YallaSawayallasawa
What's New

Changelog

Follow every update, fix, and new feature across all releases.

v1.6.1-betaAugust 17, 2026
Fixed
  • theBarty wouldn't open on Mac after updating to 1.6.0-beta.—It showed an error about a missing file and closed. That's fixed — this version opens normally. If you're stuck on the broken one, it can't update itself out of it, so grab a fresh copy from thebarty.com. Sorry about that. Windows was never affected.
v1.6.0-betaAugust 17, 2026
Added
  • Controls under the video.—Your mic, reactions, invites, privacy and the way out now sit in a bar right under what you're watching — no hunting through the side panel while a film is playing.
  • See who's in the room.—Everyone watching appears as a row of faces under the video, and you can tell at a glance who's on voice and who's talking.
  • The side panel is now three tabs—Chat, Up Next and People. The queue got a whole tab instead of a cramped drawer, and what you're typing survives switching between them.
  • Hide the chat and give the video the whole window.—There's a small tab on the edge between the video and the panel; press it to tuck the panel away, press it again to bring it back. It remembers what you chose, and tells you if messages arrived while it was hidden.
  • Share your party anywhere.—WhatsApp, Telegram, X, Facebook, email, or just copy the link.
  • theBarty suggests who to invite.—Open the invite panel and the friends you actually watch with most are already there, before you type anything.
  • Take a message back.—Hover your own message in the room chat and unsend it — it disappears for everyone.
  • See what everyone's doing.—Little notes appear over the video when someone pauses, resumes or skips ahead, and when people join or leave.
  • Arabic now flips the whole room.—The chat panel moves to the left, the video to the right, and everything reads the right way round.
Changed
  • The old reactions are back—❤️ 😄 🎉 😮 💯 — and the picker stays open, so you can send a few in a row instead of reopening it every time.
  • Reactions live under the video now—, not floating over it. The buttons over the picture only appear in fullscreen, where there's nowhere else for them to go.
  • A calmer room.—Buttons stay quiet until you point at them, so the things that matter stand out instead of half the panel competing for attention.
  • Privacy says what it actually does.—The setting controls where your party gets *listed* — the lobby, your friends' activity, or nowhere — so it now says "Who can find this party" instead of implying it locks the door. Anyone with the code can still join; in a private or friends-only party, only the host can invite.
  • A bigger chat panel—, and a smoother video — the panel no longer runs a blur effect over every frame while you watch.
Fixed
  • Losing connection no longer breaks the party.—If your internet blipped, theBarty reconnected but quietly never rejoined the room — chat, the queue and syncing all stopped working until you restarted. It rejoins properly now.
  • The app no longer drops out while you browse.—Going to look for something else could silently cut your connection to the party.
  • "Someone joined" and "someone paused" notes never appeared.—They were broken for everyone, on every platform.
  • One microphone, one press.—There were two mic buttons doing the same thing, and pressing one didn't clearly do anything while it was connecting — so people pressed again and joined twice. There's now a single mic that tells you it's working.
  • Sharing works.—The share panel was appearing as a broken stack of icons at the bottom of the window.
  • Text everywhere is easier to read—, with several buttons that were too faint against their background fixed in both light and dark mode.
  • ARTE actually stays in sync now.—Picking a different programme used to bounce you straight back to the old one, and everyone else would jump to a random point in it. Switching titles just works.
  • No more jumping to the wrong spot.—When the host put something new on, everyone else could land minutes into it — a position left over from whatever was playing before.
  • The unread badge stopped counting the room's own notices—as messages you hadn't read.
Safer
  • Your uploads get cleaned up on the way in.—Every photo and voice note is rebuilt from scratch on our side, which strips hidden data — including where a photo was taken — and means a file can't smuggle anything in behind an image.
  • Links you paste are fetched carefully—, so a preview can't be used to poke around anywhere it shouldn't.
  • Images in chat can only come from theBarty.—Before, a crafted link could quietly reveal the IP address of everyone in the room.
  • Voice chat only connects people who are actually in your party—, on voice, in the same room.
  • A lot of hardening you'll never see—, plus every known critical and high-severity issue in the app closed.
v1.5.1-betaAugust 6, 2026
Added
  • Invite links.—Share one link to your watch party. If your friend already has theBarty, it opens straight to your room. If they don't, the link shows them what you're watching and helps them get set up — then takes them to your party once they're in.
Changed
  • theBarty asks before it moves you.—Opening an invite while you're already watching something now shows you the party first, so switching is your call.
v1.5.0-betaAugust 4, 2026
Added
  • theBarty now runs on Intel Macs.—Until now the Mac download only worked on Apple Silicon (M1 and newer). There's now a proper Intel build too, signed and notarised exactly like the Apple Silicon one, with the same DRM support for Shahid, Watch iT and Netflix.
  • The download button picks the right Mac version for you.—Most browsers tell us which chip your Mac has, so you just click Download and get the correct one. If yours doesn't, there's an "Using an Intel Mac?" link right underneath.
v1.4.0-betaAugust 2, 2026
Added
  • Back, forward and refresh buttons.—While you're on a platform, the title bar now has proper browser controls — step back to the page you came from, jump forward again, or refresh a page that got stuck. Keyboard shortcuts included: ⌘[ , ⌘] and ⌘R on Mac (Ctrl on Windows).
Changed
  • A cleaner, sharper look.—Every icon in the app has been redrawn in one crisp style, leaving a platform is now a clear ✕ beside the navigation arrows, and the Support tab is now called Help with a clearer icon.
  • A touch of life.—The navigation buttons now pop in one after another when you open a platform and slide away when you leave, instead of just appearing.
  • theBarty is now several megabytes lighter—smaller download, faster start.
v1.3.2-betaAugust 2, 2026
Fixed
  • Windows build restored.—1.3.1-beta went out for Mac only; this brings Windows back with the same changes.
v1.3.1-betaAugust 2, 2026
Changed
  • theBarty updates itself now.—It looks for a new version while it's opening and, if the update is quick to fetch, installs it before the app appears. Nothing to click, nothing to confirm — you just open theBarty and you're on the latest version.
  • No more update pop-up in the middle of a party.—When a new version finishes downloading, a small note appears with your other alerts instead of a window interrupting what you're watching. It installs the next time you open the app.
  • A slow connection never holds up opening the app.—If an update is taking too long, theBarty stops waiting and opens straight away — the download quietly finishes in the background.
Fixed
  • Windows now actually gets updates.—theBarty on Windows could see that a new version existed but could never download it, so it stayed on whichever version you first installed. Fixed — this one repairs itself, you do not need to reinstall.
v1.3.0-betaAugust 2, 2026
Added
  • React on the video.—Tap the heart in the corner of the player and your emoji floats up the screen for everyone in the party to see. Hover it for more reactions. Works in fullscreen too.
  • See who arrives.—"Mo joined the party" now appears over the video instead of only in the sidebar.
  • Nicer alerts.—Invites, nudges and notifications now appear as a proper card at the bottom of the screen rather than a small box tucked beside the title bar.
  • Image sending shows progress.—Pictures you send in a DM appear straight away with a progress bar, and you can cancel mid-send.
Changed
  • Opening a chat is instant.—Clicking a friend used to pause for a couple of seconds before the conversation appeared.
  • GIF button removed.—It never actually searched for GIFs, so it's gone for now.
Fixed
  • Chat no longer goes quiet after a while.—After roughly half an hour, messages, notifications and people's presence could all stop arriving with nothing on screen to say so.
  • Voice chat stops when the party does.—Leaving a party, being removed from one, or a party closing could leave your microphone live and still talking to everyone.
  • Your messages are still there after a reconnect.—A brief drop in connection used to empty the chat.
  • Notifications keep working.—They could stop for the rest of a session and never come back.
v1.2.1-betaAugust 1, 2026
Fixed
  • Netflix now plays on Mac.—Netflix was turning playback away with an error about your browser. theBarty was introducing itself as a Windows PC even when running on a Mac, and Netflix could tell the two didn't match. It now introduces itself honestly, and playback works.
v1.2.0-betaAugust 1, 2026
Added
  • A Support page—: talk to us without leaving theBarty. Chat with the team right in the app, with WhatsApp and Discord one tap away.
  • See when we're around—: the chat shows an "Online" dot when someone from the team is actually there, and an honest "typically replies within a few hours" when we're not.
  • Replies find you—: when the team answers, you get a notification — tap it and you land back in the conversation. A small badge on the Support icon tells you when something is waiting.
Changed
  • Support is a conversation now—: your messages and our replies live in one thread you can come back to at any time.
Security
  • Account protection improvements.—We don't go into specifics while theBarty is in beta.
v1.1.0-betaJuly 31, 2026
Fixed
  • Play and pause work when you join something that's already playing.—If the video had started before theBarty finished loading, the host's play and pause presses were quietly dropped and the video never moved.
  • Staying in sync is steadier.—The automatic nudge that keeps everyone at the same moment could undo itself on some players.
  • The back button in Settings works.—It used to do nothing.
v1.0.12-betaJuly 30, 2026
Changed
  • One device at a time—: signing in somewhere new now signs you out of the old device, and that device tells you why.
  • Sign-in alerts—: we'll email you when your account is signed in on a new device. If it wasn't you, that email is your cue to change your password.
  • You'll sign in once more after this update—: a change to how theBarty remembers you means everyone starts fresh.
Fixed
  • Signing in is more reliable—, on both email and Google.
Security
  • Account protection improvements.—We don't go into specifics while theBarty is in beta.
v1.0.11-betaJuly 29, 2026
Changed
  • The lobby greets you properly now—: it knows what time it is and what day it is, and it says something different on a Thursday night than on a Tuesday morning.
  • Updates are much smaller—: theBarty now downloads only the parts that actually changed instead of the whole app every time. What used to be a 112 MB download is closer to 10 MB.
  • Updates install while theBarty opens—: if an update was downloaded during your last session, it is applied on the splash screen and you land straight in the new version. Nothing is downloaded at launch, so opening the app never waits on your connection.
  • A new splash screen—: same logo, type and colours as the website and the sign-in screen, with a clearer loading bar that tells you what theBarty is doing.
  • theBarty opens faster—: about half a second was being spent sitting on a finished splash screen before the app appeared.
v1.0.10-betaJuly 29, 2026
Added
  • A brand-new lobby—: redesigned home screen with your friends, a live feed of what's happening, and a quick command palette.
  • See who's around—: friends now show as online, idle or away.
  • ARTE support—: watch ARTE together alongside Shahid, Watch iT, Netflix and YouTube.
Changed
  • Crew is now Friends—: same people, clearer name.
Fixed
  • YouTube—: the back button now works, the player fills the window properly, and the white bar above it is gone.
  • Your avatar menu—: About and Sign out were unreachable because the menu was cut off.
v1.0.9-betaJuly 28, 2026
Changed
  • Opens in English—: theBarty now starts in English the first time you run it. Switch to Arabic whenever you like from the title bar or Settings; your choice is remembered.
v1.0.8-betaJuly 28, 2026
Fixed
  • Updates install themselves—: theBarty now updates in place instead of sending you to the website to download a new copy by hand.
  • About panel—: it showed an out-of-date version number and linked to our previous site.
v1.0.7-betaJuly 28, 2026
Changed
  • Now running on our own address—: theBarty connects through thebarty.com instead of a temporary hosting address. Nothing changes for you.
v1.0.6-betaJuly 28, 2026
Fixed
  • Clearer security prompt on Mac—: if macOS asks permission to use your saved sign-in, it now says "theBarty" instead of an internal developer name.
Changed
  • One extra sign-in on Windows—: this update changes where theBarty keeps your settings, so Windows users will be asked to sign in one more time. Mac users are unaffected.
v1.0.5-betaJuly 28, 2026
Added
  • theBarty for Mac—: theBarty is now available on Mac. Works on Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and newer), running macOS 11 or later.
Changed
  • Update reminders—: When a new version is ready, theBarty now offers to restart and update right away, or quietly installs it the next time you quit.
v1.0.4-betaJuly 26, 2026
Fixed
  • Smoother platform switching—: Improved stability when moving between streaming services.
  • Clearer image upload errors—: If a photo can't be sent in chat, you'll now see a clear message explaining why.
v1.0.3-betaJuly 22, 2026
Added
  • Sign in with Google—: You can now sign in or sign up with your Google account in one tap.
v1.0.2-betaJuly 22, 2026
Changed
  • Stronger account security—: Your sign-in is now stored more securely on your device.
  • Smoother reconnections—: Staying connected during network hiccups is now more reliable.
v1.0.1-betaJuly 19, 2026
Changed
  • Meet theBarty—: We've rebranded! A brand-new name, a fresh logo, and a bold new red look across the whole app.
v1.0.0-betaApril 18, 2026
Changed
  • Version 1.0—: Major milestone release with all the latest improvements
v0.9.7-betaApril 18, 2026
Added
  • Auto-Updater—: Check for updates directly from the About dialog
  • Voice Chat Limit—: Voice chat usage is limited per room during beta
  • What's New—: View the full changelog inside the app and on the website
v0.9.6-betaApril 18, 2026
Changed
  • New Splash Screen—: Redesigned app loading screen with animated Arabic branding
  • New App Icon—: Fresh يلا Sawa branding across the entire app
v0.9.5-betaApril 16, 2026
Added
  • Arabic Public Rooms—: Public rooms grid now fully supports Arabic
  • YouTube Ad Blocking—: Ads are automatically skipped on YouTube
  • DM Image Preview—: Preview images directly in DM conversations
  • Online Status in DMs—: See who's online in your conversations
  • Platform Icons—: Enhanced platform icons and visual design
Changed
  • Google Sign-In—: Temporarily disabled while we improve the experience
v0.9.4-betaApril 13, 2026
Fixed
  • Room Sidebar Layout—: Fixed sidebar collapsing after exiting browse mode
v0.9.3-betaApril 12, 2026
Added
  • Share Page—: Share any website with your room using the "Create Room" button
Fixed
  • Connection Issues—: Improved connection stability
  • Google Search—: Fixed web search functionality
v0.9.2-betaApril 12, 2026
Fixed
  • Sidebar Layout—: Fixed chat panel collapsing when switching tabs
v0.9.1-betaApril 12, 2026
Added
  • Back Button—: Floating back button on streaming platforms for easy navigation
Fixed
  • Chat Layout—: Fixed chat panel overlapping the title bar
v0.9.0-betaApril 8, 2026
Added
  • Stability Improvements—: Behind-the-scenes improvements to app reliability and performance
v0.8.3-betaApril 7, 2026
Added
  • Improved Security—: Enhanced protection against spam and abuse
v0.8.2-betaApril 5, 2026
Fixed
  • App Responsiveness—: Fixed UI becoming unclickable in certain situations
  • System Tray—: Fixed tray icon not appearing
v0.8.1-betaApril 5, 2026
Changed
  • Room Sidebar Redesign—: Cleaner 2-tab layout with Chat and Members tabs
  • Profile Overlay—: Click any avatar to view their full profile
Fixed
  • Chat Scroll—: Fixed chat not scrolling when messages overflow
v0.8.0-betaApril 4, 2026
Added
  • Direct Messages—: Full DM system with text, images, voice notes, emoji reactions, replies, edit, unsend, read receipts, and typing indicators
  • Voice Notes—: Record and send voice messages up to 60 seconds
  • Message Search—: Search within DM conversations
  • Block & Report—: Block users or report inappropriate behavior
  • Friend Context Menu—: Right-click friends for quick actions
  • Unread Badge—: See unread DM count on the Friends icon
v0.7.1-betaApril 3, 2026
Fixed
  • Sidebar Freeze—: Fixed sidebar not rendering in some situations
  • Chat Layout—: Chat now fills the full sidebar height
v0.7.0-betaApril 3, 2026
Added
  • Email Verification—: Verify your email when creating an account
  • Password Recovery—: Reset your password via email
  • Single Device Login—: Prevents logging in on multiple devices at once
  • Google Sign-In—: Sign in with your Google account
  • Logout—: Signing out is now handled on our servers too
v0.6.5-betaApril 2, 2026
Added
  • About Dialog Links—: Quick links to website, privacy policy, terms, and support
v0.6.4-betaMarch 29, 2026
Added
  • Default Avatars—: Users without profile pictures show their initial
  • Kick Notification—: Chat shows when someone is kicked from the room
Fixed
  • Auto-Reconnect—: App now reconnects automatically after going idle
  • Room Rejoin—: Automatically rejoins your room after reconnecting
v0.6.3-betaMarch 29, 2026
Added
  • Settings—: Desktop notifications, ambient effects, auto-pause, sound effects, launch on startup, minimize to tray
  • Ambient Effects—: Animated gradient background, toggleable in settings
  • Sound Effects—: Audio cues for joins, messages, and reactions
  • System Tray—: App minimizes to tray instead of closing
  • Launch on Startup—: Option to start the app with your computer
  • Sign Out Confirmation—: Confirmation prompt before signing out
Changed
  • Full-Width Browsing—: Platform takes full window when not in a room
Fixed
  • Dark/Light Mode—: Fixed colors not adapting to theme properly
  • Arabic Layout—: Fixed layout issues in Arabic mode
v0.6.2-betaMarch 29, 2026
Added
  • Tabbed Sidebar—: Chat, Queue, and Members organized into clean tabs
  • Click-to-View Profile—: Click any avatar in chat to view their profile
  • Leave Confirmation—: Prompt when navigating away from an active room
Changed
  • Reactions—: Redesigned to emoji + count display with hover details
  • Voice Chat Button—: Repositioned for better visibility
Fixed
  • Chat Overflow—: Reactions and pickers stay within sidebar bounds
v0.6.1-betaMarch 28, 2026
Added
  • Notifications—: Persistent notifications for friend activity, invites, and requests
  • Notification Bell—: Bell icon with unread badge in the title bar
  • Desktop Notifications—: Native Windows notifications for real-time events
  • Join/Leave Messages—: System messages when members join or leave
v0.6.0-betaMarch 18, 2026
Added
  • Voice Chat—: Real-time voice communication with speaking indicators and mute controls
  • Audio Settings—: Speaker and mic selection, volume controls
  • Noise Suppression—: Toggle noise suppression on/off
  • Noise Gate—: Adjustable threshold for background noise filtering
  • Splash Screen—: Animated logo reveal on app startup
v0.5.0-betaMarch 14, 2026
Added
  • Arabic Language—: Full Arabic translation with right-to-left support
  • Language Switcher—: Switch between English and Arabic anytime
v0.4.1-betaMarch 14, 2026
Fixed
  • Web Rooms—: Fixed room creation for generic websites
v0.4.0-betaMarch 7, 2026
Added
  • Watch History—: Track every video you watch with platform icons and timestamps
  • Weekly Activity—: See your daily watch time in weekly charts
  • Shared Watch Time—: See how many hours you've watched with each friend
  • Online Status—: See which friends are online
Changed
  • Profile Redesign—: New profile layout with stats, activity chart, watch history, and friend cards
v0.3.1-betaMarch 4, 2026
Added
  • Web Browser—: Google Search and paste-a-link with live preview
Fixed
  • YouTube Ads—: Skip Ad button no longer blocked
  • YouTube Playback—: Fixed video stream errors
v0.3.0-betaMarch 4, 2026
Added
  • Emoji Picker—: 100+ emojis across 4 categories with search
  • Right-Click Menu—: Reply, copy, download images from chat
  • Image Preview—: Full-screen image viewer with download and navigation
  • Multiple Image Upload—: Queue multiple images before sending
  • Share Button—: Copy room invite link to clipboard
  • Mentions—: @mention friends with profile cards
  • Queue Auto-Play—: Queue automatically plays the next video
Changed
  • Reactions—: One reaction per person, replaces previous
  • Chat Design—: Dark theme with hover actions and rounded input
v0.2.2-betaMarch 2, 2026
Fixed
  • Now Playing—: Fixed video title not showing correctly for Shahid and Watch iT
v0.2.1-betaMarch 2, 2026
Added
  • Invite Links—: Click invite links to open the app and join rooms instantly
  • Privacy Selector—: Collapsible privacy menu in room sidebar
v0.2.0-betaMarch 2, 2026
Added
  • Watch iT—: Watch iT added as a streaming platform
v0.1.1-betaMarch 2, 2026
Fixed
  • Video Sync—: Fixed non-host video getting stuck after long pauses
v0.1.0-betaMarch 2, 2026
Added
  • First Release—: Room creation, real-time video sync, chat, friends system, and Shahid support