Occasionally Netflix puts in an update that either changes the service for the better and in some cases, for the worse. Recently, Netflix is trialliang a new feature where it’s replacing the star function that you’re used to with a new percentage based system that gives you a number out of 100% on how likely you are to see a title.
This feature where it gives you a recommended rating is often confused as an average of the total member reviews but it’s not, that can be found in the actual review section of a title (which is actually exclusive to desktop and mobile devices) The goal with the new percentage is to make it clearer as to what it signifies and in my opinion, a percentage definitely does that. If you’re noticing the numbers to be a little off, you probably should go through your recent watch list and give those shows ratings as the whole system is designed to learn from your other watches.
Why have I got it but other people haven’t? Netflix has decided to only trial it on a specific group of people and by the looks of things, it’s for avid Netflix watchers so congratulations!
What if you don’t like change? Is this change here to stay? We the answer is not at the moment. As with all things Netflix trials and indeed its catalog, it’s subject to change. For the moment, you’re able to turn it off. Here’s what you need to do. Firstly you need to log into a device (preferably a desktop) that allows you to make changes your account. From here, you then need to go to your account settings, this can be done from the menu in the top right of the screen.
Now you’re there, look for the test participation option within the Settings pane. Now you’ll load a page with a simple toggle that’ll allow you to exit out of programs or if you want to give the percentage update a try, turn the button to on. (participation in the program is not guaranteed though) For those who are lazy, here’s a direct link to said page.
What’s going to happen next? Given the people at Netflix are data driven, they’ll be carefully analyzing what the data is saying and coming up with a conclusion as to whether this change is actually getting people to watch new things.
