Netflix and chill from afar? Facebook Messenger is now internally testing the simultaneous co-viewing of videos. That means you and your favorite people could watch a synchronized video in a group chat on their respective devices while they argue or joke about it. This "Watch videos together" feature could make you spend more time on Facebook Messenger while creating shared experiences that are more meaningful and positive for your wellbeing than passive zombie watching videos alone. This new approach to the Facebook Watch Party function may seem more natural as part of a message than through a feed, Groups or Event publication.
The function was first seen in the Messenger code base by Ananay Arora the founder The Timebound time management application, as well as a mobile researcher in the style of the frequent TechCrunch typographer Jane Manchun Wong The code he discovered describes Messenger, which allows him to "touch to watch together now" and "chat about the same videos at the same time," and chat thread members are notified that a co-view is being initiated. "Everyone in this chat can control the video and see who is watching it," explains the code.
A Facebook spokesman confirmed to TechCrunch that it is an "internal test" and that he has nothing else to share at this time. But other features originally discovered in the Messenger code, such as syncing contacts with Instagram, have finally received official releases.
Watch Party exists on Facebook, but could be more popular as a chat feature
A fascinating question in this co-visualization feature What emerges is where users will find videos to watch. It may only allow you to enter a Facebook URL or share a video from there to Messenger. The application could include a new option to explore videos in the message editor or in the Discover tab. Or, if you really wanted to take chat-based co-viewing seriously, Facebook could allow the feature to work with video partners, ideally YouTube.
Video co-viewing could also present a new revenue opportunity for Messenger. I could suggest sponsored videos, such as recent movie advances. Or it could simply serve video ads among a queue of videos aligned for co-viewing. Recently, Facebook has put more pressure on its subsidiaries such as Messenger and Instagram to monetize as the News Feed ad revenue growth slows due to the growth of users and the limited space of News Feed ads.
The time of use of the first president, Sean Parker (never took off), has tried and failed to make co-observation a popular habit. The problem is that the coordination of these synchronized experiences with friends can be problematic. By incorporating simultaneous video viewing in Messenger, Facebook could make it as easy as sharing a link.