It looks like we're still staying at home for the foreseeable future. And while the idea of hosting a streaming party may have occurred to you before, you may not have actually gotten around to it.
The good news is that most of the major platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney Plus offer the option to host a streaming party, also known as a watch party.
Here's your guide on how to do so for each platform.
Netflix
In order to do a Netflix streaming party, you are going to need to download Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party).
The good thing is it's free.
After you select to install it, it will ask if you want to "Add to Chrome" and then you select "Add Extension" in the pop-up box.
Then open up Netflix in Google Chrome, and start playing a video.
The Netflix Party extension icon is next to your address bar. It should change from gray to red when a Netflix video is playing. Click on it.
A window pop ups up instructing you to "Create a Netflix Party" or "Start the party."
You have the option to either give yourself total control as host, or leave it open to everyone.
Click “Start the party.”
When another window pops up with a link, you can copy the URL and share it with your friends via email, Whatsapp, or whatever. If you need to, you can find this link again by clicking the Netflix Party extension icon.
There's also a chat room that will appear on the right side of the screen. From there, you can see when someone joins the party and share reactions to what you're watching. For example, "OMG, DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!!" or a good old-fashioned "LOL."
Amazon Prime
There can be up to 100 participants in an Amazon watch party so that's good if you want to watch with a whole bunch of people.
Start by selecting a Prime Video title included with Prime membership (these are the titles with the Prime logo or "Watch Now with Prime" option) whether the title is available to buy or rent.
Both the host and the participants will need to individually buy or rent the eligible title for Watch Party. (Live content, IMDb TV, and Prime Video Channels content are not available for Watch Parties)
Choose Watch Party (a little party popper emoji) when you select the title, on the detail page.
Enter your user name under "What's Your Name?"
Click "Create Watch Party" to generate a Watch Party link.
Invite friends using the "Share" icon or select Copy Link to send on.
Disney Plus
The streaming party option on Disney+ (or Disney Plus) is called "GroupWatch".
Select the movie or series title you want to watch with your group.
Next to the options to "Play" or add to your watch list (a "+" sign), is a symbol of three characters together which is the GroupWatch option.
The next stream will prompt you to "Start stream."
You can stream with up to six other friends or households.
There's a link offered via a "+" symbol which you can copy and send to the other households.
Now unlike other options, such as Netflix, there's unfortunately no group chat option for during your stream. But you can send emojis during the stream as reactions to what you're watching.
