Teleparty is a Google Chrome extension which customises your browsing experience - in this case, enabling you to watch your favourite show with your friends and family on desktop computers and laptops. While the extension has been around for a while, it’s became much more popular during the Covid-19 pandemic. Teleparty allows you to sync your viewing with other people and provides a ‘group chat’ function so you can all comment on what you’re watching.

To download it, you need to either create or login to your Google account, then visit the Teleparty website and click ‘Install Teleparty’ in the top right-hand corner - or alternatively, go to the Chrome Web Store and search for it. 

Once you’ve added Teleparty to your Chrome browser, log in to whichever streaming account you chose,  and click on the show or film you want to watch. 

Click on the NP logo in the top right-hand corner of your browser. You’ll see a drop-down menu. 

Click on ‘Start the party’ and it will give you a shareable URL that you can circulate with your party guests. 

The extension is easy to download and use, so even less tech-savvy members of the family can enjoy it. It offers the chance to watch great shows and movies with others, even when you’re apart.

Parental controls

Whether or not a child can install Teleparty will depend on what version of Chrome they’re using. The Child version – which is the one accessed via Google’s Family Link service – doesn’t allow extensions, so Teleparty will be off limits to those using it. If a child is on the standard version of Chrome, however, there’s nothing stopping them installing it. 

Although you have to be sent the access link to join a Teleparty, anyone with the link can copy and distribute it. And because the extension also works on Netflix’s (or any streaming services) other child-friendly version of the platform, a child could potentially use the chat function with others who’ve gained access to the viewing event, without their parent’s permission.

Setting boundaries around who’s allowed to join a Teleparty will add some family reassurance that only selected individuals can take part in the fun. 

Interface problems

The user interface, particularly the chat function, only works for one user at a time - so if several of you are watching on the same device, only one person at a time can pitch in with comments. You can, however, have multiple members of the same family signed in to one account, but on different devices – there’s no need to have an account each. 

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