SharePlay for Developers
Bring people together in an entirely new way by integrating your apps into FaceTime using SharePlay and the Group Activities API.
Turn your app into a shared experience
SharePlay gives users the ability to share experiences right inside FaceTime. And with the Group Activities API, it’s easier than ever to bring movies, TV, music, and other shared media from your app into a space where people are already connecting with each other.
Quality connections made easy
Group Activities and AVFoundation APIs are now deeply integrated with the Core Media stack on device. When a user plays media, playback immediately starts for the whole group at the same time. Immersive features, like smart volume and shared playback controls, make them feel like they’re all in the same place. And since your app runs natively on each device with no retransmission, the quality of your app experience is never compromised.
Reach new users
SharePlay is a powerful way to reach people organically as users introduce your app to their friends at relevant moments. If someone in a FaceTime call initiates a group activity with an app that someone else on the call doesn’t have installed, SharePlay guides them to the App Store to download it. The Group Activities API gives you an opportunity to bring up onboarding flows for new users or special trial offers designed specifically for SharePlay users. It’s a quick and easy way to get people to try out your app experience alongside friends who already use your app.
Works across Apple platforms
SharePlay is supported on iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and tvOS 15, letting users bring their Apple TV into the experience when they want to display content on a larger screen. Offer your app as a Universal Purchase with a single bundle ID to support SharePlay experiences among users running your app on different Apple platforms. You can optionally provide a URL for users to join from Safari on macOS if your website supports the Media Session API. And all FaceTime calls are end-to-end encrypted.
Tools and resources
Download Xcode and use these resources to build apps that integrate into FaceTime.