Free · Nothing to install
Turn your computer into a smart TV.
Tap Cast in the YouTube app and your computer is on the list, like a smart TV. Nothing to install, on the computer or on your phone. Your computer is the smart TV. Your phone is the remote.
Open it on the computer you want to watch on. No account, no extension, no extra hardware.
CH 01 · How it works
Playing in under a minute.
Three steps, and the second one you only do once. After that it is the Cast button, the way you already use it.
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Open Venfy on your computer
Go to venfy.app/tv and press start. A code appears on the screen. There is nothing to install, on the computer or on your phone.
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Link the YouTube app, once
On your phone, tap the Cast icon in the YouTube app, choose Link with TV code and type the code from the screen.
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Tap Cast, like with a smart TV
From then on your computer is on the list, as Venfy.app. Pick a video and it plays on the computer.
CH 02 · Why Venfy
On its own, the Cast button cannot see your computer.
A computer is the most capable screen in the house and the hardest one to use from the couch. These are the things people try first.
- Chromecast or a smart TV
- Works well, if you buy one. A browser on a computer is not something the Cast button can find.
- AirPlay
- Apple devices only, and it mirrors a screen. There is no queue your friends can add to.
- Remote desktop apps
- You end up steering a whole desktop with your thumb to click one video. Slow, and tiny.
- A wireless keyboard and mouse
- One more thing on the couch, and one more thing that needs batteries.
Venfy
Venfy puts the computer you already own on that list, so the Cast button finds it. Nothing to buy, and nothing to install.
CH 03 · What you get
The app you know, on the screen you have.
- 01
The Cast button you know
Use the YouTube app the way you would with a smart TV: its Cast button, its queue, its controls. Nothing new to learn.
- 02
Nothing to install
Not on your phone and not on your computer. One web page on the computer, and the YouTube app you already have.
- 03
A web remote, too
No YouTube app at hand? Scan the QR code and any phone's browser becomes a remote. Paste a link, or share one from any app.
- 04
One queue, many phones
Friends link with the same code and add to the same queue. Movie night stops being one person's job.
- 05
Private by default
No account with us, no cookies, no ad trackers. We count how Venfy is used, never what you watch.
- 06
Any modern browser
Chrome, Edge, Brave, Firefox or Safari on the computer. No app store, no dongle, no extra hardware.
CH 04 · Good to know
What it does not do.
Better to read it here than to find out halfway through a film.
Casting depends on YouTube
It works because YouTube lets a screen register itself and be found by its app. That is not a published API. If YouTube changes it, casting stops until Venfy catches up. The web remote does not depend on it.
Some videos will not play
A few owners, mostly of music videos, only allow playback on YouTube itself. Venfy says so on screen and moves on. The Venfy Cast extension plays those.
The player is YouTube's
Venfy uses YouTube's own player and changes nothing inside it. What YouTube shows there, it shows.
CH 05 · Questions
Asked before you had to.
Do I need a TV?
No. Your computer is the screen: a laptop on the coffee table is enough. If you plug the computer into a TV, a monitor or a projector, that becomes the screen, and Venfy works exactly the same.
Is Venfy free?
Yes. Venfy is free to use. There is no account, no trial and no paid tier.
Do I have to install anything?
No. On the computer Venfy is a web page, and on your phone you use the YouTube app you already have, or your phone's browser. There is an optional extension for the computer, Venfy Cast, for the few videos that will not play in a web page.
How do I control YouTube on my PC from my phone?
Open venfy.app/tv on the computer and press start. In the YouTube app on your phone, tap Cast, choose Link with TV code and type the code on the screen. From then on, tap Cast and choose Venfy.app. With no YouTube app, scan the QR code on the same screen and paste a YouTube link.
Can I use the Cast button in the YouTube app?
Yes, and it is how Venfy works by default. Link the YouTube app once with the TV code on the screen. After that the computer is in the list whenever you tap Cast and Venfy is open on it, under the name Venfy.app, like a smart TV.
How is this different from Chromecast or AirPlay?
Chromecast and AirPlay send video to a device built to receive it. A computer running a browser is not one of those devices, so on its own the Cast button in the YouTube app does not see it. Venfy makes the computer you already have one of them, with no hardware to buy.
Does it work with iPhone and Android?
Yes, both. The YouTube app has the Cast button on iPhone and on Android, and the web remote runs in any modern mobile browser.
Which browsers work on the computer?
Any modern one: Chrome, Edge, Brave, Firefox or Safari, on Windows, macOS, Linux or ChromeOS. The optional Venfy Cast extension is for Chrome, Edge and Brave.
Can several people control it at once?
Yes. Anyone who links with the TV code can cast and add to the queue from their own YouTube app, and anyone who scans the QR code joins the same queue from their browser.
Why will some videos not play?
A few owners, mostly of music videos, only allow playback on YouTube itself, and Venfy plays videos in YouTube's player inside a web page. When that happens Venfy says so and moves on to the next one. The Venfy Cast extension plays those too.
What is Venfy Cast?
An optional extension for Chrome, Edge and Brave on the computer. It opens the interface YouTube runs on smart TVs, full screen. Every video plays there and your YouTube account works on it. You do not need it to use Venfy.
What is the web remote?
A remote that runs in your phone's browser, for when there is no YouTube app at hand. Scan the QR code on the computer's screen, then paste a YouTube link or share one from any app. Everyone who scans it adds to the same queue.
Does Venfy block or change ads?
No. The player is YouTube's own, and Venfy does not hide, skip or alter anything in it. Whatever YouTube would show there, it shows.
What does Venfy know about me?
Almost nothing. There is no account with us, no cookie and no tracking script. Our server counts how Venfy is used, such as pages opened, rooms started and videos played or refused, and never which video or who you are. While a screen is in use our server holds its room in memory, with its codes and its queue, and discards it when everyone leaves. The privacy page lists all of it.
Is Venfy affiliated with YouTube?
No. Venfy is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by YouTube or Google. YouTube is a trademark of Google LLC.
CH 06 · Guides
Looking for something in particular?
Each of these answers one question, start to finish.
- Cast YouTube to a PC From the YouTube app on your phone to a PC, a Mac or a laptop, with the Cast button.
- Control YouTube on a PC from your phone Your phone as the remote: play, pause, seek, volume and the queue, from the couch.
- Get a YouTube TV code on a PC YouTube shows TV codes on smart TVs only. This is how to get one on a computer.
- Use a laptop as a smart TV An old laptop is most of a smart TV already. What it lacks is the remote.
- Use a PC as a Chromecast A computer cannot receive Google Cast. For YouTube there is another door.
Ready when the couch is