FAQ
How Global SharePlay rooms work, what you need, and what we do not collect.
What is Global SharePlay?
A Chrome extension that keeps YouTube playback together for everyone in a room. When someone plays, pauses, seeks, or changes the video, the rest of the room follows.
Do I need an account?
No. You pick a nickname in the extension. Rooms use a room ID. There is no sign-in and no user database.
Which browsers and sites does it support?
Today: Google Chrome (or Chromium-based browsers that load unpacked/CWS Chrome extensions) on YouTube watch pages. Other browsers and sites are not supported yet.
How do I get the extension?
The Chrome Web Store listing is not published yet. The homepage button is a placeholder until that listing is live. We will not ask you to sideload a zip from this marketing site.
How do rooms work?
- One person creates a room (leave the room ID blank) or joins with an existing ID.
- Everyone in the room uses a nickname.
- Share an invite link, or tell friends the room ID.
- Playback stays in sync. The host can approve joiners, kick people, and lock controls.
Rooms currently hold up to 10 people.
What is a host?
The person who creates the room is the host. They can remove members. If the host leaves, host status passes to the remaining member who joined earliest.
Why does joining pause the video?
When someone is still loading the right video, the room holds so they are not dumped in mid-scene. The same idea applies during ads, large seeks, and video changes.
What happens if nobody is watching?
After 15 minutes of inactivity, everyone in the room is removed. Rooms are not saved as a permanent club.
Where does the invite link send people?
Friends with the extension installed land through our hosted join page at redirect.globalshareplay.com, then onto the current YouTube video. They never stay on a chrome-extension:// page.
Do you show ads?
This marketing site does not show ads today. After Google AdSense approval, a single display unit may appear on the hosted join/wait page. That is covered in the Privacy Policy.
How do I contact you?
Email support@globalshareplay.com.