WatchWithMe

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  Working site

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  Landing page

Inspiration

Long-distance friendships shouldn’t feel distant. Starting a movie together over calls, countdowns, and mismatched playback breaks the moment. We wanted a simple, private way for friends to press play once—and actually watch together, no matter how far apart they are.

What it does

WatchWithMe lets users create private watch rooms where videos play in perfect sync for everyone. A host starts a room, shares a link or code, and friends can join instantly—no sign-ups required. The platform supports YouTube and external video hosts, with optional voice chat for real-time reactions, all without storing any video content.

How we built it

The app is built with React + TypeScript, using Supabase for real-time state sync, authentication, and room management. Video playback is embedded directly from supported platforms, while synchronization is handled through real-time events. The UI and logic were rapidly developed using Gemini 3 Pro vibecoding, allowing fast iteration and clean architecture.

Challenges we ran into

Synchronizing playback across different networks and devices was tricky, especially when dealing with embedded players that expose limited controls. Handling real-time events reliably, managing private rooms, and ensuring guests could join without friction required careful database and event design.

Accomplishments that we’re proud of

Built fully private, invite-only watch rooms

Achieved reliable play / pause / seek synchronization

Enabled guest access without email or signup

Avoided storing any copyrighted video content

Deployed a scalable real-time architecture ready for mobile and TV

What we learned

Real-time apps depend more on state coordination than UI polish. Clear ownership of events, strict host authority, and minimal syncing logic produce far better results than complex playback hacks. We also learned that simplicity beats feature overload for social experiences.

What’s next for WatchWithMe

Next, we plan to expand support for more external video hosts, improve mobile and smart-TV compatibility, and add a one-time premium upgrade for ad-free viewing and larger rooms. Long-term, WatchWithMe aims to become the go-to space for private, distraction-free watch experiences for long-distance friends.

Built With

• react
• supabase
• typescript