Amazon Prime Video Watch Party: What It Is and How to Use It

Amazon Prime Video Watch Party is a social movie watching capability for Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscribers. Here's what Amazon's Prime Video Watch Party feature is and how to do a watch party on Amazon Prime.

What Is a Watch Party on Amazon?

The Amazon Prime Video Watch Party feature allows Prime subscribers or members of Prime Video to create a group movie experience, even though participants are in completely different locations. One person is the host, and so invites other watchers and controls the movie from their computer.

To share a movie or TV episode, others must be signed up for Amazon Prime or Prime Video. If you want to share with someone who does not have a subscription, both services have a 30-day free trial. Just make sure your friend remembers to cancel the service before the trial is over if they don't want to remain subscribed.

How to Do a Watch Party on Amazon Prime

Setting up a watch party on Amazon Prime is easy. It takes a few minutes, and then you can begin watching and chatting, with friends no matter their location.

To get started, the person who wants to host the Watch Party needs to find the movie they want to watch with other people. Once you find the movie, click the Watch Party icon.

The Watch Party icon might be located next to the Trailer and +Watchlist buttons, or if you want to watch a series episode with friends, you might find it located at the bottom of an episode description.
Enter the name you want to show up when you're chatting with other participants. Then click Create Watch Party.
In the right sidebar, a link to share with other people you want to watch with you appears. Click Copy Link.

You'll also notice in this right sidebar is where you can see how many people have joined your Watch Party.
Alternatively, you can click Share to open up share settings so you can share the link via your preferred email program or blast it out as a social post on Facebook or Twitter.
When you're ready, you can start playing the movie. The right sidebar remains visible, and if you click the Chat tab at the top of the screen, you can chat with others who are watching with you.

You'll also see some controls at the top of the page these allow you to control subtitles, the settings for the video, the volume, and if you want to movie to appear in full-screen on your PC. Your friends who are watching will have some control what they see on their end.

What Is Available for An Amazon Prime Video Watch Party?

To share a movie or TV episode with your friends, it must be available on Amazon Prime. You cannot share movies which are for rent or purchase, and you cannot share premium channels with your friends.

Some of the titles you can watch with your friends include Amazon Originals like My Spy, Troop Zero, Jack Ryan, Lore, Carnival Row, and many others. You can also share other popular titles such as Downton Abbey, Vikings, Chicago P.D., Hotel Artemis, Dirty Dancing, Takers, The Spy Who Dumped Me, and more.

What Devices Can I Use to Host an Amazon Prime Video Watch Party?

As of this writing, Amazon's Watch Party feature is only available in web browsers on a computer, except for Safari. Mac users who use Chrome or Firefox should be able to access Amazon's Watch Party, but users on smartphones and tablets, including Amazon's Fire tablet, or users streaming with a device such as a smart TV, Fire TV, Roku, or Apple TV will not have access to the Watch Party feature.