LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Netflix has introduced a new personalized tab called “My Netflix” in order to make it easier for mobile users to identify and stream movies they have already engaged with.
The feature, dubbed a “one-stop shop tailored to you,” serves as a shortcut or a dedicated area made up of any downloads, web series, or movies you gave a thumbs up to, items saved to My List, and reminders of any show you stopped watching in the middle.
The purpose of this change is to simplify app browsing by just displaying content that you have explicitly indicated you are interested in, as opposed to constantly presenting you with suggestions.
Starting in early August, Android users will be able to access the My Netflix tab on Apple iOS devices.
The present Downloads tab has been replaced with the My Netflix tab in an effort to cut down on the time required to browse through the streaming giant’s algorithmically generated content recommendations.
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Though I’m concerned this might negatively impact the My Netflix area, users can still browse the Home page and other parts as usual if they’re seeking something new.
Any “trailers you’ve watched,” according to the Netflix official blog post, will also show up on the new tab.
When you remain on a page for a few seconds, Netflix’s default setting of enabling preview trailers for its full library begins to play automatically.
My concern is whether those seconds are enough to be considered as quantifiable watch time, and if yes, would that be enough to render this new feature slightly useless?
Netflix said in its blog, “Keep in mind that the more you interact with and tell Netflix what you like, such as saving more action-thrillers like Extraction 2 to My List or giving a thumbs up to every season of Bridgerton, the more you’ll see on the My Netflix tab,”
The streaming giant has always strived to make its service easier to use, which in turn would help with an increased subscriber count — such as being able to speed up content on certain devices.
However, some of its recent actions have generated controversy. For example, the business restricted the sharing of user and password information in numerous nations in May and India just last week.
According to Netflix, a family may only use one account at a time, and any additional users will need to switch to a new subscription.
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Netflix will now request verification codes every 31 days and track IP addresses to shut out secondary account holders from the service, so the days of sharing bills with friends or family are over.
The ‘extra member’ option, which enables the primary account holder to add up to one other user to their account for a slightly higher monthly subscription charge, will also not be available to users in India.
According to a press release from data analytics company YouGov, 51% of urban Indians would be ready to pay a small additional charge (less than the cost of a typical Netflix membership) to be able to share their account with friends or relatives who live somewhere else.
Existing Netflix users agree, with 61 per cent favouring an add-on option over a new membership.
According to the statistics, “a majority of Indians” are willing to subscribe to streaming services on a daily or weekly basis.
This is great news for those who want to binge-watch a program or a platform-exclusive movie release without having to pay for the full month, even though they know they won’t use it.
In spite of the hoopla surrounding the password crackdown, Netflix earlier this week released its Q2 results, showing that it increased by roughly 6 million new memberships for a total of 238 million customers.
The ‘My Netflix’ tab is already available on iOS, and it will soon be available on Android.
