Messenger From Facebook is adding a Watch Together feature, enabling users to share their reactions to Facebook Watch videos with their friends and family during video calls and via the Messenger Rooms group video-calling feature.
Product manager Nora Micheva said in a blog post Monday that there are over 150 million video calls every day on Messenger, and over 200 million videos are sent through the application.
To start a Watch Together session, people can begin a Messenger video call or create a Messenger Room, and then swipe up to access the menu and choose Watch Together.
They can then choose from suggested videos or categories such as TV & Movies, Watched or Uploaded.
Videos can be watched with up to eight people on video calls and up to 50 people in Rooms.
Watch Together will roll out globally on Android and iOS in the coming weeks.
Micheva wrote, “We created Watch Together to make spending quality time with friends and loved ones feel as close to an in-person experience as possible. Whether it’s watching a trending video, a movie, a sports highlight, a makeup tutorial or a Facebook Watch original, the feature allows you to watch your friends’ reactions at the same time. More selections coming soon—keep your eyes peeled.”
She added, “Watch Together is also great for creators. Whether you’re an artist, DJ, chef or personal trainer, your community can watch and engage with your video in a Messenger video call. To celebrate this launch, we partnered with celebrity fitness trainer and author Melissa Alcantara to create a series of fitness videos to enable people to virtually work out with their friends and motivate each other to achieve their fitness goals. According to a study conducted by Messenger in the U.S., 70% of people who work out with a partner have achieved a fitness goal in the past six months, while only 45% of people who work out alone have done the same.”