Netflix is making changes to the platform, beyond pricing and the new policy on shared accounts.
If you take a look at the app you will see that there is a dynamic that is no longer present. A Netflix feature that helped discover content when you didn’t know what to watch or search on the platform.
Netflix removes its random suggestions feature
Netflix has several options dedicated to discovering content. From the thematic lists, trends, new releases, suggested binge shows, popular movies to the “shuffle” feature.
This feature, released in 2021, was intended to help users when they didn’t know what to watch on the platform. Just by clicking on this option, this function would suggest a movie or series, based on your playback history. Although it could be an option to avoid going through all the sections looking for something to watch, or discover Netflix content, it also became a waste of time.
If you have ever tried them, it did not stray too far from what the app showed in other of its sections, or it showed you suggestions of what you would never have thought of looking at, since it had nothing to do with your tastes. Of course, it may have worked for you on more than one occasion.
In any case, the Netflix team has decided to quietly remove this feature. If you take a look at the Netflix Help Center you will see that it is mentioned that it was removed in January 2023, and as they mention in The Wall Street Journal, it is because it had “relatively low use”.
In other words, users were not attracted to the dynamic of “being surprised” with random suggestions, since they enter the platform with a series or movie in mind. So if you want to discover new content on the platform, you will have to scroll through the different thematic lists that Netflix creates to help you break down its catalog of series and movies.
