How to use Netflix Party: Watch TV with your friends during the Covid-19 lockdown

Thursday, 26 March 2020

OPINION: If there's one piece of technology that's going to help us stay sane while we're locked in our homes for the next month, it's Netflix.

The only niggle is that you might not be able to watch your favourite shows with friends and loved ones like you usually would.

Thankfully, there's an app out there that makes watching TV shows and movies a social event again.

Meet Netflix Party, a free Chrome extension that lets you synchronise video playback and adds group chat to your favourite Netflix shows.

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Once installed, you can react to what you and your friends are watching on Netflix in real time with standard text, screenshots, emojis and GIFs.

You can watch together, even from separate houses.

Installing the app takes less than 30 seconds. Here's how.

Download and install the Chrome extension.

Open Netflix.com and sign in to your account.

Click on the Netflix Party 'NP' icon located in the top right of your Chrome browser.

You'll now see a pop-up with the option to 'Create a Netflix Party.'

Next, you need to choose whether you want sole control over playback or if you want to get every member of the part access.

A new pop-up will appear with a URL that you can share with anyone who you'd like to be in your Netflix Party.

Share the URL with whoever you'd like to join your party. It's as simple as that.

Once your friend has already installed Netflix Party on their Chrome browser, and they have a valid Netflix account, their new tab will sync to the TV show or film you're currently watching.