Netflix Hacks You Won’t Believe You Didn’t Know About
With 130 million customers, Netflix is one of the frontrunners in the streaming revolution. Yet, many of their viewers are in the dark about some of the incredible features Netflix has to offer. For instance, did you know that there's a way to rate, delete, and comment on the shows in your history? And with features like "Audio description" and free downloading, viewing has never been more convenient. You can even opt to become a Netflix tester and be one of the first to try out their new features. Read on for more hacks that could change your Netflix experience for the better.
Enhance Your Experience With Cost-Free "Super Netflix"
The Google Chrome browser has a free extension called Super Netflix that offers a variety of perks to enhance your viewing experience. For one, you can adjust your video quality and speed to better match your internet connection.
In case you want to change the show's appearance without impacting your device settings, you can adjust the brightness and the color contrast with Super Netflix. You can also blur episodes and movie descriptions if you'd rather not know what happens and can automatically skip intros so you don't need to touch the remote.
Watch Shows For As Long As You Want Without Interruption
Have you ever been so utterly engrossed in a show that you're almost offended when the "Are You Still Watching" tab comes up? Sometimes there's even a hint of guilt associated with clicking the "continue watching" button.
Never Ending Netflix fixes that. The Google Chrome extension automatically bypasses the "Are You Still Watching" prompt so that you don't even have to see it. Another advantage is that it enables you to search Netflix by genre, not just title.
View Movie Ratings Without Having To Look Them Up
In this day and age, there's so much content out that you don't want to waste a single minute watching something terrible. Rather than looking up ratings for each and every title on Netflix, you can install the Chrome extension Enhancer by Simkl.
This feature will reveal any title's rank, rating, and its drop-off rate (how much of the film people sat through before shutting it off). It's a wonderful way to pass quick judgments on titles so you can waste less time scrolling.
Get A Discounted Subscription Fee
Gift cards have become all the rage these days with places like Costco offering them at a discounted price. But did you know that you can also buy a Netflix gift card at a discounted price? Raise.com is an online service where you can buy and sell gift cards at a discount.
You can opt to buy a Netflix gift card there and then use it for your subscription to spend less in the long run. Alternatively, you can buy a discounted gift card to a store that sells Netflix gift cards to save that way.
Share What You're Viewing With Someone Else
Watching Netflix can be a fun way to pass the time, but it's even more thrilling when you have someone to share the experience with. Now you can enjoy the same movie or show without even being in the same location.
Netflix Party is a Chrome extension gives you a link you can share with others. The link will take whoever you share it with to exactly what you're watching, and even sync it up so that they won't be off at all.
Keep Watching When You're Offline
When streaming your favorite show or movie, the last thing you want is poor internet connection. Fortunately, Netflix now offers the ability to download certain movies and television shows. Simply download the Netflix app onto your mobile device.
The app will have a "download" tab on titles that are eligible. All you'll need is some storage space and you can watch anything you've downloaded off Netflix without an internet connection. At last, you can enjoy streaming while traveling without having to worry about expensive or spotty wifi.
Customize Your Netflix With "Flix Plus"
Do you ever miss the good old days of credits actually running all the way through without being shrunken down for fast-forwarding? With Flix Plus, film buffs can elect to disable that. The Chrome extension comes with more than a dozen customization settings.
Another one of their impressive settings is a feature that allows you to adds notes to titles. Never again forget which titles you wanted to watch, and why. This comes especially in handy when Netflix is getting ready to remove some titles since you can write in the date it will be leaving.
Discover Thousands Of Hidden Categories
If you've been using Netflix for a while, you may feel confounded by how limited their selection seems. That's because their algorithm only shows you movies and shows that it assumes you will like. One way to see more of what Netflix has to offer without getting too overwhelmed is to use category codes.
Netflix has a specific URL for every one of its thousands of categories, all of which start with "http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/" followed by a specific number. For example, "Westerns" have this URL: http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/7700. You can find a list of all of the genre codes online with a simple Google search.
Find Secret Categories The Easy Way
If going to a separate website to find Netflix genre category codes seems too complicated, you may want to try FindFlix. This feature is available as both a Chrome extension and a Firefox add-on, and it enables you to search up category codes on Netflix itself.
The feature allows you to search for specific genres, such as "Movies from the '90s." It will direct you to that genre so that you don't need to input the category code yourself.
Pick A Title At Random
If you've ever felt like there were too many options to choose from on Netflix, you're not alone. To make choosing a title easier, you may want to try playing Netflix Roulette by Reelgood.
The website enables you to filter by genre, movie or show, IMDB rating, and Rotten Tomatoes rating. Once you've input all of your preferences, hit the "spin" button and a random title will pop up. If all goes right, you'll have a new title to check out without having to spend hours searching.
Watch During Odd Hours To Improve Your Streaming Quality
Sometimes your internet isn't to blame for poor quality streaming. Researchers at Digital Trends found that "the biggest factor influencing stream quality is the time of day and whether that time falls under typical peak hours for watching."
Since Netflix automatically lowers its resolution while buffering, you may notice that your show looks terrible in the first few minutes, especially during high-viewing hours. If you have the flexibility in your schedule to avoid Netflix for a few hours after 6 p.m., you'll likely notice considerable improvements in the quality.
Sign Out Others Who Have Been Using Your Netflix
As inexpensive as streaming is compared to cable television, many get to stream for free by logging into their friends' or relatives' accounts. If you've handed out your password to a few too many people, you can start fresh by logging them out.
Simply go to "My Account" and hit "Sign out of all devices." Odds are anyone who you no longer want to allow into your account won't remember your password, but you can always log back in and change it really quickly if you're worried they might.
Customize Your Foreign-Language Preferences
Netflix has a wide array of foreign films and television shows available, many of which are dubbed. Whether you prefer the dubbed option or would rather have subtitles, you can customize both settings by going into your Netflix settings.
Once you've selected the title you're going to watch, click on "Audio & Subtitles" from the options panel to opt for a dubbed version or the original language and to adjust the subtitles. You can even alter the subtitle font, color, and more by going to your account profile and clicking on "subtitle appearance."
Be The First To See New Netflix Features
In order to achieve better customer satisfaction, Netflix carries out tests to see how viewers respond to new features. Any Netflix subscriber can participate in these tests by simply opting into the "Test Participation" tab found in your account settings.
You'll get to try on new Netflix elements before the public gets to see them and find out what does and doesn't work. By participating, you also have a say in whether or not Netflix rolls out their new features, since customer feedback will likely influence their decision.
Delete Your History
If there's something you'd rather not other know you watched, or if you simply don't want it to impact your algorithm, you can delete it from your Netflix history. Click into your account and hit the "viewing activity" tab.
Once the titles you've watched appear, there should be an "x" to the right of each title name that will delete it from your history. You can also hit "remove series" to delete multiple episodes at once.
Adjust Your "Taste Preferences"
You may have noticed that one Netflix profile can look strikingly different from another's. That's because Netflix gathers information to make specific suggestions based on the account. If you feel they keep missing the ball, you may want to adjust your "Taste preferences."
Located in your account settings, this tab enables you to indicate what themes and genres you actually like, rather than leaving it up to Netflix to infer that information based on your history. You can also rate what you've watched on a scale of 1 to 5.
Make Multiple User Profiles For Your Various Moods
The more specific your taste preferences, the more that Netflix can weed through their selection for you to cut down on your scrolling time. By the same token, you aren't in the mood to watch the same type of thing every day.
That's why you may want to create multiple profiles so that each one caters to a different kind of viewing experience. For example, you could have one profile that's named "lovey-dovey" that you only watch rom-com on, and then have another named "high pulse" that you watch thrillers and action movies on.
Enjoy Titles Without Having To Look At The Screen
In addition to subtitles and dubbing, Netflix has an "Audio Description" setting that can turn on a narrator who will describe what's happening onscreen. Though the feature is specifically designed to assist the visually impaired, it can benefit you in a variety of ways.
If you're sick of listening to music while you clean the house, you can put on the Netflix audio description and know the details of what's going on without having to take your eyes off of what you're doing. You can apply the same technique to exercising, long commutes, or a variety of other menial tasks.
Adjust The Screen So You Can View While Laying Down
Watching Netflix can be a great way to wind down after a long day, even lulling you to sleep. If you find yourself watching Netflix in bed with a laptop, you may find it's hard to get comfortable and continue watching.
Netflix Flip is a chrome extension that will rotate the screen 90 degrees for you so that the image appears upright while you lie on your side. Now you can watch your favorite titles in any position without straining your neck.
Make A Title Request
If you've ever wished that one of your favorite movies or shows was on Netflix, you'll be happy to hear that you can make a request to their help center. Their request page allows you to type in three titles at once.
Alternatively, you can start a live chat or call the Netflix help center to make a request that way. Netflix will log your request and suggest it to you if and when its added.
