Facebook on Monday announced the Watch Together feature on its Messenger app, enabling users across the world to watch videos with friends and family over Messenger video calls and Messenger Rooms. The company said that the Watch Together feature aids users to “feel together even when you’re not” with friends and family. Facebook, since early 2020, announced multiple new features such as Messenger Rooms and expansion of WhatsApp group voice and video calls as it “felt the demand for real-time video.” The Messenger Rooms enabled users to host video calls with up to 50 people with no time limit.
Facebook Introduces Watch Together on Messenger App
The company said that more than 150 million video calls are made on Messenger and that more than 200 million videos are sent through the platform each single day. Facebook said that the Watch Together feature aids users to “enjoy videos and share the experience with your friends in real time.”
“We created Watch Together to make spending quality time with friends and loved ones feel as close to an in-person experience as possible,” Facebook said in a release. “Whether it’s watching a trending video, a movie, a sports highlight, a makeup tutorial or a Facebook Watch original, the feature allows you to watch your friends’ reactions at the same time.”
Facebook said that the users can enable the Watch Together feature by simply making a Messenger video call or creating a Messenger Room. The users are then required to swipe up to access the menu and select the Watch Together option. It was said that the users can select a suggested video or pick from a category such as “TV&Movies,” “Watched” or “Uploaded.”
Watch Together Feature Works with Eight People on Messenger Video Call
The company said that the Watch Together feature works with up to eight people on a Messenger Video call and up to 50 people in Messenger Rooms.
The Watch Together feature is said to be available to users for no additional cost. The company highlighted that the feature will be rolling out globally this week in Messenger and Messenger Rooms on mobile for iOS and Android.
It has to be noted that Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Twitch also enable users to jointly watch videos with friends and family natively or through third party apps.
