Watch party guide
How to watch videos together, in sync, from anywhere
Same video, same second, wherever your friends are. Here's how Synqo works and where it fits into your week.
You've probably done this. You find a video, send it to a friend, and type "ok press play… now." One of you is three seconds ahead. Someone's buffering. Somebody laughs before the joke lands. By the time you've counted down twice, the moment's gone.
Wanting to watch videos together isn't a niche habit. It's how a lot of people in their twenties and early thirties hang out now: roommates who moved to different cities, couples in different time zones, group chats that have outgrown just swapping links. The problem is that the tools haven't kept up. Screen-sharing on a video call looks bad and drags your phone down. Counting down by text never quite works.
Synqo is built for that one job. You and your friends watch the same video, at the same second, wherever you are.
What "in sync" actually means
When people say "watch together", they usually mean "roughly at the same time". Synqo means something stricter.
Every party has a host. When the host presses play, pauses, scrubs ahead or switches videos, everyone else's player follows. Nobody has to count down or ask "where are you?" If you join ten minutes late, you start at the right moment, not at 0:00.
What that means for you: you react to the same moment together. The jump scare, the plot twist and the bad pun all hit everyone at once, and that's the whole point.
Getting everyone in, without the hassle
Most watch-together apps fall apart before the video even starts, because someone can't find the room, needs to accept a friend request, or has to make an account on three different services. Synqo gives you three ways in, and none of them need you to be friends first:
- An invite link you can drop into any group chat.
- A six-character party code that's easy to read out over a phone call.
- An in-app invite for friends you've already added by their @handle.
You also choose who can find your party: anyone, friends only, or nobody. That setting only affects who sees the party listed. Anyone you send the link to can still join.
Bring the video, wherever it lives
You don't need a special library or a subscription everyone shares. You bring a video, and Synqo keeps everyone in step with it.
- Search for something inside the app, or paste a link someone sent you.
- Share a video from another app straight into Synqo, which drops you into a new party with it.
- Host your own videos. A trip montage, a short film you made or a recording of last weekend all work. Share the file by link, paste it in, and everyone watches it together. Nobody has to upload anything again.
Synqo works with popular video platforms and cloud storage today, and more sources are on the way. Whatever you pick, sync, chat and the queue work the same way.
More than a shared player
Watching in sync is the foundation. What makes it feel like hanging out is everything around it.
Voice chat
The host can turn on voice so you can talk over the video, the way you would on a couch. You join listening, and your mic stays off until you choose to speak. You can mute yourself at any time.
Live chat, reactions and stickers
If talking isn't an option, because it's late, you're on a train, or a roommate is asleep, there's text chat with replies, @mentions, emoji reactions and animated stickers. It works in fullscreen too, so you don't miss anything.
A shared queue
Anyone can add videos to Up Next without interrupting what's playing. The host can pick what comes next, or hand that over and let the room vote. It's an easy way to run a music-video night or an "everyone brings one video" round.
Picture-in-picture
If you need to answer a message, the video shrinks into a corner and the party carries on.
Always-on rooms
Sometimes you don't want to host anything. Always-on rooms play around the clock with no host. You can drop in, watch for a bit, and leave whenever you like.
Where Synqo fits into your week
- Long-distance relationships. A shared video is one of the easiest ways to spend an evening "together" when you're in different places. Turn on voice, pick something, and it feels a lot less like a phone call.
- Friend groups that scattered after graduation. Set a weekly time, share the code in the group chat, and rotate who picks the video.
- "You have to see this" moments. Instead of sending a link and waiting a day for "lol", start a party and watch their reaction as it happens.
- Study breaks and remote coworkers. Watch a quick talk or tutorial together, then discuss it in chat.
- Watching your own stuff. Wedding videos, travel edits or a band's rehearsal can all be shared, so the whole family can watch at once.
What to know before you start
A few notes, so nothing catches you off guard:
- Synqo is on Android.
- iPhone and desktop versions are coming. See below.
- You sign in with Google and pick an @handle.
- That's how friends find you, and the app has no guest mode.
- No background playback.
- If you leave the app without picture-in-picture, your video pauses while the party carries on. When you come back, you can jump to where everyone else is.
- Some videos can't be played.
- If a video in the queue can't play, everyone skips to the next one together.
- Chat isn't kept.
- When the last person leaves, the party and its chat are deleted.
- No ads over your video.
- Not on the player and not anywhere in the party.
What's coming next
Here's what we're working on.
Live cricket and football, together
Sport is where watching apart hurts most. One friend's stream is 30 seconds behind, and the group chat says "GOAL" before you've seen the shot. We're building live match parties so the six in the last over and the penalty save land for everyone at the same second. Nobody spoils a wicket by reacting early, and you can shout through a tense chase over voice the way you would in the stands.
iPhone app
Synqo for iOS is in the works, so the friend with an iPhone no longer has to sit out movie night.
Desktop app
Watch on a laptop or a bigger screen while friends join from their phones. It suits match days and long films.
More video sources
More places to bring videos from, with the same sync, chat and queue you already use.
The goal is one party, whatever device each person is on. We'll share dates when they're ready rather than guess at them now.
Start your first watch party
- Install Synqo from Google Play and sign in with Google.
- Pick your @handle.
- Choose a video: search, paste a link, share from another app, or bring your own.
- Send your friends the link or the six-character code.
- Press play. Everyone's with you.
Next time someone sends you a video, skip the "ok… now" countdown and watch it together, properly in sync.
Get Synqo on Google PlaySynqo is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any video platform it supports.