The coronavirus outbreak is forcing many people to work from home. Most stores and movie theaters are also closing. In fact, pretty much everyone is being asked to stay inside completely. The good news? Streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus are around to help you pass the time. The bad news? You might still be by yourself. Is there any way to watch Netflix with friends?
As a matter of fact, there are ways to do just that. A few Chrome and other browser extensions let you watch movies and TV shows on Netflix with friends. While they are not officially supported by the service, they do make it easier to share the streaming experience, especially now. Let’s look at some ways you can watch Netflix with friends.
1. Netflix Party
Netflix party is perhaps the most well-known app or extension in order to watch Netflix with friends. It’s been around for a few years, but obviously many more people are checking it out. However, it only works on the PC in Chrome browsers. Here’s how to set it up:
- Download and install the Netflix Party extension from the Chrome Store.
- Launch Netflix on your PC and go to the movie or TV show you want to watch with your buddies.
- You should see an “NP” icon next to the Chrome address bar. Click on it.
- Finally, click on Start Party, and then you can send the URL to your fellow shut in friends.
This browser extension also has a chat bar so you can keep in touch with your friends while watching the movie or TV show. It also allows people to upload images, emojis and more.
While the extension is free to download, the developers behind it do have a Patreon page that you can support so they can continue to add features.
2. Scener
Scener is a more recent entry in this sub-genre. As with Netflix Party, this is a Chrome extension for your PC. Here’s how it works.
- Establish a free account on the Scener website.
- Download and install the Scener Chrome extension.
- Click on the Scener logo. It will bring up Netflix and ask you to log into your account.
- Finally, go to the show or movie you want to watch and send the included URL to friends.
Scener lets you chat over text, audio or video while you watch Netflix with friends. You can even establish groups so that, for example, your Office friends are different than your Parks and Rec friends. The company is working on a version for iOS and Roku.
3. Rave
If you want to watch Netflix with friends while on the go, Rave is for you. It’s available for iOS and Android. It lets you watch not only Netflix movies and TV shows with others, but also YouTube and Vimeo. You can even create your own music mashup with the RaveDJ feature. If you have your own videos uploaded to Google Drive or Dropbox, you can watch them with friends remotely in the Rave app.
4. Kast
Our last way to watch Netflix with friends is Kast. This app, formerly known as Rabbit, also supports YouTube and other services. You can download its official app for Windows and Mac PCs on its offical web site. Besides video sharing, the apps also offer video chat, and other features. It’s free to download and use, but there is a Kast Premium subscription for $4.99 a month. It ditches ads and also improves the video quality, among other things.
That’s a few ways you can watch Netflix with friends, with Netflix Party remaining the most popular option, though as you now know — it’s far from the only one. Which one of these methods will you use? Of course you still need something to watch. Here’s a look at what movies and shows you can stream on Netflix
That’s just a brief look at what’s on Netflix. However, there’s a ton of content you can stream on the service. Here are some of our other Netflix guides worth checking out:
