I never thought I’d pay for YouTube Premium, but this feature changed my mind

It’s a freeloader’s bad habit to avoid YouTube subscriptions. You may not want to see those monthly fees coming, and convince yourself that ads aren’t that annoying. I tested the Premium plan on a trial, and realized there’s so much to miss. The biggest gem is a feature that lets you watch YouTube videos live with friends, even if they’re not subscribers.

Co-watching YouTube is built-in and accessible on most Android phones. You should know more about it if you love reacting to funny videos, watching a tutorial, or streaming live events with loved ones. If you want to kill time and loneliness with the feature, here’s how it works.

How does co-watching with YouTube Premium work?

It’s a viewing party without the annoying sync

Co-watching on YouTube Premium is an exclusive feature that lets members host Google Meet sessions in which participants watch videos together at the same time. It’s different from traditional screen sharing where one person casts their screen and others passively watch. This method keeps the video quality high for everyone. It plays within each participant’s app without lag or connectivity issues.

All you do is open YouTube, find a video you want to watch together, and use the share button below it. You’ll see an option to start a Meet activity and invite your friends through a shareable link. You can also start the session from the Meet app using the Activities option.

Although the host must be a Premium member, other participants don’t need the subscription. However, the feature is only available on Android. Plus, each attendee must sign in with a personal Google account, especially to host a session.

If you use an iPhone, desktop, or a work and school Google account, you’re out of luck. If you try to join while being ineligible, you’ll see a notification letting you know that the feature isn’t available for your account. Google plans to add compatibility for iOS soon.

Why do you need to watch YouTube with friends?

Even though it’s free for everyone but you

When I wanted to watch Netflix with my friends, before they released Netflix Party, we had to get creative. We’d hop on a WhatsApp voice call, log in to the same account, and try to sync our play buttons manually with a countdown. It was a mess. Someone always ended up a few seconds ahead or behind. We had to pause individually for everyone to catch up.

YouTube’s co-watching feature fixes the sync problem and feels more natural. Beyond entertainment, it works for team collaborations. Participants have rights to control playback, which is convenient if you have to take a break. Although it’s tempting to fight for this virtual remote control, hosts can kick out anyone who misbehaves. If anyone drops out due to poor connection or a call interruption, they can rejoin without interruption.

In comparison with other services, there are many reasons why it’s the best real-time solution. Netflix Party (now Teleparty) lets you view different platforms’ content with people. YouTube is included, but it’s not publicly available and everyone must have their own subscription. Also, the feature isn’t baked into Netflix, and there’s a separate Teleparty app you’ll download.

Discord supports a similar feature. However, the quality isn’t great since you’re streaming the host’s screen rather than matching the video across devices. Amazon’s Watch Party may be built into Prime Video and works on most platforms, but like Netflix’s Teleparty, each person needs their own Prime subscription.

Is YouTube Premium worth it for group watching?

Is it fun? Yes. Worth $14 a month? Not really

Co-watching videos on YouTube alone isn’t a strong enough reason to get a Premium subscription. It’s not something you’ll use all the time. Unless you regularly organize virtual hangouts or collaboration sessions, the feature doesn’t justify the monthly cost. Besides, other platforms offer similar experiences without requiring financial commitment, even if they have limitations.

If you’re interested in everything else YouTube Premium offers, the subscription starts to make sense. You’ll unlock ad-free viewing, background play, offline downloads, YouTube Music, and experimental features. If you’re on the fence, use the free trial to test its worth.

Savor your favorite moments together apart

Screencasting solved a problem for many people and made it easy to enjoy videos in a room full of your inner circle. When you’re physically apart, group viewing features like the one on YouTube Premium bring that experience online. More platforms are realizing the importance of staying connected, some of which we mentioned above. Even Netflix Moments is an option if you don’t want to share full clips but still want to highlight key moments.