Facebook has officially rolled out “Watch Party” that’s designed to let FB groups join in and watch videos together in real time. Once onboard, your invited friends can also add a comment and send reactions as the video plays. Creating “Watch Party” in Facebook groups is dead simple, and you get the complete freedom to choose the sort of videos you wish to enjoy.
The social networking giant has confirmed that it’s testing the ability to start “Watch Parties” with friends outside of groups. So, we expect them to arrive sometime very soon.
“We are now starting to test the ability for people to kickstart Watch Parties with friends outside of groups, too, and we’ll explore Watch Parties for Pages in the future. We believe that if people can start a Watch Party directly from their profile or from a video they’re watching, the experience of watching video on Facebook can become even more fun and social.” – Facebook
Note: Before jumping into, ensure that your device is running the latest version of Facebook.
How to Create Watch Party in Facebook Groups on iPhone, Android, and Computer
Step #1. Launch Facebook on your mobile device or computer.
Now, on your iOS device: tap on the menu button at the bottom right corner and tap on Groups.
On your Android device, tap on the menu button at the top right and tap on Groups.
On the web, click Groups on the left menu.
Step #2. Now, you should see the list of groups you have already joined. Select any group.
Step #3. Next, you need to tap on the text field and select Watch Party.
Note: Now, steps are pretty much the same on iOS, Android and web so you won’t have any problem in going ahead with the process.
Step #4. Next up, tap on Add Video.
Now, search for a cool video or click a particular category like Watched, Group, Live, Saved, or Suggested to watch additional videos.
Step #5. Tap on Add to Queue to add the video to your watch party.
You can select more videos and add them to your watching list.
Step #6. Up next, tap on Done.
Then, you have the option to add a description for your watch party. Next, tap on Post.
Step #7. Now, a message will appear “Your Watch Party Is About To Begin”.
You can choose to add friends to your watch party. To do so, enter their name and click Invite next to their profile picture.
Now, the person you have invited will receive a notification saying they have been invited to join your watch party.
When anyone joins, you can see their profile picture at the bottom left of your screen.
Even after the watch party has started, you can add video, invite more friends and even chat with friends. Besides, you have the option to add emojis, GIFs, photos or videos to your comments.
Note: If a watch party is going on in your group, it will show as a post when you visit that group.
Step #8. Once you watched the videos, tap on the video. Then, tap on “X” and select End Watch Party.
Note: If you don’t want to watch the videos, you can choose to leave.
However, the party will continue to play the remaining videos. As a host, you have the desired control over the party.
Now, a recap of the party will be saved in your group as a post. It includes all the videos you had selected.
That’s pretty much it!
Your take?
I have found this feature pretty well-timed. There is one nifty little feature that I would like to add to it is “scheduling in advance.” What’s your take on it?
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