Facebook‘s focus on videos has increased in recent months.
In March 2020, the social media giant rolled out new features for its live streaming platform, Facebook Live. One month later, the company introduced several video chat features across all its product.
These include expanding WhatsApp group calls, new live video features for Facebook and Instagram, and introducing Messenger Rooms.
According to Facebook, there are 150 million video calls on Messenger every day. What’s more, the messaging platform users share as much as 200 million videos daily.
So, the social media behemoth combined these two data to create a new feature called Watch Together. It’s a way for up to eight users to watch videos with other people using Facebook Messenger.
In a blog post to announce the new feature, Product Manager at Facebook, Nora Micheva, said:
“Now, with Watch Together, you can enjoy videos and share the experience with your friends in real time. We created Watch Together to make spending quality time with friends and loved ones feel as close to an in-person experience as possible.”
Here’s how it works.
Using Facebook’s Watch Together Feature on Messenger
Users can initiate a co-viewing session while on a video call on Facebook Messenger. It starts with swiping up on the screen during the video call session and selecting the “Watch Together” icon from the menu.
After that, you simply have to select the content to watch, whether it’s a sports highlight or a TV series. The videos will then play as video feeds while you can see your friend’s reaction in real-time at the bottom.
Another option is to create a Messenger Room where 50 people can watch content together using the main Facebook app.
According to Facebook, creators can benefit from the new feature. “Whether you’re an artist, DJ, chef, or personal trainer, your community can watch and engage with your video in a Messenger video call,” the company said.
Facebook is rolling out Watch Together this week in Messenger and Messenger Rooms on Android and iOS.
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