The new GroupWatch feature lets up to seven friends or family members watch Disney+ movies and shows together even when apart, the company says.

Disney+ co-viewing
Each member must have an active Disney+ subscription plan to use GroupWatch that allows for up to seven people to watch together in a synced playback experience across TVs, mobile deices, and web browsers.

- "Storytelling comes alive when you’re able to share and enjoy it with others, and in this moment when many are still apart from their friends and family, GroupWatch offers a way to safely connect virtually by co-viewing your favorite Disney+ stories with your favorite people from the comfort of your living room," said Jerrell B Jimerson, SVP Product Management, Disney+.

GroupWatch can be activated by pressing the new button (see below) The button can be seen only on mobile apps and the web, but it will let invited members watch on TVs too. Once pressed, it will give a link to invite up to six other Disney+ members.



If you pause or rewind the show, playback will syncronize across all participants' screens. Each participant can react in real-time with six emojis; like, funny, sad, angry, scared and surprised. There is no chat function.

Disney+ is not the first service to roll out a co-viewing experience. Most recently, Amazon Prime Video introduced its watch party feature.

The GroupWatch function is now live in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the US. It will expand to Disney+ in Europe later this fall.