Netflix is one of the biggest streaming platforms on the modern web, where you can find countless movies and TV shows to watch. It started out as a DVD rental platform in the 90s and went on to become the unsaid flag bearer of the streaming space.
With features like a smooth video player, well-designed categories, and cross-device support, Netflix delivers a great overall experience to its users. However, many will relate to the pain and time it takes to find content on Netflix because it feels like Netflix wants to control too much of our viewing experience.
There is so much social proof on the internet, and you"ll find people frequenting Reddit to talk about how cumbersome it is to find content on Netflix. While Netflix has arm-twisted users with price hikes and password-sharing crackdowns, it should realize that it"s not living up to the expectations of many.
That said, there is scope for improvement everywhere. We have previously talked about new features that should be added to iOS and Instagram, and it was surprising to see that some of them actually made it. Now, let"s talk about some useful features and changes Netflix should launch to improve its streaming service.
Fix the cumbersome navigation
Have you ever wondered why formats like TikTok, Reels, and Shorts became so popular? It"s because they cut down the time it takes to "find" the content you should watch while you"re having dinner or lunch. So, all you do is spend your time actually watching the content instead of finding it.
While Netflix offers several tools to discover new and binge-worthy content, you might already know that navigating through the user interface on Netflix apps and website is a task in itself. Let"s say you want to watch a new movie, you type something in the search bar or open a category, and a number of results show up on your screen.
You open one of them and check out its trailer, synopsis, cast, genre, supported languages, and other details to decide whether to watch it. Now, to explore the next title, you"ll have to go back and tap on the next thumbnail on the grid. You will keep doing this back-and-forth process again and again.
In another example, this is how the thumbnail looks when you hover your mouse pointer over a TV show. You don"t know the length of the episodes, what they"re about, what the original language is, the title is not written in plain text, and so on.
Imagine doing this for 20-30 titles, and you can already feel yourself getting drained. Why can"t Netflix just allow us to swipe left or right on the screen to jump to the next/previous movie or TV show? Here"s an example of how Reddit does it:
It"s clearly visible that you can explore a lot more titles in less time with the help of this simple feature. This problem is less intrusive on Netflix TV apps, as you can use the remote to jump between titles.
Feature parity across mobile and web
Another area where Netflix offers an inconsistent experience is the availability of features across different platforms. While it"s understandable that a particular feature might be more useful on a mobile than a TV or desktop, it feels like a void in other cases.
A very useful Netflix feature is that you can sort titles by year of release. It lets you find the latest movie or TV show in a particular genre or category. However, this filter is only available on the web version of Netflix accessible via browsers, not on smartphones or TVs.
It"s been a while since Netflix updated the My List section on its Android and iOS apps to display movies and TV shows in separate categories. You can even know which titles you have watched and which you haven"t started.
It"s another useful addition from the streaming giant that hasn"t trickled down to other platforms. Similarly, you can choose sub-categories or genres for movies and TV shows on your desktop and mobile apps, but not on the TV app.
Ability to create multiple lists in My List
Speaking of My List, another feature from my Netflix wishlist is that it should allow us to create multiple lists. Sometimes, I want to bookmark similar titles and put them together, but I am forced to look outside for third-party alternatives. Sometimes, it feels cumbersome to scroll through the single massive list of saved titles.
Make controls more accessible and easy to find
I am someone who downloads movies and TV shows before my journey. I prefer to have the downloads at the highest quality when I do it from my home Wi-Fi, and go for the lowest quality when the thought strikes me at the airport or railway station because I have to depend on my limited-data cellular network.
Here, I would like to mention that from the title page of a movie or TV show, it takes about five taps in the app before I can change the desired video quality. While streamlining all the options is a good move, why has Netflix made it so difficult just to change the video quality? There should be an option to change download quality on the title page itself, preferably when you tap on the download button.
I like how Amazon Prime Video gives visual feedback of whether I am streaming content in HD or 4K UHD. Netflix doesn"t. Even after choosing the 4K UHD option that is buried deep under the settings, Netflix may throttle your video quality depending on your internet speed. The option to change the preferred video quality should be present in the player UI.
Change your definition of a household
Netflix once used to promote password sharing, but took a drastic U-turn a couple of years back. It started a password sharing crackdown and introduced a surcharge if you want to share your Netflix account with someone living in a different location.
Netflix"s assumption of a household is flawed because we are living in an era of globalization. It could be possible that four members of a family could be living in different cities or countries due to various reasons, and want to have a common account.
But it is what it is as the process has become an industry standard. If not different countries, at least it should allow family members to live in different cities and share an account.
Netflix"s actions against password sharing may not be wrong entirely, as it wants to restrict freeloaders and make up for the lost revenue, but it"s not implementing things in the right way. It"s more of a betrayal for the users after the company famously said, "Love is sharing a password."
In the US, Netflix charges $24.99/mo for the Premium plan that comes with 4K UHD support for up to four screens. Now, if there is a family of three and one of them lives in a different location, why should they pay an extra monthly fee of $6.99 (with ads) or $8.99 (without ads) to watch 4K HDR10+ content? Meanwhile, the primary household will be left with just two users for a plan that supports four screens.
In a different scenario, does Netflix seriously expect people to pay $68/mo combined to watch 4K content if four members of a blood-related family live in different locations?
Netflix should launch a cheaper plan with 4K UHD support if it doesn"t want to allow password sharing.
Filter by duration
The ability to filter movies or TV show episodes by duration is something a streaming service as big as Netflix shouldn"t lack. Suppose it"s 10 pm and you are looking for a short movie before you doze off. You are on your own because Netflix doesn"t show options in plain sight that let you find movies that are shorter than 2 hours or longer than 2 hours if you"re looking for a weekend time pass.
Maybe you want to find a TV show with 30-minute episodes for a quick binge-watch session at the airport. The "Browse by Language" page would be the perfect place to add such filters because it already allows you to filter titles by language.
The page will become even more useful if it gets a filter for movies and TV shows. Here"s a mock-up describing what such filters might look like on the Browse by Language page:
PS: Netflix does have dedicated pages like Movies under 2 hours, 2-Hour Movies, Movies under 90 minutes, or 30-minute Laughs. But some might find it difficult to discover them.
Stop showing me titles I have already watched, duh
Netflix wants to ditch IMDB ratings, its own relevancy score, and depend too much on its recommendation algorithm. But it"s surprising that Netflix can"t even do basic things like not recommending already-watched titles again and again.
It"s another story if Netflix is doing it on purpose. Maybe it thinks that the user will be left with fewer choices to make. But the whole point is to keep exploring new content and not watch the same movie 50 times.
You can easily find other people who are fed up with this behavior and complain about it on social media. It"s high time that Netflix adds a manual "Watched It" button so that people track their binge-watching habits more mindfully.
A "Skip this song" button for movies
If you"re into watching Indian movies and TV shows, you might very well know that songs are an integral part of the experience. Since the early days of making movies, Indian cinema has differentiated itself from the rest of the world by including songs in most of its movies. Musicals are a popular genre in Western cinema, with Oscar-winning films like La La Land.
But not every song is good, and some might come out of nowhere, breaking the flow of the story. A skip-ahead button for songs is something Netflix could consider as its next useful feature.
So, these were some Netflix features the streaming giant should add to its platform in future updates. We"ll update this list with more suggestions in the future. If you think you have something to add, drop your thoughts in the comments.