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I love Netflix, and have paid for my subscription for many years. I also subscribe to Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, and use them regularly too. However, it feels like some rot has started to set in at most streaming services, with many frustrations taking away from the joy of watching great content on demand. So much so that I have suggested that 2026 could be the year to cancel your streaming subscriptions.
Whether that’s true or not, I think streaming services do have an algorithm problem, and Netflix is the worst offender of all. Netflix’s algorithms are making us more boring as viewers, keeping us in genre silos and feeding us more of what the streaming service already knows we like. I want to push my boundaries and discover new content that differs from what I’m used to watching, and I want Netflix’s help in doing so.
Netflix's feedback loop: How personalization can become a prison
To understand why Netflix’s algorithms are making us more boring, we first need to discuss how they work. While we don’t have direct access to the code, Netflix refers to this as its “recommendations system.”
Netflix's 'recommendations system' is based on your previous interactions, meaning you’re stuck in a dwindling spiral of content.
The problem is that these factors are all based on your previous interactions, meaning you’re stuck in a dwindling spiral of content. The system picks up on what you’re enjoying and then puts similar movies and shows right in front of your face.
This is a logical behavior for Netflix; they want you to find content quickly so you don't cancel your monthly subscription. Because they prioritize engagement over exploration, the service is hesitant to push you in new directions. This makes it somewhat on us, as viewers, to take the lead. We have to search for content Netflix is not showing us, use Netflix secret codes, and make sure we don't allow ourselves to be put in a content box that is difficult to break out of.
The death of shared discovery
One mostly overlooked issue with Netflix’s structure is the way separate profiles are encouraged. You can assign each family member a separate profile, which sounds great on paper for keeping watchlists organized. However, having separate profiles also prevents any shared discoveries.
When couples, families, or even groups of friends shared a single Netflix profile, the algorithms had more than one person’s tastes to deal with. This led to a broader, more interesting variety of movies and TV shows being recommended because the AI had to reconcile different interests. By isolating our viewing habits into individual profiles, we've lost that accidental exposure to new genres.
How Netflix can stop the rot
So, what should Netflix do to improve its algorithms and actually stop the rot from setting in? In an ideal world, Netflix would introduce a “discovery mode” that mostly, or totally, takes your viewing history out of the equation. Netflix could still push its own original content, but it could also surface random shows and movies based on nothing but the fact that they exist.
Additionally, Netflix could do what some music streaming services have done and introduce human curation. Recommendations by real humans could comfortably sit alongside the algorithms, giving viewers more varied options that feel less automated. Any of these changes would help us be exposed to a wider variety of content, which is essential in a world where streaming services are increasingly having to compete for eyeballs with short-form video services like TikTok.
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