10 hacks to improve your Netflix viewing experience
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10 hacks to improve your Netflix viewing experience

The pandemic has taught us to adapt to various situations in life by adopting various hacks that shall make our lives a little bit easier. From learning how to bake fluffy bread to making Dalgona coffee and then learning the nitty-gritty of peeling a potato with a fork and a peeler, TikTok and YouTube hacks have gained immense popularity due to their short and fun way of doing things. Similarly, the viewing experience on Netflix can be made easier and hassle-free using just a few hacks. 

Netflix has quite a smooth interface that is easily navigable. From distinct categorisation of genres to a relatively well-established algorithm, Netflix is tailor-made for an enriching viewing experience. However, there are certain things that long-time users may find annoying. From fiddling with the mouse to skip the same old intro to never knowing when a particular film or show leaves the platform, it might be a banality for many. 

Luckily, we have decided to find out a few hacks to improve your Netflix experience. While most of them have been derived from the wonderful list compiled by MentalFloss, there is one thing that we would like to emphasize. Besides all the hacks mentioned below, stay tuned in to our Best of Netflix website to get brand new information about the latest Netflix news. 

Let some annoying glitches not interrupt your perfectly planned out Netflix and Chill night! Here are the 10 best hacks to enrich your Netflix viewing experience. 

10 hacks to improve the Netflix experience

10. Set parental controls to keep the children at bay

Parents are often paranoid about the quality of the entertainment content their children are exposed to. While Netflix is suitable for both kids and adults, there are certain TV shows and series that are not appropriate for kids’ viewing. Parents need not worry about their kids watching 365 Days or Hot Girls Wanted anymore with the “Parental Controls” feature in the Settings, which prompt the parents to put a four-digit PIN to lock these PG-13 and R-rated content. 

They can set the age restriction with various categories, ranging from Little Kids to Adults. The children will not be able to access mature content without knowing the PIN code and it shall come as a relief to the parents who are worried about their children being exposed to raunchy or gruesome content at a young age.  

9. All work and no Netflix makes you a bore

Tired of writing articles for your 9-5 newspaper job? Do you need some background streaming to act as white noise to help you gather motivation to work? There is a simple hack that will allow you to stream your favourite episodes of The Big Bang Theory while finishing up your daily job by letting the Netflix window float on top. 

By using Helium browser on your mac, you can enable the “floating” window which shall allow Netflix to play on top and continue uninterrupted streaming, even when you are switching tasks or tabs. You can perform all actions right behind the browser without disturbing the streaming process itself. 

However, it is advisable that you do not do this unless you really want to get fired!

8. Use Netflix as an audiobook  

Has the doctor advised you against staring at the TV or phone screen for too long? Are you upset that it shall prevent you from knowing where Archie and Veronica’s story is headed in today’s episode? The “Audio Description” feature is a lesser-known feature on Netflix that will help you successfully turn your favourite show or film into your little podcast or audiobook. 

It explains whatever is happening on the screen, starting from the dialogues to character actions as well as scene settings. It helps the listeners have a wholesome auditory experience, often rich and vivid. 

Although it is most commonly viewed in Netflix Originals, there are many other shows which are the perfect little audiobooks. Hello, bookworm, perhaps a little Alexis-David banter on Schitt’s Creek shall make your bus-ride back home a little better? 

7. Sort the films by their respective years of release 

If you are in the mood for some retro films and do not know how to sort these by the year, don’t worry. We are here for you. There is a fairly simple hack for chronologically arranging the films and TV shows by genre. 

For eg., go to the desired category page, choosing from Anime, Horror, Action, Comedy etc. there will be a small box with four dots on the upper-right corner of the page which expands to the “Suggestions for You” drop-down option. It contains the option to sort everything chronologically by year or release where the recent ones shall appear at the top, followed by the older ones. 

One may also choose to change the order alphabetically. 

6. How to never Netflix-cheat on your partner/friends 

Imagine getting dumped by your partner for having watched the new episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine without them. They are some hundred miles away and the “new episodes” tag on the show header seduced you, right? Worry not, we have found a way to help you get rid of this bad habit of Netflix-cheating on your partner. 

The Netflix Party is an extremely useful Chrome extension that will change your lives forever. It has gained immense popularity during the pandemic especially for it helped people, who were aeons away from each other, to enjoy a film or series together at the same time. It is perfect for couples who are making long-distance relationships work or for friends who, separated by the distance, still want to continue the movie-night tradition. 

For Android and iOS users, the Rabbit platform will help you do the same with shoes and films available on streaming platforms like Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, Crunchyroll and more. 

5. Easily browse through the micro-genres

With the cheat codes to hack into the several thousand micro-genres (760000 to be precise), it might be an arduous task for you to remember all of them. However, SuperBrowse makes your work extremely easy by taking into account the widely popular categories and making navigation through the interface way easier and smoother. 

By clicking the desired genre, one can easily find what one wants to, thanks to this handy extension’s extensive categorisation. It also helps you browse based on whatever is new to the interface as well as what films or shows shall be leaving the platform soon. 

4. Improve your in-bed Netflix experience 

Is the light emanating from your laptop screen in your cold, dark room the only source of warmth in your life? However, is it making you have chronic shoulder pain due to the bad posture you assume while trying to watch Bojack Horseman in bed? Well, we have a life-changing Chrome extension for you that shall do away with all the obstacles that prevent you from having a wholesome in-bed Netflix viewing experience. 

Netflix Flip is a valuable Chrome extension that allows you to flip the video 90 degrees on the computer or laptop screen which makes the viewing experience smoother and easier by significant amounts. Do not bend your neck like Sofie Dossi, just let Netflix Flip take away all the hardships in your life by providing a suitable and comfortable viewing angle. 

3. Access all unfiltered and unapologetic reviews 

Although Netflix has a somewhat trustworthy user-generated system of rating the films and TV shows, where the users can either press thumbs-up or thumbs-down to indicate their feelings towards, the show or film, you might always be sceptical. 

To be sure of the quality of the film or the show you are about to watch, you can simply install the RateFlix Chrome extension, which upon downloading, shall display the IMDB ratings, Metacritic scores, Rotten and Fresh percentages and more. 

2. Disable Netflix’s ‘Are you Still Watching’ taunt

Imagine watching The Crown with your family on a Friday night and getting unnecessary interruptions in form of dreaded taunts that ask you if you are still watching, preventing you from poking your nose deeper into royal affairs via unhindered streaming. It is extremely tiring to hit the “Next Episode” button every time you want to move to the next episode. 

For your convenience, the Never Ending Netflix Chrome extension is here to put an end to all your woes. Just like your toxic ex, it automatically moves on to the next episode; but unlike them, it is hassle-free and allows you to skip title sequences. 

The extension also enables you to look up series or films of your choice by genre. Also, you could use SkipFlix to skip all intros automatically without having to move your finicky mouse all over the screen.   

1. Use codes to excavate hidden categories 

Netflix very stealthily notes down your preference via their algorithm which then goes on to suggest the TV shows or films that might interest you. Even if you are in the mood for something completely different, the “Recommended For You” tab might seem slightly annoying by trying to shove F.R.I.E.N.D.S into your face when all you want is a good old crime documentary to watch. Worry not, Netflix has a feature where it has, very neatly, categorised everything into 76000 categories, namely “Action & Adventure”, “Anime Sci-fi”, “Classic Action and Adventure” and more. 

To browse through these categories, all you need to know are the four-numbered-codes that need to be added within the web address next to the Netflix URL. For eg., if you are in the mood for some raunchy Teen Comedies (3519), all you need to do is type: http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/3519

Similarly, use these category codes to find out films and shows of your choice and get streaming!