Google Play Movies Update Inches Closer Towards Shared Family Library

BY GreenBot Staff

Published 11 Apr 2016

The Play Movies app is the first in the family to get one of those flashy new icons. That’s not all tucked inside the update. There are more indications that it will launch some shared family plans. To allow streaming content from a shared library. It has been in the works for some time. The I/O in May 2016 could be an excellent time to announce it. According to A teardown by Android Police, more details emerged from the code inside the update. There’s a ban on simultaneous playback. It means that two family members can’t stream the same TV show or movie from multiple devices. It probably has to do with licensing rules from the content providers, which usually lean toward the restrictive side.

The other reveals a trigger to stop playback. If too many videos play simultaneously. It’s a method to prevent piracy if many people log into the library’s family account.

You’ll have to be content with that new icon and the usual performance improvements, which can be found in the update through the Play Store or A Mirror.

The story behind the story: already has a family plan for its Play Music platform, which allows six individuals to access the whole gamut of streaming services for $15 per month. You also get YouTube Red, which includes original content and nixes advertisements with most videos. A shared platform for TV/movie content is an excellent addition to the Play Store app. It needs this to offer a more straightforward sharing method than the one that Apple employs with its Family Sharing.