Facebook Messenger now lets friends and family Watch Together

Facebook has announced Watch Together, a new feature that can be used over Messenger video calls and Messenger Rooms to tune into Facebook Watch with friends and family. According to Facebook, there are over 150 million video calls done on Messenger daily, with over 200 million videos being sent. With Watch Now, they can be watched together.

Facebook said that it created the new feature to allow people to spend “quality time” with one another as it allows users to see each other's reactions as though they were watching in the same room. Watch Together builds on Messenger Rooms which was launched earlier this year to help people cope with being socially isolated due to the coronavirus.

The social media firm believes that this tool will also be good for content creators. To promote this aspect of the service, it has partnered with fitness trainer and author Melissa Alcantara to create a series of fitness videos that groups can watch together as they work out. Facebook cited a study which said that 70% of those with a workout partner achieve their fitness goals compared to 45% of those who work out alone.

To start using Watch Together, just start a Messenger video call or create a Messenger Room and then swipe up to access the menu and select Watch Together. Here, you can choose what you’d like to watch.

The new feature will be rolling out globally this week in Messenger and Messenger Rooms on mobile for iOS and Android.