Want to watch Netflix with a friend hundreds of miles away? Showgoers can help

By Kris Wouk August 4, 2015

showgoers netflix syncing chrome extension mash click glasses — Image used with permission by copyright holder

There are some movies that just need to be watched with at least one other person, but if you want to watch with someone on the other side of the country, this becomes nearly impossible. But now, a Chrome browser extension by the name of Showgoers makes this a reality.

“With Showgoers installed, watching a Netflix movie with friends online is as easy as sharing a URL,” reads the front page of the Showgoers website. The extension doesn’t just sync the movie or TV show and let it roll, either — once you’re synced, pausing or seeking to a different spot in a movie will affect the stream in the same way for all parties.

To get started, install the Showgoers extension, then head to Netflix and begin playing the movie or TV show you want to share. Click the icon of 3D glasses that appears on screen, copy the URL, and click “Begin Sync.” Then simply send the URL to anyone you want to watch with.

Once the recipients click the link, you’ll be all synced up. This might sound like a complicated process, but in practice it’s fairly easy to get set up. Showgoers offers a demo on its website to walk you through the process, should you want to look before you leap.

showgoers-sync-started-screenshot — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Each person watching will need their own valid Netflix account, so this isn’t a way to allow your friends to piggyback on your account. Everyone will need the extension installed as well to keep everything synced.

For now, the extension is only available for Google Chrome, but a note in the Showgoers FAQ says that the developer is working on a version for Safari as well. Unfortunately, Firefox fans are out of luck, as the extension’s authors cites “technical reasons” that make a version for that browser more tricky to develop.

The extension doesn’t offer any built-in chat functionality, so you’ll need to rely on something like Skype if you want to talk over the movie. To get started, head over to the Showgoers website and grab the extension.

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Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

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