Kast shut down. Here is where to go.
Kast was acquired by Amaze in 2025 and discontinued as a standalone app, so it is no longer an option. If what you want back is a room where everyone shares one browser and can take turns driving it, a shared cloud browser like Waddle is the direct replacement — it opens from a link, needs no download, and works on a phone.
Kast is no longer running
| Kast | Waddle | |
|---|---|---|
| Still running | No — discontinued after the 2025 Amaze acquisition | Yes |
| Install needed | Desktop app | Nothing. A link opens in any browser |
| Works on a phone | Limited, and moot now | Yes |
| Shared browser everyone can drive | Yes, that was the appeal | Yes |
| Voice chat | Yes | Yes, plus text chat and reactions |
| Games in the room | No | Yes |
| Price | Free tier, paid tiers | Free to create a room |
Where Kast is the better pick
Kast was good, and it is worth saying why people miss it: it treated a room as a place to hang out rather than a player with a video in it. That is the thing to look for in a replacement, and it is a higher bar than 'can it sync a video'.
What actually happened to Kast
Kast has a longer history than most people realise. When Rabb.it ran out of funding and shut down in July 2019, Kast bought its remaining intellectual property and software at the end of that month, and inherited a large part of its audience along with it.
Kast itself was then acquired by Amaze in 2025 and discontinued as a standalone app. So the lineage that ran Rabb.it → Kast has now ended twice, which is why searches for both keep landing on lists of alternatives.
What to look for in a replacement
If you liked Kast, these are the things you are actually trying to get back, roughly in order of how often people miss them.
- One shared browser the whole room can see, not a screen share from one person's laptop.
- Passing control around, so the evening does not depend on one host driving all night.
- Joining from a link, with no download and no account for guests.
- Voice chat in the same place as the video, rather than a separate call running alongside.
- Something to do between videos, which is what made a room feel like a hangout.
Why browser-based won
The tools from that era were desktop apps and extensions, and both are now the main reason groups fail to get started. A desktop app excludes phones and asks for an install before anyone has seen the thing work. An extension excludes phones outright.
Running the shared browser in the cloud and streaming it removes both problems: the heavy work happens on a machine that is not yours, and every device just has to play video, which every device can do.
Common questions
Is Kast shut down?
Yes. Kast was acquired by Amaze in 2025 and discontinued as a standalone app.
What happened to Rabb.it and Kast?
Rabb.it shut down in July 2019 after a funding round fell through, and Kast acquired its remaining IP and software on 31 July 2019. Kast was then acquired by Amaze in 2025 and discontinued.
What is the closest thing to Kast now?
A shared cloud browser. Waddle gives you a room where everyone sees one browser, control can be passed around, and joining is a link rather than a download.
Do I need to install anything?
No. Waddle runs in the browser on desktop and mobile.
Is it free?
Yes, creating a room and watching together is free.