Why not just cast the tab?
Casting sends a picture. Couchtab drives Chrome.
Casting puts a tab on a TV, but you still need the mouse to do anything. Couchtab puts Chrome's controls in your hand, on whatever screen you watch: the laptop on the table, or a TV it is plugged into.
Casting a tab to a TV
- Mirrors one tab on the TV.
- Scrolling, clicking and switching tabs still happen at the computer.
- Needs a Chromecast or a TV that accepts casting.
Couchtab
- Every tab is a card on the phone: swipe to switch.
- Drag a card and the page scrolls.
- Media, zoom and PDFs from the phone.
- No TV needed: the laptop's own screen will do, or any TV it is plugged into.
What it does
Made for the evening on the couch
Double-tap a card on the phone for that tab's own controls. Couchtab shows what fits the page: a video, an article or a PDF.
Tabs as cards
Each tab in Chrome's window is a card. Swipe to switch, drag to scroll. Back, forward, reload and mute are on the toolbar; swipe a tab in the list to close it.
Video and music
Play, pause, ±10 s with a tap and a scrubber, plus speed, volume and captions where the player has them. Full screen fills the screen with the video and keeps the display awake. On YouTube and YouTube Music: up next, playlists, chapters and the queue.
Reading
Zoom, Smart invert for a dark room, full screen, hands-free auto-scroll at three speeds, and a table of contents that jumps to a heading.
PDFs
Turn pages, go to a page, fit the page or its width, dark mode, and Present: one page at a time, full screen. In Couchtab's own PDF reader pages turn instantly, and you can search the text and jump through its bookmarks.
How to start
Paired in under a minute
Nothing to install on the phone: the remote opens in its browser. On an iPhone you can add it to the home screen, where it opens like an app; it asks for the pairing code once more there, because home-screen apps keep their own storage.
Add Couchtab to Chrome
On the computer you'll watch, from the Chrome Web Store.
Photograph the code
Click the Couchtab icon in Chrome. Point your phone's camera at the pairing code it shows.
Open the link
The remote opens on your phone, already paired. Your tabs appear as cards.
Privacy
Your browsing stays between your two devices
Direct over Wi-Fi
Phone and computer connect straight to each other on your network whenever it allows.
Encrypted end to end
When a network blocks that, messages pass through our relay sealed with a key that only your two devices have.
Nothing to track
No accounts, no analytics, no ads. Our server stores nothing, and this site sets no cookies.
Questions
Good to know
Do I need a TV?
No. Couchtab controls Chrome on the computer itself, so a laptop on the table works just as well as one plugged into a TV.
Do I need to install an app on my phone?
No. The remote is a web app that opens in Safari or Chrome on the phone. On an iPhone, "Add to Home Screen" makes it open full screen like an app; it asks for the pairing code once more there.
Which computers and phones does it work with?
Desktop Chrome 147 or newer, on the computer, and an iPhone or Android phone with a current browser.
Do the phone and computer have to be on the same Wi-Fi?
It works best when they are: then they talk directly. On other networks, or when a network keeps devices apart, Couchtab passes the connection through its encrypted relay. You can also choose "Local network only" in the phone app.
Can someone else control my browser?
Only a phone that has the pairing code from your computer's screen. "New pairing code" on the setup page disconnects every phone paired with the old one.
What does it cost?
Couchtab is free.