2025-11-09

We've shipped another batch of updates! Notes:

• Refreshed the UI with a new UI library and layout tweaks. This provides a more cohesive dark theme look with fewer bright spots, a smaller bundle size for quicker loading, and other improvements. As usual we're open to user feedback and suggestions, so please weigh in on Discord if you have any!
• Updated the sync/live indicator to show how far back the current user is
• Updated Video chat to be consistent squares and integrated buttons more tightly
• Moved Playlist controls to the right column
• Improved the display of loaded/buffered segments and seek hover
• Disabled automatic playback speed by default (now defaults to 1x). Users with lag issues can still turn it on to auto-speed themselves to the leader position
• Added a next/skip button to the controls when a playlist is active
• Image embedding is now done via directly sending the image URL as a message (Markdown syntax is no longer required)
• Added a loading overlay when the application is starting up/connecting
• Limited the scope of the unmute overlay to the video section (so other sections can be still be interacted with
• Added a button to simulate paste (ctrl+V) on mobile
• VBrowser clipboard is now cleared when the controller changes
• The playlist can now only be modified by users with the room lock in locked rooms
• Improved the Login UI to show all options in one window
• Fixed an issue with being unable to drag the volume slider
• Fixed an issue with being unable to add YouTube videos to the playlist if the video information can't be loaded

2025-01-30

• Images can now be shared in chat using Markdown syntax, e.g. ![](https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/max_1200/6b936821747851.5b0c4d846964e.gif)
• Added button to open keyboard input on mobile for VBrowsers (limited support: only lowercase alphanumeric characters)
• Updated UI/layout: The people list can now be toggled as a dropdown over the chat panel. Settings are now accessed via a separate button. We are continuing to iterate on this design update and appreciate any feedback you'd like to share via GitHub or Discord!
• Improved subtitle searching with OpenSubtitles
• Replaced subscriber animated frame with colored name
• Users can now customize their name even after signing into a login provider
• Room owners can now always access their own rooms even without password
• Subtitles can now be specified by URL
• Login options can now be customized (for self-hosters)
• Fixed popup tooltips not working in theater mode
• Custom room URLs can now be unset

2024-03-19

Features

• VBrowser bitrate can now be adjusted to help users on slower connections
• YouTube playlist URLs are now supported as room media sources (will replace the default examples list)
• Added an option to continuously loop the current video
• Player now displays buffered/loaded video ranges
• Twitch and Reddit URLs are now supported as video sources
• The /createRoom API now supports creating a room with a array of videos initialized (playlist property in POST body)
• Changed the default resolution for all vbrowsers to 720p (subscribers can still enable 1080p)
• Existing VBrowser sessions are now no longer interrupted by server restarts
• Video change/control actions now no longer trigger the chat notification sound

Bugfixes

• Fixed a display issue with the sign in button tooltip
• Fixed issues related to YouTube videos with extra URL params not working
• Fixed issues related to adding the Discord Bot to servers
• Fixed a race condition with YouTube playlist advancing to next video
• Fixed an issue with avatar pictures not loading
• Fixed several issues with users being unable to create new VBrowsers

2021-05-30

• WatchParty Plus VBrowsers now run for up to 24 hours (up from 12 previously)
• Email users can now customize their avatars using Gravatar (click the image at the top right if you're signed in)
• Increased audio quality while screensharing
• Added modals to screenshare and fileshare buttons to highlight limitations and explain common troubleshooting issues
• Fixed several issues preventing iOS users from viewing screenshares and vBrowsers
• Fullscreening vBrowser video on iOS now properly fullscreens the video
• Room owners can now clear the chat
• Room owners can now kick users (but they can rejoin unless you also change the room password)
• Save admin settings button is now disabled unless something changed
• Jumping to the leader now uses the median timestamp of room members to avoid outlier timestamp issues
• The subscribe/manage button has been moved to the navbar for easier access
• Subtitles can only now be uploaded when watching a file or a URL
• The user's own video is now mirrored in video chat (emulates Zoom behavior)
• Fixed a crash when iOS users attempted to join video chat