Netflix is the most popular video streaming service at present. It has an excellent collection of original Movies, TV Shows, stand-up specials, Animated Series, and much more content. You can binge-watch Netflix shows or movies with your loved ones or organize a watch party with a bunch of friends. FaceTime is a voice and video calling application from Apple to make free audio or video calls to other Apple users. What if we can combine these two? Make a FaceTime call to a family or friend who is far away and watch the latest Netflix content together through the FaceTime call. This is an interesting thought. But, can your watch Netflix on FaceTime? If so, how to watch Netflix on FaceTime?
In this guide, let us explore the possibility of combining two modern pieces of entertainment and communication.
What Is SharePlay?
When Apple launched iOS version 15.1 in late 2021, it introduced a new feature to iPhones (and iPads) called SharePlay.
Using SharePlay, you can make a FaceTime call to your friend and watch a movie or TV Show or listen to music at the same time. The benefit of this feature is that even though your friend is miles away from you, you can still do something together.
There are a couple of ways you can do this. First, you can start a FaceTime with your contact on your iPhone or iPad.
Next, while your FaceTime call is going on, swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen.
You will see a list of SharePlay Supported streaming apps. Select an app and start playing a movie or TV Show. Tap on “SharePlay” if necessary.
That’s it. through the FaceTime call you and your contact can watch the same content simultaneously. Both you and your friend will get playback controls such as play, pause, rewind and fast forward.
Other controls such as volume and subtitles are applicable to their respective devices.
Another way to start the SharePlay session is directly from the streaming app.
Open a SharePlay-supported streaming app. Browse for the movie or TV Show that you want to share with your contact.
Next, tap on the Share Button (or Menu Button) and then tap on the SharePlay Button.
Add one or more contacts that you want to share this screen with and then make a FaceTime video or audio call.
If you have a MacBook with macOS Monterey or later (macOS 12.0 or later), then you can use SharePlay on that device as well.
Can You Watch Netflix On Facetime?
It is clear that you can share movies or TV Shows using SharePlay and FaceTime calls. In the previous, we mentioned “SharePlay Supported” apps.
What apps support SharePlay over FaceTime? Let us see now.
Video Apps
- Apple TV
- Disney+
- TikTok
- Twitch
- STARZ
- MasterClass
- Pantaya
- UFC
- Shudder
- Paramount+
- MUBI
- SHOWTIME
- HBO Max
- Hulu
- And many more
Music or Listening Apps
- Apple Music
- Meditation Moments
- Moon FM
- Unplug
- BetterSleep
- TuneIn Radio
- Digital Concert Hall
- And many more
Other Apps
- Fitness
- Popshop Live
- Asana Rebel
- Kahoot!
- Flow
- Head Up!
- Apollo for Reddit
- Cameo
- LookUp
- Piano with Friends
- Night Sky
- Translate Now
- And many more
In the above lists, we haven’t mentioned Netflix. So, can you watch Netflix on FaceTime through SharePlay? Sadly, the answer is, no.
At the time of writing this guide, Netflix doesn’t support SharePlay. So, you cannot make a FaceTime call with your friend and stream a movie or TV Show on Netflix using SharePlay.
How To Watch Netflix On Facetime?
SharePlay is a very good service from Apple to stream content and make calls at the same time. If there is a new movie or TV Show that Netflix recently launched and you want to watch it with your loved ones or friends who are far away, then you cannot do it through FaceTime and SharePlay.
So, the answer to the question “How to watch Netflix on FaceTime” is, no, you cannot watch Netflix using this method.
Are there any alternatives? Here is some positive news. There are a couple of ways to stream Netflix content on your Apple device as well as your friend’s device. Let us find out more.
Alternative Ways To Watch Netflix With Friends
Discord
We already made a dedicated guide on how to stream Netflix on Discord. Check that out for more information. We will see a brief version here.
You can host watch parties on Discord on MacBooks, Windows, Linux computers, and Android Smartphones. Sadly, there isn’t a simple way to extend this to iOS Devices.
In these watch parties, we create a server on Discord and stream content from Netflix to this server. All the members of this server can watch the content from Netflix along with you and also engage in a text or voice chat at the same time.
This is the best way to watch Netflix even when your friends don’t have a Netflix account.
For all the other methods that we mention next, you and all your friends must have individual Netflix Accounts.
Rave
If you want to watch Netflix with a bunch of friends, the Rave is one of the best options to do that. Rave has apps for all the major computer and smartphone platforms.
You can download and install the Rave app on iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac systems.
Create an account with Rave and link your Netflix account. All your friends whom you want to join the watch party must also do the same.
Now, choose a movie or TV Show from Netflix and start playing. Pause it immediately so that others can join.
Next, make the watch party private and then share the Rave link with all your friends (using email, text message, WhatsApp, etc.).
Once everyone is present, you can hit the play button and all your friends can watch the content in sync. You can communicate with text and voice chats.
Apart from Netflix, Rave also supports YouTube, Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Max, and many more.
Teleparty
Previously known as Netflix Party, Teleparty is a fun way to watch content with your friends. It supports Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Prime Video, etc.
On laptops and desktops, you can install Teleparty as a browser extension for Google Chrome. On Android devices, there is an app that you can download from Play Store. There is no app for iOS at this time.
Once you and all your friends install Teleparty, you can host the watch party. Login to Netflix in the browser and start playing a movie or TV Show.
Then click on the TP extension (make sure you pin this extension on Chrome). You will get a link from Teleparty. Share this link with your friends and start watching.
Hearo
Another app-based solution to watch Netflix with your friends is through Hearo. Download the Hearo app on Android, iOS (iPhone or iPad), or Windows systems. There is no Mac application at this time.
Once you install Hearo, create an account with it and link your Netflix account here. All your friends must also do the same.
A host should start playing a movie or TV Show and click on pause so that others can join. Now, the host must send the Hearo link, which they can get from the top-left corner of the app (under My Party).
Once all your friends join, you can play the content and everyone with the link can watch it in sync.
Watch Netflix Together
Another Chrome extension-based Netflix watch party is through “Watch Netflix Together”. You and your friends must install this extension on the Chrome web browser.
Log in to Netflix in the browser and click on the “Watch Netflix Together” extension. Then click on “Create Session”. You will get a link. Only the host of the watch party needs to do this.
After getting the link, share it with all your friends. Once everyone is live, you can watch Netflix in sync. This extension supports only Netflix at this time.
Other Ways
There are some other similar ways to watch Netflix with your friends. Screener, MetaStream, etc. are other alternatives.
Conclusion
Netflix is the most popular OTT platform in the world. You can watch Netflix on large TVs, on your smartphone, or on your computer (desktop or laptop).
FaceTime is a video calling app from Apple. It is a free way to make video or voice calls between two Apple devices.
What if we could combine Netflix and FaceTime? How to watch Netflix on FaceTime? The answer is, no, you cannot watch Netflix over FaceTime.
But there are some streaming apps that you can share with your friends over FaceTime using a service known as SharePlay. Sadly, Netflix doesn’t support SharePlay.
In this guide, we saw the list of streaming or listening apps that you can share with your friends using FaceTime and SharePlay.
After that, we also saw different ways to share Netflix on different devices. As there is no SharePlay support from Netflix, all the methods to create a watch party will limit you to either text or voice communication.
