Watch Party allows users to watch videos on Facebook together in real time

Facebook is launching Watch Party to all Groups around the globe. Watch Party is a new way for people to watch videos on Facebook together in real time. Once a Watch Party is started, participants can watch videos, live or recorded, and interact with other viewers around them in the same moment. Facebook continues to develop new ways to bring people together around video; creating connections and igniting conversations— and Watch Party, is the next step in bringing this vision to life. 

Users can now make use of Watch Party for a variety of purposes. These include hosting Q&As around particular hobbies such as cooking or crafting, sharing behind the scenes details of a particular video, swapping tips and tricks for areas like home improvement or decorating; and even launching makeup tutorials with other members in real time. Groups can also learn new things like workout techniques or musical skills and invite special guests to join their Watch Party.

Two key features of Watch Party include:

Co-hosting: Lets the host of a Watch Party designate other co-hosts who can add videos and keep the party going

Crowdsourcing: Lets anyone in a Watch Party suggest videos for the host to add to the Watch Party

Watch Party can be useful for groups, both big and small, as it facilitates frequent engagement and generates a lot of comments when members watch together. The shared viewing experience aims to bridge the distance between close friends and family when they can't physically be together.

While Facebook is launching this feature to groups only today, they are also starting to test this experience for people, and will be looking to expand more broadly to more people soon, as well as exploring Watch Party for Pages, too.