Netflix Sunsets Shuffle Feature, Citing Low Usage

Netflix Sunsets Shuffle Feature, Citing Low Usage

Turns out most people still prefer to pick the shows themselves.

Originally introduced in 2021, Netflix’s show-shuffling feature, also called “Play Me Something” or later “Surprise Me”, has quietly been removed from the streaming service. The Wall Street Journal was told that the decision came to be due to the feature’s little fanfare, as the company found out that its users would still prefer to pick a specific show to watch rather than letting the feature decide for them.

“We will continue to explore other ways to give members more options and ways to explore and discover content they want to watch,” said the spokeswoman of Netflix. Similar to music-streaming services, the shuffle feature was originally intended to provide suggestions based on users’ watch history – but users has opted to browse films on a category basis, which makes the feature redundant.

While the feature is no more, Netflix will continue to rely on its curated lists such as “Trending Now”, “Top 10” and even “Fast Laughs” (which presents small chunks of the show’s comedic parts) to provide users on the shows that they may potentially like.

Source: PCMag

Pokdepinion: I suppose unlike songs where each one last a few minutes, it’s a lot more impractical to have hour-long films and show in shuffle lists.