In March 2017, YouTube launched an app that would allow users to watch a video along with their friends, even if from different locations. This is an experimental app, named Uptime, in which you can now view YouTube videos along with your friends and chat or comment simultaneously.
The app has been released for everyone around the world on iOS platform. Initially, it was available only on an invite basis, and recently it was allowed to be downloaded on all iOS devices in the US.
“Uptime is a fun app for sharing and watching videos together with friends, from Area 120, a workshop for Google’s experimental products. Easily share your favourite YouTube video and bring friends together to watch, chat, and have fun in real time,” says the company.
How To Use Uptime?
The UI of this app is very much different from YouTube app. It is not flat and has a strange mix of colours of the main screen. Friends can co-watch videos with you in this app itself, or you can watch the video later with their reactions integrated.
Uptime has also introduced ‘Up Now’, a list of trending videos based on what people are watching at any particular moment. With Up Now, any video can become trending and gather a live audience. You can login to the app using your Google account.
When you enter a video post, your watch will be shown in real time with anyone in the video. All your engagements in the video will also be visible to others. Anyone can join the video as you are watching it and he/she will be able to see your watches and engagements.
When you start watching a video your friend has just shared, you will see a lot of emojis on the bottom of the screen, along with a moving ring around the periphery of the video. Your emojis or comments will get captured there, and you will be able to see all the comments from your friends on the video screen itself.
There is only a handful of emojis, but YouTube will add more once the app gets more traction. YouTube has integrated Facebook friend-finding feature, and you can add friends from other social networking websites as well.
The idea seems to be interesting but there are a few apps like this out there, for different social media. However, since this is specific to YouTube, it should be fun to watch YouTube videos with your friends in real-time, instead of sending videos on WhatsApp or other media.
You can download the app from here.
If you are on iOS, give it a spin and let us know what you think!