Disney is testing a new feature for Disney+ called GroupWatch, which allows subscribers to create watch parties.
A select group of users in Canada are trialing the feature, before it rolls out to everyone in the fall.
GroupWatch is what Disney is calling its watch party feature for Disney+. With it, you can watch any Disney+ title together virtually with your friends and family. Everyone’s streams are synced, so you’re watching at the same time.
The feature was first spotted on the Disney+ subreddit and then confirmed when The Verge contacted Disney.
The GroupWatch feature is currently being tested by some Disney+ subscribers in Canada, but Disney expects to make it available to everyone in the fall.
The news comes shortly after the introduction of Twitch Watch Parties, and also follows in the steps of similar features from companies like Amazon and Hulu.
GroupWatch allows you and up to six other people to watch something on Disney+ together. Four different profiles on a single Disney+ account can join a GroupWatch, though kids profiles cannot participate.
You invite people with a link, which can be shared through SMS, email, and so on, but participants must be a Disney+ subscriber in order to join. Also, someone cannot join the GroupWatch if they are in another country where the title being viewed is unavailable to them.
Anyone in the GroupWatch can control the viewing (pause, play, rewind, and so on). Everyone will be able to see who is controlling.
Participants can also send reaction emojis that will display to everyone else within the party.
Disney+ is available on lots of platforms; GroupWatch supports many of them, excluding the PlayStation 4, some Roku models, and some Fire TV models.
If you love watching movies and TV shows together with others remotely, you don’t need to wait for Disney’s GroupWatch feature. There are many services and third-party add-ons that offer synchronized watching.