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5 Netflix tips we all wish we knew sooner
Game-changing tricks to optimize your Netflix streaming.
By now, you might think you know all the tricks of the trade for optimizing Netflix, one of the best streaming services. But there are plenty of hidden Easter eggs you might not know when it comes to settings, searches, customization options and other things you can do to make the experience more personalized and enjoyable. I'm not talking about obvious ones, like the option to download movies and TV shows for offline viewing, play games or adjust video quality. I'm talking about true hidden features that most people don't know exist. For example, did you know about secret sub-genre search codes, or how to view your entire watch history?
If you're looking for ways to get the most out of your Netflix experience, you might want to try these settings out, as they all fall into the "wow, I wish I knew about that sooner" category. Once you know about them, you'll be impressing friends and family with your insider knowledge of these secret menu options.
You probably have a good idea of what you have watched on Netflix through the years, but do you really know? Especially if you've been a subscriber for years, it can be hard to remember every movie and TV episode you've viewed. Thankfully, there's an easy way to see your personal viewing history and everything you've ever watched on Netflix. Go to your Netflix account on a web browser, sign in to your profile, then select the down arrow beside your profile icon at the top right, and select 'Manage Profiles.' Select your profile from the list, then scroll down to 'Viewing Activity.' Here, you'll find a list of everything you have watched and the date you watched it.
However, going through it all can take some time; there's no search feature, so you need to endlessly click 'Show More' for pages and pages of viewing history. If you really want to go deep, select 'Download All' and review your entire viewing history. This is also a good way to make sure your child isn't watching content they're not supposed to under a non-restricted account. There's also a 'hide' icon, in case you don't want your partner to know that you snuck in a few episodes of a jointly watched show without them!
Sometimes you're in the mood for a specific genre, but it isn't one that Netflix highlights through its standard categories, like anime, comedies or action. There are Netflix codes you can input to drill things down more specifically and find exactly what type of show or movie you want to watch. The Netflix-Codes website provides a comprehensive list of these codes that can help you find everything from action comedies to martial arts movies and westerns. Once you know the four-, five-, six- or seven-digit code, it's easy to call up the corresponding content.
Open your browser and type in: http://netflix.com/browse/genre/, followed by the genre code you're interested in. For example, to search for Christmas children and family films from the 1990s (yes, you can get that specific), type http://netflix.com/browse/genre/1476024. I tried the code 8985 for martial arts films, and it worked, instantly bringing up movies like 60 Minutes and Kill Bill (in Canada, where I am based). With the film noir code 7687, I can see that The Game, Zodiac and The Departed are all available to stream in my country. Even if you aren't going to watch now, you can bookmark titles for later viewing so you don't forget about them.
You might choose a movie or TV show, then realize 15 minutes in that you don't like it, and switch to something else. Maybe it was something you were watching with a former partner and no longer plan to finish, or perhaps you're just not a fan. That title stays in your 'Continue Watching' row seemingly forever, a reminder that you abandoned it ages ago. Did you know you can manually remove it instead of waiting until you watch enough for it to disappear?
There are three ways to fix this depending on how you're watching. From a mobile device, fi