Netflix is set to drop its user reviews from the service, taking away the ability to write a missive about your favorite show or move at the end of July. Then in mid August it will delete its user-generated review archive altogether.
Now, some of you who just use the mobile or TV Netflix app might be thinking: what review archive? That’s because the feature is desktop only and a little bit hidden.
To access it - for the time being, anyway - you have to click on the thing you want to watch, choose Details, find the Members Reviews on the right of the pane, then click See All Reviews and then the Write a Review button appears. It’s so convoluted, it’s almost as if Netflix doesn’t really want to use it.
Thumbs down
That’s because it doesn’t really want you to use it. Online review are all good fun, but unless it hires someone to trawl through them all, it’s tough to get anything out of them. For the user, though, they are a useful tool.
Something that’s more useful for Netflix is the binary thumbs up, thumbs down rating feature it launched last year.
Yes, it’s over simplified but it’s a metric that makes much more sense when Netflix needs to instantly see if its content is liked or not.
According to Cnet (opens in new tab), Netflix sent an email to those who still write reviews, explaining that: "We have notified members who have used the feature recently. This feature is only offered on the website and has seen declining usage over time.”
- Who needs reviews when you have our best Netflix TV shows and best Netflix movies list.
