Netflix gives the thumbs down to written reviews.
Netflix has removed a decade of user reviews in favour of a thumbs up or down rating system for its shows.
A check of the Help section on “How do I post reviews on Netflix?” shows that users can no longer post reviews on Netflix.
"Netflix customers were able to leave reviews on Netflix.com until mid-2018, when reviews were removed due to declining use," according to the Help desk post.
Netflix explains that it recommends shows based on an algorithm that considers factors such as user’s streaming history and ratings, and combined ratings of all Netflix members with similar tastes.
It recommends users to give a thumbs up or down to personalise recommendations and help train the algorithm.
In July, Netflix announced it would be shutting down reviews for the desktop version in stages. The Netflix app does not have written reviews.
It started by turning off the feature for writing in-depth reviews by July 30 and then removed existing reviews in mid-August.
This follows Netflix vice president of product Todd Yellin’s announcement last year that users prefer the A/B testing method of just giving a thumbs up or down instead of written reviews or a star rating system.
He said data also showed a mismatch in user behaviour where they tended to watch “fun shows” like silly movies that had lower ratings than serious documentaries that had five-star ratings.
Netflix has also introduced the percentage-match feature which suggests shows that matches users’ watching habits and disregarded any that had a lower than 50% match-rating.
