Want to watch a Netflix film or show with your family/ friends, but can’t do so because of the restricted movement order? Well, have I got news for you.

There’s this one Chrome extension available to download called ‘Netflix Party’. This extension basically allows you to watch a show on Netflix simultaneously with your family/ friends online.

The funny thing is, this extension isn’t even a recent release. If I’m not mistaken, this extension might have been released as far back as March 2016, but now has renewed interest amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’ve tried it out myself with a friend and found it to be quite a cool extension. So if you’re looking for a way to watch Netflix online with your family/ friends, here’s how you can do so.

1. Download the ‘Netflix Party’ extension to your Chrome browser

This should be easy enough. Just head to the Web Store, search and download Netflix Party. You’ll notice a little ‘NP’ icon on the right side of your search bar once you’ve installed it.

2. Load Netflix, and choose a show to watch

Just log in to the website on Chrome and look for a show to watch with your group of friends.

3. Start the party

Once a show is selected, the ‘NP’ icon will turn red. Click on it, then you can select if you want to be the sole person in control of the party. Otherwise, you can just click ‘Start Party’ and you’ll get a link.

4. Share the link with your friend(s)

Copy the link provided by the extension, and share it with your friend(s) (note: your friends must have the extension installed too). Your friend(s) will have to click on the ‘NP’ icon to join your room after clicking the link.

5. Enjoy the show together!

Once your friend(s) click on the link, they should be in the viewing party.

A chatroom overlay will pop up for you and your friends as all of you watch the selected show together. You can click on your randomly generated icon on the right side and put a nickname, so you don’t get confused who’s typing what in the chatroom.

From personal experience, the extension does its job, albeit with a few issues.

My friend had issues getting into the party, and sometimes the chatroom doesn’t even show what we typed. It also has connection issues, making us go back and forth sending links to each other just to make it work. But when it does, it works pretty well for the most part.

We were both definitely watching the show in sync, and since I didn’t select to be the sole controller, my friend was also able to control the show’s playback, too.

Interestingly, if you’re watching a show that has multiple languages, like Castlevania, you can apparently choose the language you want to watch in without affecting your friends’ choice.

So, for example, I was watching it in Japanese, but my friend was watching it in English. We were still watching it simultaneously.

There isn’t an option to hide the chatroom overlay while you’re watching a show, though. It’ll just stay at the right side of your screen throughout the viewing session, so that’s a little annoying.

I don’t see why anyone would type while watching a show, either, though I guess they had to come up with some form of communication tool during the viewing party.

Alternatively, though, you can just decide to communicate with your friend via another channel, eg. Skype, WhatsApp call or Discord while watching a show on Netflix.