Netflix Removes a Rarely Used Feature From the Platform

Netflix recently removed one of its newest features because users didn’t seem to enjoy it.

The battle between streaming services is raging, and Netflix wants to save time and money. In recent years, streaming platforms have seen a massive increase in consumption, primarily due to the effects of the pandemic and the confinement of a large part of the population. The arrival of new services increased competition and the amount of content offered, but now the demand is falling, and the crisis is present.

Companies like Warner Discovery have had to take extreme measures, such as removing content from the HBO Max catalog, canceling finished series and movies, and selling productions to the highest bidder. Disney is going through a similar process, and Netflix is ​​not far behind.

Netflix recently changed presidents and is preparing to face a series of changes that seek to increase the number of subscribers and reduce costs, whether implementing a password-sharing ban, betting only on highly successful content, selling projects, or even removing features within their platform.

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Netflix Eliminates the Surprise Me Feature

Back in 2021, the company added an interesting feature to its apps. Surprise Me allowed the algorithm of each user’s account to propose what new content to consume without the need to navigate the entire platform to choose on their own. This allowed some series or movies not offered directly to the viewer, either due to their settings or preferences, to have the chance to be seen.

However, it seems that very few users actually used it, leading to their decision to remove the option from the service. This was revealed by a company representative to The Wall Street Journal. He added that Netflix would continue to look for ways to offer lesser known shows and movies to viewers:

“We will continue to explore other ways to give members more options and ways to explore and discover content they want to watch.”

According to his statement, the feature was removed last January; something subscribers evidently didn’t notice. This makes it quite clear that removing it was a good decision on the part of the service since it could imply an unnecessary cost.

It would not be a surprise if, in the near future, other little-used features are removed from the platform. Like almost all other companies in the streaming realm, Netflix is ​​looking for ways to reduce its expenses in search of being able to invest in superb quality and quantity of content for its viewers.