How to Watch Netflix Together: Netflix Party, Teleparty and Other Options

The short answer: Netflix has no built-in watch party, so the most common way to watch Netflix together is Teleparty, the free browser extension that used to be called Netflix Party. Everyone installs it on a desktop browser, one person starts a party and shares a link, and playback stays in sync with a chat on the side. Everyone also needs their own Netflix access.

If that’s all you needed, the steps are below. If Teleparty doesn’t fit (you’re all on phones, someone uses Safari, or you’d rather talk than type), there are a few other options, each with honest trade-offs.

Quick answer: how to watch Netflix together

At the time of writing (November 2026), here’s what works:

• Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party) for desktop browsers. Free synced playback and group text chat; a paid Premium tier adds video and voice chat.
• Apple SharePlay over FaceTime, if everyone is on Apple devices and the Netflix app supports it on your device.
• Count down and press play together while on a call. Low-tech, works anywhere, drifts a little.
• Screen sharing on Discord, Zoom or Google Meet. Usually the worst option for Netflix, because of black screens and blurry video.

Whatever you pick, each person watches from their own Netflix access. None of these tools let one account stream to everyone.

What happened to Netflix Party?

Netflix Party was never made by Netflix. It was an independent Chrome extension that synced Netflix playback between friends and added a chat box next to the video. It became hugely popular, and it was later renamed Teleparty as it grew to support other streaming services.

If you search the Chrome Web Store today, the listing literally says “Netflix Party is now Teleparty”. Same idea, new name, more services. So when someone says “let’s do a Netflix party”, Teleparty is almost always what they mean.

Two things haven’t changed:

1. It’s a browser extension, so it runs on desktop browsers (Chrome, Edge and other Chromium-based browsers), not inside the Netflix app on your phone or TV.
2. It syncs playback; it doesn’t share your account. Every viewer still signs in to Netflix themselves.

How to use Teleparty for a Netflix watch party

Here’s the general flow. The exact buttons and wording can change between versions, so if something looks slightly different, look for the closest match.

For the host

1. Install Teleparty. Go to teleparty.com or search “Teleparty” in the Chrome Web Store and add the extension to Chrome, Edge or another Chromium browser.
2. Pin the extension. Click the puzzle-piece icon in your browser toolbar and pin Teleparty so its icon is easy to find.
3. Open Netflix and start your title. Sign in to Netflix in the browser, pick the movie or episode, and let it start playing (you can pause it right away).
4. Click the Teleparty icon. Choose the option to start a party. You may see a setting for whether only you can control playback.
5. Copy the party link and send it to your friends by text, WhatsApp, email or wherever you chat.

For everyone joining

1. Install the same extension on a desktop Chromium browser.
2. Sign in to Netflix in that browser with your own access.
3. Open the party link. It should take you to the same title on Netflix; if needed, click the Teleparty icon to join.
4. Say hello in the chat and wait for the host to press play.

Tips for a smoother Netflix party

• Get everyone set up 10 minutes early. Installing extensions and signing in always takes longer than you expect.
• Use a wired connection or sit near the router. If one person buffers, the party may pause for them.
• Agree on time zones. “Eight o’clock” means different things in London and Mumbai. Put the time in the invite with the zone.
• Want to talk, not type? The free version is text chat. Run a phone or Discord call alongside it, and use headphones so the movie audio doesn’t echo back into the call.
• Subtitles are personal. Each person turns Netflix subtitles on or off in their own player.

Other ways to watch Netflix together

Teleparty isn’t the only option. Here’s how the alternatives compare in practice.

Apple SharePlay

If everyone has an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV, SharePlay can sync playback during a FaceTime call. You start a FaceTime call, open a supported app, and play something; others with access to the content can join in. Not every app supports SharePlay, and support can change, so check whether the Netflix app offers it on your device before planning around it. Apple’s SharePlay support page explains how it works.

Count down and press play

This is the oldest trick and still works everywhere: phones, TVs, consoles, laptops. Get on a call, everyone opens the same episode and pauses at the start, someone counts “3, 2, 1, play”, and you’re off.

It drifts by a second or two, and every pause needs another countdown. But it needs nothing installed and works on a smart TV, which Teleparty can’t do.

Screen sharing (Discord, Zoom, Google Meet)

Screen sharing feels like the obvious fix: one person plays Netflix and shares their screen. In practice it rarely works well for Netflix:

• Black screen. Netflix and other streaming services often black out their video when it’s screen-shared, because of DRM copy protection. Friends see the subtitles and controls but no picture.
• Lower quality. Even when video does come through, screen sharing compresses it, often drops the frame rate, and makes the sound worse.
• Account rules. Everyone watching a stream from one account isn’t how Netflix is meant to be used. Each viewer is supposed to have their own access.

Other co-watching tools

Tools such as Scener also exist for co-watching streaming services, and there are watch-party apps like Rave and Kast. Features and supported services change often, so check their current details before you rely on one.

Comparison: ways to watch Netflix together

Option	Devices	Sync	Talking	Needs install	Each person needs Netflix
Teleparty	Desktop Chromium browsers	Automatic	Text chat (video/voice in Premium)	Browser extension	Yes
Apple SharePlay	Apple devices only	Automatic	FaceTime call	No (if app supports it)	Yes
Countdown + call	Anything	Manual, drifts	Any call app	No	Yes
Screen sharing	Anything with a call app	Live, but low quality	Built in	Call app	Should, and DRM often blacks out the video

For most groups on laptops, Teleparty is the best fit. For an all-Apple group, try SharePlay. For mixed phones and TVs, a countdown is the honest fallback.

Can you watch Netflix together on a phone or TV?

Mostly not with automatic sync. Teleparty is a desktop browser extension, so it doesn’t run inside the Netflix app on Android, iPhone, smart TVs or consoles. SharePlay is the exception for Apple devices, where the app supports it.

If some of your group is on a TV, the countdown method is the simplest way to include them. Keep a call open on a phone so you can pause together (“bathroom break, pausing at 42:10”) and restart with another countdown.

Netflix accounts and household rules

Every way of watching Netflix together assumes each viewer has Netflix access of their own. Netflix ties accounts to a household, and people outside that household generally need their own account or, where Netflix offers it, to be added as an Extra Member. The details vary by country and plan and do change, so check Netflix’s help center for the current rules rather than relying on old advice. We won’t quote prices here because they differ by region and change over time.

The practical upshot: before movie night, make sure everyone can actually play the title on their own Netflix. Catalogs also vary by country, so a film your friend sees in one country may not be available in another.

When you’d rather watch your own movies together

Sometimes the movie you want isn’t on Netflix at all. Maybe it’s a film you bought and downloaded, a home video, a recording, or a video sitting in Dropbox or Google Drive. That’s where CineNest comes in.

To be clear: CineNest can’t play Netflix or any other streaming service, and it isn’t a screen-sharing tool. It’s a free watch party web app for your own videos and links:

• Nothing to install. It runs in any modern browser on desktop and mobile. No sign-up, no account, no extension.
• Create a room, share the link or QR code, and everyone watches the same video in frame-tight sync.
• Your own files in original quality up to 4K (MP4, WebM, MKV). If only you have the file, your browser streams it straight to friends, peer to peer and encrypted; it’s never uploaded to CineNest’s servers.
• Paste a link to a direct video file, an HLS stream, or a Dropbox, Google Drive or GitHub share link.
• Voice and video calls for up to 8 people, with face bubbles floating over the movie, plus chat and live reactions. Rooms hold up to 24 people.
• Subtitles for everyone: drop an .srt or .vtt once and the whole room gets it, with per-person timing.

CineNest was built by PlusOneDevelopers for a long-distance couple’s movie nights, so it’s designed for exactly that “same couch, different cities” feeling. Just share only what you have the right to watch.

For more ideas, see our guides on how to host a watch party, watching movies together online, and Amazon Prime Video watch parties.

The bottom line

To watch Netflix together, use Teleparty (the old Netflix Party) on desktop browsers, SharePlay if you’re all on Apple devices and the app supports it, or a good old countdown on a call. Skip screen sharing for Netflix; it usually means black screens or blurry video. And when the movie is your own, open a CineNest room and press play together.