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How to Use FaceTime’s Coolest Feature on Your iPhone, iPad or Mac

SharePlay is a new feature that allows you to watch shows, listen to music and even workout with the other people on your FaceTime call.

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By Tucker Bowe

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If you’re a frequent FaceTime caller, the newest software update to iPhone, iPad and Mac — iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1 or macOS Monterey 12.1 — just delivered a really cool new feature. It’s called SharePlay and it allows you to share your screen and audio with the other people on your FaceTime call. This is really neat because it allows you and the other people on your FaceTime call to watch shows together and have live music listening sessions. You can also play group games or even exercise with the other people on your FaceTime.

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How to use SharePlay on your iPhone or iPad

If your iPhone (or iPad) is running iOS 15.1 (or iPadOS 15.1), using the new SharePlay feature is super simple. (Please note, in order to use SharePlay, all other people in your FaceTime have to be running iOS 15.1 or later as well.) Here’s what to do:

  1. Open the FaceTime app.
  2. Start a FaceTime call be selecting the New FaceTime button in the upper-right part of your screen.
  3. Once you’re in the FaceTime call (and invited other people), tap the SharePlay icon on the far right of the dropdown menu at the top of the screen.
  4. Select Share My Screen.

That’s it! If another person in the FaceTime wants to use SharePlay to share their screen, all they have to do is select the SharePlay icon. And if you want to end SharePlay to stop sharing your screen, but not end the FaceTime call, all you have to do is tap the SharePlay icon and then select End SharePlay. It’s really quite simple.

How to use SharePlay on your Mac

In December 2021, Apple rolled out macOS Monterey 12.1 which brought SharePlay to all compatible Macs. Remember, in order to use SharePlay with other people they also need to be using an iPhone, iPad or Mac computer that supports SharePlay. Here’s how to use it:

  1. Start a FaceTime call.
  2. Open an app you want to share in the call.
  3. In the menu bar, click the FaceTime button and then click the Screen Share button.
  4. Select Choose Window to share an app window and click the window you want to share. Select Choose Screen to share the entire screen.

Which apps work with SharePlay?

As you probably could’ve guessed, SharePlay opens up a can of worms in terms subscriptions. So, the first thing to note: everybody on the FaceTime needs to be a subscriber to the service being SharePlay-ed (and they need to have the app downloaded and be logged in). If not, then that person will not be able to see what’s being SharePlay-ed, but the other people on the FaceTime who are subscribers will.

Also, not every streaming app works with SharePlay right now, with the most notable absentees being Spotify, Netflix and YouTube. We’ve rounded up the most popular apps that are compatible with SharePlay, below.

The below list of apps that work with SharePlay was last updated: November 4, 2021.

Popular Video Services for Movies, Shows and Sports:

• Apple TV+ (here)

• Disney+ (here)

• ESPN+ (here)

• HBO Max (here)

• Paramount+ (here)

• Pluto TV (here)

• Showtime Anytime (here)

Popular Music Streaming Services:

• Apple Music (here)

• SoundCloud (here)

• Vinyls (here)

Popular Apps for Games, Workouts and Entertainment:

• Apollo for Reddit (here)

• Apple Fitness+ (here)

• Heads Up! (here)

• MasterClass (here)

• Night Sky (here)

• TikTok (here)