Can I screen share YouTube on Discord or FaceTime?

Usually yes: most YouTube videos aren't DRM-protected, so the picture comes through, at lower quality and with only the sharer in control. Films bought or rented on YouTube are protected and go black.

What happens with ads when we watch YouTube together?

Each of you may get different ads. With a sync extension like Herae, whoever had the ad is brought back to the same moment when it ends.

Guide · YouTube

How to watch YouTube together long distance

Q: Does YouTube have a watch together feature?

Not for two people in different places (as of October 2026). Premieres are scheduled public showings, not a private room. Couples use a countdown, screen sharing, Discord's Watch Together activity, or a browser extension that keeps two players in sync.

YouTube is free, which makes it the easiest thing to watch together from two places. There's no built-in button for it, but there are four ways that work. Here's what each one is like on a real evening.

1. A countdown on a call

Both open the same video, get on a call, and press play on three. Free, works on TVs and phones. You drift apart over anything long, and different ads at different moments make it worse.

2. Screen sharing

Unlike Netflix, most YouTube videos aren't DRM-protected, so sharing your screen on Discord, Google Meet or FaceTime actually shows the picture. The catch: the other person gets a compressed, laggy copy, only the sharer can pause or skip, and films bought or rented on YouTube are protected and go black.

3. Discord's Watch Together

If you both use Discord, its free Watch Together activity plays a YouTube video for everyone in a voice channel. It's built for groups of friends and only plays YouTube, but for a quick video it's a fine option.

4. A sync extension: each of you plays it yourself

Each of you plays the video on your own computer, at full quality, and a browser extension keeps play, pause and skip together, so either of you can pause. Herae also puts a video call right beside the video, and works beyond YouTube: Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and most other sites.

Herae on YouTube: paste a link or just open a video, and it plays for both of you. If one of you gets an ad, that person is brought back to the same moment when it ends, and clicking through to the next video brings your partner along. Needs Chrome on a computer.

Which one should you use tonight?

On a TV or phones: the countdown.
A short video, already on Discord: Discord's Watch Together.
A film or a long evening on laptops, and you want to see each other: a sync extension like Herae.

Try Herae for your next YouTube night

Install it, open YouTube, and send your person a link. Your first two movie nights are free, however long they run. Needs Chrome on a computer.

Add to Chrome — free

Questions people ask

Does YouTube have a watch together feature?

Not for two people in different places, as of October 2026. Premieres are public scheduled showings, not a private room.

Can I screen share YouTube?

Usually yes, at lower quality. Bought and rented films go black, for the same reason as Netflix on Discord.

Do we both need YouTube Premium?

No. Premium only removes ads; without it you may each see different ads, and a sync extension catches you back up afterwards.

What should we watch?

Try our 25 movies for long-distance couples, or more movie night ideas.

We make Herae.