How To Watch Movies And TV Shows Together Over FaceTime
FaceTime can help you and your friends or family feel like you're together even over far distances. One feature now available on FaceTime that can help you spend time together is SharePlay. This feature allows you to watch shows, movies, videos, or listen to music with other people over FaceTime. It can be used while in a FaceTime call, but you can also start a FaceTime call directly from the media you want to watch and start watching immediately.
One caveat is that you can only use SharePlay with apps that support the feature. Apple has a list of these apps, which include Disney+, TikTok, Twitch, Paramount+, and more. There are also apps that allow you to stream music over SharePlay, including Apple Music. It's easy to begin using SharePlay, whether you're already in a call or want to start one with a video you've found. Here's how to do it.
How to use SharePlay in a call
Before you start, you'll want to make sure that your iPhone is updated to the latest version of iOS so that you can use SharePlay. The person you're calling will also need to be running the latest version of iOS, as well as have a subscription to the service you're playing the video or music from if necessary. Once you've made sure of that, you can enter into a FaceTime call and then follow these steps (via Apple).
1. Swipe up from the bottom of the FaceTime call to view your home screen.
2. Open one of the apps that supports SharePlay.
3. Find a video you want to watch or song to play and tap to start it.
4. When SharePlay is prompted, tap on it to begin sharing the media.
Keep in mind that anyone who is watching the video will be able to control it by rewinding, fast-forwarding, pausing, and similar controls. Settings such as closed captions or volume will only be controlled by you and only affect your device.
How to start a FaceTime call with SharePlay
Another option for using SharePlay is to start a FaceTime call with a video. This is a great option if you've found something you really want to show a friend right away. Here's how to do it.
1. In an app that supports SharePlay, tap on the video you want to start a call with.
2. Tap on the ellipses or share icon.
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3. Tap "SharePlay," then find the person you want to call.
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4. Tap on "FaceTime" to start the call.
From there, you can begin playing the video and it will work the same as if you had started the video in the middle of the call. Again, anyone can control the video while it's playing. To do this, make sure the person you're calling is also using an iPhone or iPad with the latest iOS update, or else it likely won't work.
How to join a SharePlay call on FaceTime
When a SharePlay session starts, the others in the FaceTime call will need to join it in order to begin watching the SharePlay video. It's easy to do this in just a few seconds so you can get to watching together with your friends.
1. In the FaceTime call, next to Join SharePlay, tap on the Open button.
2. The app used to stream will open. Tap on Join SharePlay.
3. To get back to the FaceTime call, tap on the video picture at the top.
In the streaming app, you'll be able to control the video as well as the person who started playing it. If you aren't able to access the streaming app, make sure it's downloaded and you have a subscription to use the service if needed. You may also be able to join a free trial if one is available on the service so you can use SharePlay for the time being.
What apps support SharePlay on FaceTime?
When using SharePlay, you have the ability to stream video from apps that support the feature. Besides video, you can also stream music, as well as use some other services such as apps for meditation, exercise, shopping, and more. For video streaming, you can use Twitch, Disney+, TikTok, NBA, MasterClass, STARZ, Pantaya, Shudder, UFC, Paramount+, SHOWTIME, Mubi, and Apple TV.
For music streaming, Apple Music, Moon FM, BetterSleep, Digital Concert Hall, TuneIn Radio, Unplug: Meditation, and Meditation Moments are all available. Other things you can do with SharePlay include yoga with Asana Rebel, shopping with Popshop Live, drawing with Flow, quizzes with Kahoot, Reddit with Apollo for Reddit, exercise with Fitness and SmartGym, gaming with Heads Up, and much more.
There are some notable exclusions to what can be used over SharePlay such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Spotify, etc. However, the apps available are still a great way to spend some time with friends.