Disney+ expands watch together feature to work with FaceTime using SharePlay

Staff Writer | Dec 15 2021 - 7:38 am PT

Disney+ is today expanding its “watch together” feature to work with FaceTime while using SharePlay. With that, subscribers with an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV can enjoy Disney content with family members and friends completely in sync while on a FaceTime call.

According to the company, the Disney+ SharePlay experience is available globally across the entire Disney+ content catalog from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and more.

“We’re very excited to launch SharePlay on Disney+ for Apple users in time for the holidays and ahead of several highly-anticipated premieres,” said Jerrell Jimerson, EVP of Product & Design, Disney Streaming. “With thousands of movies and shows and a growing content catalog of new titles and originals, SharePlay provides another opportunity for personal friends and family around the world to come together and create new memories with their favorite stories on Disney+.”

SharePlay sessions can host up to 32 people and offer each participant in the FaceTime call the flexibility of choosing audio and subtitles in the language of their choice. Viewers who prefer a bigger screen can also enjoy the synchronized content on their Apple TV while still sharing the moment with personal friends and family over FaceTime through their iPhone or iPad.

Before that, Disney+ already had a sort of watch together feature, where different users that have a Disney+ subscription could participate in a watch party, react to a scene, and play/pause the content anytime. Now with SharePlay, it’s easier to see the other person’s reaction since you’re on a FaceTime call with them.

One fun thing to notice is that although Disney+ is only supporting the SharePlay feature now, Apple already touted the streaming service as working with SharePlay for about a month, as you can see here. If you’re curious, these are all the streaming services you can use the SharePlay function and make a watch party with family members and friends: