Amazon Prime Video gets Watch Party support on Fire TV devices

Amazon has finally expanded Watch Party support to its Fire TV devices, enabling people who are located in different places to watch the same content together. Though Watch Party isn’t a new tool, it launched with limited usefulness: you could only use it when streaming Prime Video on desktop. Watch Party is also now available on mobile, but with restrictions.

As first spied by XDA, Amazon has updated its Watch Party website with the new support details. In addition to desktop browsers, the website now says that Fire TV devices are also supported, as are mobile devices with the Prime Video app. However, Watch Party on mobile is limited to the chat functionality.

The feature still requires all users, including those who want to join a party, to have a Prime membership assuming you want to watch Prime-exclusive content. Otherwise, you have the option of renting or purchasing digital content to watch with friends and family. In the latter case, every participant must have rented or purchased the same content to participate.

Assuming you’re in the Prime Video app, you can start a Watch Party by looking for the Watch Party button on the content screen. The host can enter the name they want others to see, then send links to the people they want to invite to the party. Up to 100 people are allowed to participate in the same Watch Party. Only the host is able to control the content playback.

Watch Party features spiked in popularity last year as many people were forced to stay home and, as a result, started streaming much more often than previously. Many popular platforms now support their own watch party features, though each varies a bit in terms of how they work and who can participate in them. Slash Gear