Catching up with friends, family, or remote teammates via video calls often involves sharing media—whether that means discussing a trending documentary trailer, reviewing a tutorial, or enjoying music videos together. In standard video conferencing apps, sharing video typically requires full screen sharing, which often results in choppy frame rates, out-of-sync audio, and battery drain.
Google Meet solves this problem on Android through Live Sharing. Built directly into the mobile video calling interface, Live Sharing synchronises third-party media playback—most notably YouTube—directly across all call participants. Rather than streaming a compressed capture of your screen, Live Sharing synchronises the actual video stream on each person’s device, delivering crystal-clear video and synchronised audio.
How Live Sharing Works in Google Meet
Live Sharing operates as an interactive session coordinator. When you initiate a Live Sharing session with YouTube during an active Google Meet conversation:
- Local Video Streaming: Each participant’s phone streams the media directly from YouTube’s high-speed content delivery network, avoiding screen-capture compression artifacts.
- Synchronised Controls: Any permitted call participant who pauses, rewinds, or fast-forwards the video automatically synchronises playback for everyone on the call in real time.
- Picture-in-Picture Video: The Google Meet video call automatically transitions into a floating picture-in-picture window, allowing you to see and speak with your friends while watching content full-screen.
Starting a YouTube Live Sharing Session in Google Meet
Initiating a co-watching session on your Android device requires only a few steps:
- Open the Google Meet app on your Android smartphone and start or join a video meeting.
- Tap the screen to reveal the call controls, then tap the More options button (the three vertical dots in the bottom-right corner).
- Select Activities from the menu options.
- Under the Activities list, tap YouTube.
- The YouTube app launches automatically, linked to your active Google Meet call. A banner at the top of YouTube confirms: You are live sharing in Google Meet.
- Browse or search for the video, playlist, or live stream you wish to watch together.
- Tap the video to play it. A prompt appears asking you to confirm: Start a Live Sharing session with Google Meet? Tap Start.
What Other Participants Experience
When you start a Live Sharing session, other members of the call receive an immediate invitation:
- Participants see an on-screen prompt stating: [Host Name] has started a Live Sharing session on YouTube.
- Tapping Join automatically launches their local YouTube app and loads the exact same video timestamp.
- Audio balances automatically: voice call audio remains prioritised so you can talk, laugh, and react to the video together without audio feedback loops.
Managing Playback Controls and Permissions
To ensure smooth co-watching during larger meetings, manage who controls playback:
- Shared Playback Controls: By default, any participant can pause, play, or skip ahead in the video. When someone hits pause, a brief notification announces who paused the video.
- Host Control Lock: If you are hosting a presentation or classroom review, you can lock playback controls so that only the meeting organiser can pause or change the video.
- Queueing Additional Videos: Add upcoming videos to the shared queue by tapping the Add to Queue button on any YouTube video thumbnail during the session.
Ending the Live Sharing Session
When you have finished watching your media and wish to return to standard full-screen video conversation:
- Tap the floating Google Meet picture-in-picture window to expand it, or return to the top banner in the YouTube app.
- Tap the green Live Sharing bar.
- Select End Live Sharing.
- The media session closes for all participants, and everyone smoothly returns to the standard Google Meet call interface.
Troubleshooting Connection and Sync Issues
- YouTube App Updates: Ensure both Google Meet and YouTube are updated to their latest versions via the Google Play Store on all devices.
- Network Stability: If a participant experiences video buffering, their stream may briefly lag before automatically synchronising with the host’s timestamp.
- Account Requirements: Standard personal Google Accounts have full access to YouTube Live Sharing. Google Workspace accounts may require their domain administrator to enable external YouTube integrations.