Netflix's new update lets you get more personal with recommendations

Netflix
Netflix wants you to make a connection

Starting today, Netflix users will be able to send suggestions of the movies they love directly to friends and family, as the streaming service moves towards one-to-one recommendations.

The update will begin rolling out globally from now, and will appear automatically with no update required. From that moment on, you'll be able to send recommendations to other Netflix users who are connected with Facebook.

When a movie or show ends, a message will pop up asking if you'd like to send it as a suggestion to someone you know. If you do, that person will see your recommendation in a new notification section on the home screen the next time they log on, along with a personal message from the sender - assuming they're also linked with Facebook.

Furthermore, once you've viewed a recommended bit of content, you can send feedback to tell your friend if their suggestion rocked or sucked.

Thumbs up

"In the past we've had a social feature that allows you to connect to Facebook," Cameron Johnson, Director of Product Innovation at Netflix, told TechRadar. "That works for some people but what we find that people want to have a more meaningnful connection to those friends, and people want a little more privacy."

If you're sending your recommendation to someone who hasn't connected their Facebook account to Netflix, your suggestion will instead go into their inbox. Don't expect an influx of spam though - message recommendations can only be sent between Facebook friends.

"You have to be friends with that person. In the testing we've done we haven't seen that come up with a concern," said Johnson. "We actually hope this will reduce the feeling of spaminess."

The new feature will be available on the browser, iPhone, iPad and consoles, with Android support to come "later this year."

Hugh Langley

Hugh Langley is the ex-News Editor of TechRadar. He had written for many magazines and websites including Business Insider, The Telegraph, IGN, Gizmodo, Entrepreneur Magazine, WIRED (UK), TrustedReviews, Business Insider Australia, Business Insider India, Business Insider Singapore, Wareable, The Ambient and more.


Hugh is now a correspondent at Business Insider covering Google and Alphabet, and has the unfortunate distinction of accidentally linking the TechRadar homepage to a rival publication.