Netflix has today replaced its star ratings with a thumbs-up and thumbs-down system. At the same time, the company is introducing a %-match score for content. It appears that Netflix is also rolling out screensavers.
Goodbye stars, hello thumbs
Netflix says it is retiring the “five-star rating system and replacing it with a simpler and more intuitive thumbs-up and thumbs-down” as it better represents how people rate titles. In the past, viewers have been confused about the star ratings that have represented each users taste instead of universal ratings.
When Netflix tested replacing starts with thumbs the company saw “an astounding 200% increase in ratings activity”. Pressing thumbs-up or thumbs-down will help Netflix learn about your tastes and preferences.
- ”A thumbs-up tells Netflix that you like something and want to see similar suggestions. A thumbs-down lets us know you aren’t interested in watching that title and we should stop suggesting it to you. You can still search for it, but we’ve heard what you were trying to tell us -- you aren’t a fan -- and it will no longer show up on your homepage,” the company said.
Recommended content is now presented with a %-match score (for example 98%), as seen in the photo below. The % score “is a prediction of what Netflix thinks you may enjoy watching”. It is individual and does not represent the overall popularity across the service, the company added.
Netflix also said that your star ratings are still available under the “My Account” tab if you want to use them for reference.
So, goodbye stars, hello
Screensavers on Netflix
Users on reddit have also noticed that Netflix appears to be rolling out screensavers in its TV apps.
When the user interface has been idle for some time it switches to a screensaver that displays images from ‘Netflix Originals’, meaning content that the company has financed or produced. This is meant to inspire you to watch more of Netflix’s exclusive content. An added bonus is that it may prevent retention on self-emitting displays.
The screensavers have been spotted in Netflix’s Xbox One, Android TV, and Fire TV app. We have yet to spot it on our own devices so it may be limited to A/B testing for now. Netflix often tests new features with a subset of its user base before rolling them out globally. It takes approximately 30 minutes for the screensavers to appear.
