free version covers services including Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, YouTube and HBO Max, with "basic video synchronization and text chat". One person starts the film, opens the extension to create a party link and sends it; the other person opens the link while signed in to their own account.

What it can't do: watch on your TV, or let a friend without the subscription join in.

Hulu Watch Party

Despite the shutdowns elsewhere, Hulu's help centre still documents its Watch Party in 2026. It syncs playback for up to eight people and adds a group chat. It works only on Hulu.com in a supported web browser, only on titles that show the Watch Party icon, and only for accounts aged 18 or over. People on the same subscription joining from different places may need to say they're away from home.

What it can't do: run in the phone or TV apps (Hulu points iOS and Apple TV users to SharePlay instead). And Hulu.com is a US service, so it won't help if one of you is watching from elsewhere.

Apple SharePlay

If both of you live in Apple's world, this is the smoothest option. You start a FaceTime call, open a supported app and press play, and the video plays in sync on every device in the call. Everyone can pause or rewind for the group, and you keep seeing each other while you watch.

Apple is clear on the limits: every participant needs their own access to the title, through a subscription or purchase, and some titles may not be shareable across countries or regions. Apps with SharePlay include the Apple TV app, Disney+ (which Disney support pointed people to when GroupWatch closed), Hulu and HBO Max. We found no sign that Netflix supports it.

What it can't do: include anyone on Android or Windows. They can join a FaceTime call through a link in Chrome or Edge, but Apple says SharePlay and screen sharing aren't available in FaceTime on the web.

Discord Watch Together (YouTube only)

Discord's Watch Together activity is a shared YouTube player inside a voice channel, a DM call or a group call. You build a playlist together and Discord handles the syncing; by default the person who started it controls playback, and they can hand control to everyone.

What it can't do: play anything other than YouTube, or run all evening. Discord caps playback at 180 minutes per person when watching with others, followed by a 10-minute cool-down.

Sharing your screen or a tab

Discord, Zoom and Google Meet screen share

Any call app with screen sharing can show a film to someone who doesn't have it. This is the right tool for home videos, a YouTube video, a free film from a site that doesn't use copy protection, or showing your partner the trailer before you both commit.

Two things trip people up:

• Protected services usually show black. Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and most paid streamers use copy protection that blocks screen capture. You see the film; they see black, often with the sound still coming through. Why that happens, and what to do instead.
• Sound is off unless you turn it on. Most apps have a sound or tab-audio option in the share window, and window or full-screen shares often carry no sound at all. How to get the sound through.

The other person also can't pause, and the picture is only as good as the sharer's upload connection. On a weak connection, closing other uploads (cloud backups, a second video call) helps more than any setting.

Couch

Couch is a private video room for exactly two people, and watching there is a tab share, not a sync player. One of you presses Start Watching and shares a browser tab with its sound from a desktop or laptop running Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera or Arc. The other person can watch in any browser, including a phone turned sideways, and you can both stay on camera the whole time, with emoji reactions floating across both screens. Either of you can press Stop.

Being honest about the limits: there's no built-in YouTube or Netflix sync, only the sharer controls pause and rewind, a phone or tablet can't start a share, and it holds two people, not a group. Because it's a tab share, the black-screen problem applies to protected services here too, so it suits video that isn't copy-protected: YouTube, home videos, a film on a site without copy protection.

Which one should you use?

• You both subscribe and watch on laptops: Teleparty, or Hulu Watch Party for Hulu titles in the US. Add a separate video call if you want to see each other.
• You both use iPhones, iPads or Apple TVs: SharePlay with an app that supports it, and you see each other on FaceTime while you watch.
• One of you is on Android or Windows and the other on Apple: a sync extension in a desktop browser, or sharing, since SharePlay is off the table.
• It's YouTube: Discord Watch Together, or any tab share.
• Only one of you has the video: share it, and accept that protected services probably won't show. If it's a paid streamer, the honest fix is for the other person to get access too, then use a sync tool.
• Different time zones: pick the method before the night, not during it. Fifteen minutes lost to troubleshooting stings more when it's 11pm for one of you and 6am for the other; our time zones guide helps find a slot that's fair to both.

Before film night

Copy checklist

• Confirm you both have access to the title, in both countries if you live apart
• Agree on one method and test it for two minutes the day before
• Update the browser, app or extension on both devices
• If sharing, check the sound reaches the other person before the opening credits
• Put headphones on whoever is sharing, so the film doesn't echo through their mic
• Charge the phone or plug in the laptop: two hours of video drains batteries

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Key takeaways

Copy

• If you both have the service, use a sync tool (Teleparty, Hulu Watch Party or SharePlay): full picture quality and no copy-protection problems.
• Prime Video Watch Party (ended spring 2024) and Disney+ GroupWatch (ended September 2023) are gone, and we found no watch party from Netflix.
• SharePlay needs everyone on Apple devices and their own access to the title; FaceTime web users on Android or Windows can't use it.
• Screen and tab sharing need only one copy of the video, but protected services usually show the other person a black screen, and sound has to be switched on.
• Test your chosen method briefly the day before, especially across time zones.