Disney+ adds support for SharePlay on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV

Shareplay Disney Plus (Image credit: Disney)

What you need to know

Disney+ has added support for SharePlay.
People can watch Disney+ content with each other via SharePlay and FaceTime.

Streaming service Disney Plus has a new update in the App Store that adds support for Apple's SharePlay on iPhone, iPad, and Appel TV.

SharePlay is a feature added in iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.2, and tvOS 15.1 that allows people to watch and listen to content with each other via the magic of FaceTime. Now, Disney+ has added support for the feature that will allow up to 32 people to enjoy content together.

"We're very excited to launch SharePlay on Disney+ for Apple users in time for the holidays and ahead of several highly-anticipated premieres," said Jerrell Jimerson, EVP of Product & Design, Disney Streaming. "With thousands of movies and shows and a growing content catalog of new titles and originals, SharePlay provides another opportunity for personal friends and family around the world to come together and create new memories with their favorite stories on Disney+."

As part of the move, Disney+ confirmed via press release that it will continue to offer its native GroupWatch feature for all users across its platforms, regardless of the addition of SharePlay support.

Disney+ is one of the more popular streaming services thanks in part to its growing catalog of content that includes Marvel, Star Wars, and of course Disney TV shows and movies. Alongside Netflix and Apple TV+, Disney+ is some of the best value in streaming today. The addition of SharePlay support is a welcome one and will allow people to watch content together even when they can't be in the same room — something that's particularly beneficial as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.