How to watch films together long distance without the faff

How to watch movies together long distance mostly comes down to what you’re each watching on. Both on Apple devices? SharePlay in FaceTime is built in. On laptops or a mix of phones, a free extension like Teleparty or Scener keeps Netflix, Disney+ or Prime Video in sync. For YouTube, Discord does it inside a call. And when nothing plays nicely, a phone call and a countdown still gets the job done.

Below: which to pick, what each one needs, and how to make film night feel like a date.

How to watch movies together long distance: pick by device

Your setup	Try this	What you each need	Talking while you watch
Both on iPhone, iPad or Mac	SharePlay in FaceTime	Your own access to the film or show	You’re already on FaceTime
Laptops, any mix of Windows and Mac	Teleparty or Scener	Your own streaming account and the browser extension	Text chat free, voice and video on Premium
Android phones	Teleparty’s app	Your own account, logged in inside the app	Text chat free
A YouTube video	Discord Watch Together	Discord, in a DM call	The voice call
A telly, or nothing else works	A phone call and a countdown	The same film on the same service	The phone call

SharePlay: easiest if you’re both on Apple

If you both have an iPhone, iPad or Mac, SharePlay lets you stream films, TV and music in sync while you’re on a FaceTime call. No extension, no extra account. The catch, from Apple’s own help page: every person needs access to the content on their own device, through a subscription or a purchase. If the film is on a service only one of you pays for, the other will need to sign up or buy it first.

The bigger catch: if one of you is on Android or Windows, they can still join a FaceTime call from a link in the browser, but SharePlay and screen sharing aren’t available in FaceTime on the web. Mixed phones means one of the options below.

Teleparty: the all-rounder for laptops

Teleparty is free and syncs playback on Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube and several other services, with a group chat down the side. It runs as an extension in Chrome, Edge, Safari and Opera, and there’s an Android app too. Its support page is honest about the limits:

• Each of you needs access to an account for the streaming service. A shared account can work, but only if the plan lets more than one person watch at the same time.
• Voice and video chat are a Premium thing. Free users can see and hear a Premium member but can’t send their own video or audio.
• Smart TVs and consoles aren’t supported yet. It’s a laptop or phone job for now.
• Teleparty works in every country, but not every streaming service does, so check the film is on the service where you both live.

Scener: free, if you’ve got a laptop

Scener is free to host and join, and works through a Chrome extension on a laptop or desktop. Its FAQ lists Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Max, Shudder, YouTube and Vimeo among the services it supports. Phones can join the chat, but you’d have to sync the film yourself on another screen.

Everyone needs their own account for the service. Text chat is free, while video and audio chat need Scener Premium for anyone who wants to use them. Scener says people in different countries can watch together as long as they can both get the same content. If you’re in Glasgow and your partner’s in Toronto, check the film’s actually available to both of you before the popcorn’s out.

Discord Watch Together: best for YouTube

If the plan is YouTube (a gig, a documentary, a daft compilation), Discord’s Watch Together activity syncs the video for you, so there’s no counting down, and you can both add videos to a shared playlist. You can start it in a direct message, a group message or a server’s voice channel, and Discord’s FAQ covers using it on mobile as well as desktop.

One quirk, straight from that FAQ: it uses YouTube’s embedded player and doesn’t let you log into your YouTube account inside it, so YouTube Premium won’t get rid of the ads there.

Kosmi: no extension at all

Kosmi runs in the browser, is free, and puts video chat right next to the film. It says it works with Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video and YouTube, among others. Its page doesn’t say whether you each need your own subscription, so do a test run with a trailer first.

The no-app method (still underrated)

No extension, no Premium, no fighting with settings:

1. Get on a phone call, or a video call on a different device from the one playing the film.
2. Both open the same film on the same service and pause on the opening frame.
3. Count down from three and press play together.
4. Every so often, one of you reads out the time on screen. If you’ve drifted apart, whoever’s ahead pauses for a couple of seconds.

It works on a smart TV, which Teleparty doesn’t yet, and it costs nothing beyond the subscription. Headphones stop the film sound bleeding into the call.

Making film night feel like a date

• Take turns choosing, with one veto each a month and no more.
• Match the snacks. Same crisps, same fizzy juice, bought separately and opened together.
• Talk during or talk after, but decide. One of you narrating a thriller while the other’s trying to follow it gets old fast.
• Mind the time difference. A Saturday-night film for one of you might be a Sunday morning for the other, and our time difference guide helps find the slot.
• Go short on weeknights. An episode or two beats a three-hour epic you both fall asleep to.
• Pick something neither of you has seen. Reacting at the same moment is most of the fun.

More for film-free nights: long-distance ideas beyond video calls, date night ideas, and everything else on our long-distance page.

Tonight, work out which row of the table you’re in, do a two-minute test with a trailer, and put the actual film in the diary.

Questions people ask

Can you watch Netflix together long distance for free?

Yes. Teleparty and Scener are both free to use and sync Netflix playback between browsers, with free text chat. Each of you needs access to a Netflix account, although Teleparty says a shared account can work if its plan allows more than one person to watch at once. Voice and video chat cost extra on both. The completely free option is a phone call and a countdown to press play together.

How do you watch a movie together on FaceTime?

Use SharePlay. Start a FaceTime call on an iPhone, iPad or Mac and play a film or show from an app that supports SharePlay, and it plays in sync for everyone on the call. Each person needs access to the content on their own device, through a subscription or a purchase. Anyone joining the FaceTime call from a browser on Android or Windows can’t use SharePlay.

Do both people need Netflix to use Teleparty?

Yes. Teleparty says each participant needs access to an account for the streaming service being used for the party. A shared account can work, but only if its plan lets more than one person watch at the same time. Everyone also needs Teleparty itself, either the browser extension on a computer or the app on a phone.

How can we watch movies together long distance on our phones?

If you both have iPhones, SharePlay over FaceTime is the simplest option. On Android, Teleparty has an app that syncs services such as Netflix once you’re logged into them inside it. For YouTube, Discord’s Watch Together activity works on mobile. Otherwise, call each other on one device, play the film on another, and count down to press play at the same moment.