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Key Takeaways

Find media in your Plex library then use the "Watch Together" option to start a watch party. Select or invite friends and playback will start automatically when everyone is ready.

Plex Media Server lets you access your media on a local network or remotely over the internet. But did you know you can also use Plex to host a watch party with other users? Here's how it works.

How to Watch Together with Plex

Before you can start watching content with others, you'll need to set up your Plex Media Server by installing Plex, registering for an account, and adding media to your library.

With your server set up and ready to go, find something you want to watch. The "Watch Together" feature is available on the following Plex apps: Amazon Fire TV, Android (both mobile and TV), Apple TV, iPhone, PlayStation 5, Portal (Facebook), Roku, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio), Xbox, and of course the Plex Web App.

Once you've chosen what you want to watch, use the "Watch Together" button to start a watch party. You may need to use the "..." context menu, depending on the app you're using.

Select "Watch Together" in Plex

In the pop-up, choose whoever you want to watch with. If you don't have anyone on your list, you'll need to add them with the "Add Friends" button.

Select "Watch Together" in Plex

You can invite friends using their Plex username, or alternatively use an email. They will be invited to join Plex. Once they've joined you should see their username appear in the  "Watch Together" pop-up. You may need to restart your player to complete the invite process.

To watch content with your friends, you'll need to grant them access to your library. If you haven't already done so, head to Settings > Manage Library Access and select "Grant Library Access" then select the libraries you'd like to share. If you don't do this, they'll get an error saying your server is unreachable.

Grant access to your Plex Library

Select as many friends as you'd like to share with, then click "Invite" to send your invite.

Select "Watch Together" in Plex

You'll be dropped into a lobby while you wait for everyone else to join. Playback will start automatically when everyone is ready, or you can trigger playback manually using the "Start" button.

Select "Watch Together" in Plex

A new "Watch Together" row will be added to Plex on both your and your invitees' Plex Home. This can be used to join or resume a Watch Together session.

Select "Watch Together" in Plex

How Does a Plex Watch Party Work?

The Plex Watch Together feature works with your movies and TV as well as free content provided as part of Plex. There's no limit to the number of users you can invite, but be aware that you are limited by the hardware you're using and the speed of your network connection. Each person watching constitutes a new stream.

During a watch party, all users can control the stream. Pausing and scrubbing will affect everyone, so make sure that you communicate with any other users during the stream if you need to pause for a bathroom break so that they don't continue watching without you.

Controlling playback will affect all members of the watch party

Unlike playback, audio and subtitle settings are tied to an individual user's preferences.

Watch Together Using Other Services Too

Many online streaming providers also allow you to watch shows with other users. The beauty of choosing these services is that you don't necessarily need to stream the content personally. Hulu lets you and up to seven friends hold a Watch Party while Amazon's take on the same feature supports up to one hundred Prime subscribers.

Disney also has a feature called GroupWatch which lets up to seven other Disney+ subscribers watch movies and TV shows together. Alternatively, use Discord to host watch parties by streaming content to your friends.