13 Netflix Settings Everyone Should Know About
Love watching Netflix for hours on end? You can do a lot more with it if you spend just a few minutes in the settings section. You can enhance your movie-watching weekend by customizing subtitles, home screen previews, download settings, and more. Here are 11 of the best Netflix tips and tricks.
Download your shows and movies offline
Like any other popular streaming service, Netflix allows you to download movies and TV shows for offline viewing . Ad-free plans allow you to download up to 100 items per device , while ad-supported plans allow you to download 15 items. If you go online once every 30 days, you can store this media on your device.
To adjust quality, open the Netflix app, go to your profile , tap the Menu button at the top (three horizontal lines), then select App Settings > Downloads > Video Quality . Here, select “Standard” or “Higher” depending on your disk space or network.
Now just click the Download button next to an episode, season, or movie to download it. You’ll find downloaded media in the Downloads section of the Profile tab, where you can watch and delete shows.
Log out of one or any other device
Netflix has an option that allows you to log out of the website from any device. This will include all devices used by everyone on your account. So if you want to turn off TV access for a friend or someone who isn’t on your shared plan, this is what you need.
Click the Profile icon and go to Account . Here, go to the Devices tab and select Access and Devices . Here, find the device you want to sign out of and click Sign Out . You can also click the Sign Out All Devices button to sign out of all devices at once.
Don’t let Netflix share your personal data with third parties
Netflix has an obscure setting that is so oddly worded that you’d never think it was about data collection. Netflix, by default, shares your privacy-protected contact information with third parties to serve ads on third-party services. This is something you should disable, and this is done on a per-profile basis.
Click the Profile icon, go to Account , go to the Profiles tab, select your profile, and go to the Privacy & Data Settings option. Finally, disable the Allow sharing of data by matching IDs feature. Repeat this for all profiles in your account.
Transfer your profile to a new account
The fight against Netflix password leaks is in full swing. If you can’t get around this, it might be time to create your own account. But that doesn’t mean you have to start over with the algorithm. Netflix has a Profile Transfer feature that will help you transfer all your data from your old account to your new one.
Open the Netflix website and select your profile. Then click the Profile icon at the top and go to Transfer Profile . This will open a new wizard. Click Start Profile Transfer and choose whether you want to transfer it to a new account or an existing one. Netflix will help you create a new account with all your details. If you are transferring to an existing account, you will need to know the email address and password for the account. Follow the instructions to transfer your profile to your new account.
Get rid of unwanted content from your browsing history and recommendations.
Want to get an embarrassing title off your watchlist? Or perhaps a title you’ll never finish? The only way to clear your watchlist (and subsequent recommendations) is to remove the title from your browsing activity.
Go to Netflix’s Watching Activity page (you can also get there by going to Account > Profiles > Your Profile > Watching Activity ).
Click the small “Hide” button next to the title you want to remove. Confirm in the next step and the title will disappear from your watch list.
Enable smart downloading for your mobile devices
If you watch Netflix on your way to work or have an unstable internet connection, Smart Downloads will definitely help you. Once enabled, completed episodes will be automatically deleted and replaced with subsequent episodes when you return to Wi-Fi. You can also turn on “Downloads for You,” which automatically downloads content Netflix thinks you’ll like. You can enable these features in iOS and Android apps under Profile > Menu > App Settings > Smart Downloads .
Don’t let Netflix use up too much of your mobile data plan
If you like to watch Netflix while you’re on the go, this could eat up your mobile data plan quite easily. Netflix’s data saving mode can help. In the Netflix app, go to Profile > Menu > App Settings > Cellular Data Usage . Here, disable the “Automatic” feature and switch to the “Save data” option. This will allow you to adjust the quality when Wi-Fi is off to provide about six hours of playback per GB of data.
Make sure you’re watching in HD or 4K.
It would be a shame to pay for a 4K plan and only watch in 720p because you didn’t change the settings. Go to the Netflix Playback Settings page and under Screen Data Usage, switch to the High option. Now you will get the best quality for the device or screen you are on.
Stop Netflix from automatically playing next episodes and previews
Netflix loves autoplay. Whether it’s playing the next episode or movie right after you’ve finished watching it, or playing a preview on the home screen, it can be very annoying.
You can disable both features for each profile. With the Netflix website open, go to the Profiles screen. Here, click on the Manage Profiles button and select the profile in which you want to disable these features.
Now uncheck “Autoplay next episode in series on all devices” and “Automatically play preview when watching on all devices” . Click the “Save” button to save the settings.
Customize your subtitles to make them look much better
Are the default subtitles too difficult to read? You can change the font, color and size of the subtitles. On the Netflix website, click the Profile icon and select Account . Here, go to the Profiles tab and select your profile. Now select the Subtitle Appearance option.
From here you can change the subtitle font, text size, shadow, background color and window color. When you’re done, click the “Save” button to save your settings.
Choose original dubs for your shows and movies.
When you watch a movie in a foreign language, Netflix has a habit of defaulting to the English dub. Unfortunately, there are no settings that can stop Netflix from doing this, but there is always a way to switch to the original audio in the Netflix player. When you’re watching something, go to the Subtitles menu and under Audio, switch to Original Audio.
Lock your profile to keep it private from other users.
If you share your Netflix account with friends or family, your profile is not private. Others can see what you watch and can also use your profile and spoil your recommendations.
If you want to protect your profile (especially if you share your account with your children), click the Profiles icon and select the Account option. Go to the “Profiles” tab, select your profile and go to the “Profile Lock” section. Enter your account password and on the next page enable the Require a PIN to access (user) account option. Then enter your four-digit PIN and click the Save button. The next time you open Netflix, you will need to enter this PIN to access your profile.
Block adult content if you want
If you share your Netflix account with your children or teens, you may want to block adult content. To do this, go to the Profiles tab in your account and select your profile. Here, go to the Viewing Restrictions section and enter your account password.
At the top you can change the maturity rating (7+ to 18+). If you wish, you can also turn your current profile into a children’s profile, showing only content suitable for children. At the bottom, you can block a specific TV show or movie. When you’re done, click the Save button.