Watching TV shows and movies with friends is always a fun activity. But friends can’t always be nearby like in the old days, nor are some shows free for everyone thanks to today’s streaming services. Well, YouTube is free, and thanks to technology, we can always talk to friends and family far away. Let’s bring those two things together and learn How to Watch YouTube Together With your Long-Distance Friends and create a little YouTube watch party.
There’s plenty of stuff on YouTube, so much to share, practically everything under the sun that can be talked about. It’s unfortunate that YouTube doesn’t have a Group Watch feature unlike other streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. At least YouTube is free, so let’s work around that so you and your friends can watch YouTube together long-distance, because, for many people, friends are now quite far from each other.
Not much can be done about the distance, but schedules can be fixed, and friends can Watch YouTube together at the same time. Friends can set up a YouTube watch party and enjoy the good old days of watching shows together. Another issue is that some YouTube channels have region-locked videos which may not be available to friends in other countries. This tutorial on How to Watch YouTube Together With your Long-Distance Friends also solves that problem. Let’s get set up.
Watch YouTube Together with Friends (using Twoseven)
Step 1: Log in to Twoseven
We’ll be using a website called Twoseven. This site enables multiple people to watch a YouTube video at the same time. The concept here is like hosting a chat room, but with video. Aside from YouTube, the site also supports Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, Crunchyroll, Apple TV, HBO Max, and Vimeo.
Open the site on your browser. There’s no need to create an account with this site. You can log in using your existing Google account (if you have one) or with Facebook.
Step 2: Create a Room for YouTube Watch Party
Once in, click on Start Watching. A popup will appear with some settings that include: ‘Allow Participants to use webcam/mic’ and ‘Only Admins control videos and playback’ to prevent those friends that have the tendency to control stuff. And lastly, there’s the ‘Just Me’ button for this initial run. Click on it to create the room, or shall we say virtual theater or virtual living room.
YouTube is selected by default, but as mentioned, Twoseven supports other streaming services mentioned in Step 1.
Next, let’s find the video to watch for your YouTube watch party. Open the YouTube site in another tab. Thankfully, YouTube now shows plenty of licensed content like movies, TV shows, and anime, aside from the plethora of content from YouTubers. Once you find your selected video, copy the URL from the browser address bar, or simply right-click on a thumbnail and select Copy Link.
Go back to the Twoseven tab and paste the URL in the URL field below the video player. The video will then be loaded for playing.
To the right of the screen, you can toggle your webcam and microphone on, so you can communicate with your friends while watching.
Step 3: Invite your Friends to Join
Next, let’s invite some friends over. Look at the screen’s upper right corner and look for the People icon. Click it and click on the Copy Link button. Share the link with friends through instant messaging so they can join the room and watch YouTube together. Your friends can then open the link on their device, and log in to Twoseven with their Google or Facebook accounts. The nice thing about watching YouTube together long-distance activity is you won’t have to spend on popcorn and drinks.
If they’re successful, they’ll appear in the room. Instruct them about the webcam and mic settings so you can chat and discuss the show. There’s also a message or chat box so you can watch the content without the chatter or any background noise.
Once everyone’s set up, you can click on the Play button on the video. All participants can then see and hear the video playing. And if everyone is given control, they can even recommend new URLs after the video finishes.
Watch YouTube Together (using Watch2Gether)
Now in case for some reason, Twoseven is down, you and your friends can still watch YouTube together long distance. Set up your YouTube watch party by using Watch2Gether.
Step 1: First, visit the website. Fortunately, like Twoseven, there’s no need to create any accounts here in order to watch YouTube with friends. Watch2Gether makes its living through ads. There is a Sign-Up link which is likely a subscription mechanism to remove the ads and include other features. For now, free would suffice.
Step 2: The screen may seem a bit flashy as a banner ad lies directly in the middle but doesn’t obscure the randomly selected video. At the bottom, the list of users is shown. It’s also where the microphone and camera are controlled. It can be minimized for additional screen real-estate. On the upper right, you can invite other people by sharing the link displayed and pressing the Share button. Copy the URL and send it via email or messenger. Once they’re in, they’ll be displayed on the users list.
Step 3: Next, let’s find the video to watch for your YouTube watch party. Open the YouTube site in another tab. Once you find your selected video, copy the URL from the browser address bar, or simply right-click on a thumbnail and select Copy Link.
Step 4: Go back to the Watch2Gether tab and paste the URL in the URL field above the video player. The video will then be loaded for playing.
Step 5: Once everyone’s set up, you can click on the Play button on the video. All participants can then see and hear the video playing. It’s a bit of a mess when it comes to controls but it’s a good alternative to allow friends to watch YouTube together at the same time.
We hope you find this tutorial on How to Watch YouTube Together With your Long-Distance Friends useful. Enjoy!
