Tired of self-quarantining and missing binge-watching on Netflix with your friends or partner? Many of us have even taken to calling our loved ones and asking them to stay on the phone while we go through an episode together... but it doesn’t have to be that difficult.
Now, a new free tool for Google Chrome called Netflix Party makes this lockdown a whole lot bearable: it lets you start, pause and stop a show, movie or anime you watch on the platform at the same time as a group of people. You don’t have to be constantly Whatsapping people to find out which point in the episode they are on, or coordinate bathroom breaks. There’s even a chat window on the side where you can discuss plot points and moments that are going on, exactly like you would if you were next to each other.
It’s simple enough to use, and the only caveat is that everyone watching needs to have a Netflix account. The platform is offering a 3-day free trial for new subscribers, even for those who don’t.
Downloading and using Netflix Party is quite straightforward: After logging into you Netflix account, visit the www.netflixparty.com website, and download the Google Chrome extension. A grey NP icon will be visible now in the browser toolbar.
Next, after you find a show or movie that everyone wants to watch, click and open the stream.
The NP (Netflix Party) icon would have changed from gray to red. Click the icon and select Start the party. You are the host, so you can either decide to be the only controller pausing and playing the show, or the other option is to let anyone in the group take control .
Now, copy the URL from the pop-up box and send it to everyone you want to invite to the party. The chatroom appears on the right side of the screen, where everyone joining the party will be visible and give in their comments. What next? Netflix and chill... from a safe, socially-acceptable distance.
