Things to do with friends online
A good hangout doesn’t need a plan, just somewhere to be together and something to look at. These are things groups do in a Walnut, from no effort at all to properly organised.
No effort
Talk, with something on
Start a Walnut, join voice and put a long video on: a nature cam, a cooking show, a video essay. The screen fills the quiet moments.
Show and tell
Take turns sharing your screen: holiday photos, the game you’re stuck on, the thing you built at the weekend. Walnut for Windows shares with sound.
The YouTube rabbit hole
Pass the TV’s remote round the room, and each person picks the next video. The ads stay out.
A bit of planning
Movie or series night
Queue the trailers, count down and watch in sync. How to host one.
Watch a live stream together
Open it on the TV so everyone sees the same moment. Watching Twitch together.
Music video night
Everyone adds three songs to the watch queue. It plays them in order, and the room chat turns into a running review.
Quiz night
The host shares a screen with the questions, and everyone answers in the room chat or out loud.
Plan the trip
Maps, trains and places to stay, on one shared browser. Browsing together.
For a bigger group
A Walnut holds up to 16 people. With a crowd, the owner can choose who may talk, share or take the remote, and make a friend a manager to help run things.
Get everyone in
- Make a free account at easywalnut.com and add your friends.
- Start a Walnut from a group chat. Everyone in it gets an invitation with a Join button.
- Join voice and put something on the screen, or don’t.
Honest limits
- A Walnut has voice chat, not video calls.
- There are no games built in. Browser games on the TV work best when you take turns.
- Paid streaming services that use DRM can’t go on the shared screen.
- Phones can watch and talk, but can’t share a screen.
Questions
Do friends need to install anything?
No. They join from their browser, with a free account. Walnut for Windows is optional.
How long does a Walnut last?
Until 24 hours after the last person leaves. Your friends and messages stay after that.
Is Walnut free?
Yes, on the web and for Windows.
Live apart. Watch together.
Walnut is free in your browser at easywalnut.com, and for Windows. Make an account, start a Walnut, and send your friends the link.