Browse the web together, in one shared browser

Every Walnut has a TV: a real web browser that the whole room sees, page for page. One person holds the remote and drives, and anyone can ask for it. It’s co-browsing for friends, with voice and chat around it.

How the shared browser works

• One browser, one picture. The TV runs a real browser and streams it to everyone in the Walnut. Everyone sees the same page at the same moment.
• One remote. Whoever holds the remote uses the TV with their own mouse and keyboard. They can pass it to anyone in the room, and anyone can ask for it.
• Ads and trackers blocked for the whole room, with uBlock Origin’s and EasyList’s filter lists, refreshed daily.
• Nothing to install. The TV runs in the cloud, or on the owner’s PC when they use Walnut for Windows.

How to start

1. Start a Walnut and invite your friends.
2. Press Start on the TV. The owner or a manager switches it on, and it opens on Google.
3. Browse. Whoever holds the remote clicks, scrolls and types for the room.
4. Pass the remote to whoever wants to drive next, or ask for it when you do.

What people do on the TV

• Choose a film: trailers, reviews and the “are we really watching this” debate.
• Plan a trip: maps, trains, places to stay, the restaurant for the first night.
• Shop for a present together, or just window-shop.
• Read the same article, thread or recipe, and talk it over.
• Watch a live stream, so everyone sees the same moment. Watching Twitch together.
• Look at flats or holiday lets with the people you’ll share them with.

When someone shares a screen

A screen share goes over the TV rather than replacing it. The TV’s page waits where it was, with any video paused at the same moment, and comes back untouched when the share ends.

Privacy on a shared browser

• Everyone in the Walnut sees everything on the TV, including what’s typed into it. Don’t sign in to your own accounts there unless you’re happy for the room to see them.
• The TV keeps its browser data (history, cookies and sign-ins) for 24 hours after it was last switched off, then deletes it.
• Sites opened on the TV see Walnut’s internet connection, or the owner’s when Walnut for Windows hosts it, not yours.
• On a TV hosted by Walnut for Windows, downloads are cancelled and permission prompts are refused, so whoever holds the remote can’t save files to the owner’s PC.

Honest limits

• Sites that protect their video with DRM, like Netflix, can’t be shown. The TV says so instead of showing black.
• Some sites refuse to load in a shared browser, and the TV tells you when that happens.
• The TV’s picture is 1600 × 900 at 30 frames a second, and a click takes a moment to show. That’s fine for browsing and video, less so for fast games.
• One person drives at a time.

Questions

What is co-browsing?

Browsing the web together, where everyone sees the same pages at the same time. In Walnut, the room’s TV is a shared browser that one person drives while the others watch and talk.

Who can switch the TV on?

The Walnut’s owner or a manager presses Start. After that, whoever holds the remote drives it.

Do my friends need an extension?

No. The TV runs on Walnut’s side, or on the owner’s PC with Walnut for Windows. Friends watch it in their browser.