22 expert tips and tricks to make you a Netflix ninja

21 expert tips and tricks to make you a Netflix ninja

Like The Simpsons and deep-fried Mars bars, Netflix has hidden depths lurking beneath its simple exterior.

With a little simple tinkering and some third-party software, you can personalise your binge-watching experience in ways that don’t initially seem possible. From manually ordering your list to delving into Netflix’s hidden sub-genres, we’ve rounded our favourite ways to get the most out of our favourite telly streamer.

Let’s get started, (you’ll be back to watching Mindhunter in no time, promise)…

1) Rate everything

Netflix’s algorithms use both your viewing history and ratings to serve up suitable suggestions, so it’s worth spending a few seconds to register your opinion.

Unlike most rating systems, which display averages taken from all users, Netflix shows off the ratings based on viewers with similar tastes to you.

Got a bit behind on your star ratings? Do it all in one go by going to Netflix in a web browser and heading to Profile, then ‘Viewing History’.

2) Play with profiles

Your little niece might adore Peppa Pig’s deep plot lines, but you don’t want it skewing your recommendations away from Jason Statham and John Woo films.

Having separate profiles for your kids, mum, and Gary the goldfish means that none of their muck will get mixed in with yours, and ensure your recommendations keep running smoothly. You could even have separate ones for TV shows and movies.

3) Engage manual mode

Think you know better than Netflix’s algorithms? There is a way to manually rearrange the handy ‘My List’ section and create a personal Netflix playlist.

Head on over to this link and select to order your list manually. Once that’s done, go to your list and drag around to rearrange to your heart’s content. It’ll sync across all devices, so your list will be in the same order wherever you watch from.

4) Mix and match

Wouldn’t it be great to have one watchlist that combines your favourite Netflix shows with the best of Amazon, iPlayer, Now TV, et al?

JustWatch comes closest to this organisational dream. You can’t actually watch shows in the app, but the ability to search for shows across all of your services is incredibly useful, and it also alerts you when something on your wishlist has been added to Netflix. Nifty.

5) Don’t miss owt

Netflix does show warnings for shows and movies that are imminently expiring on their details page, or in your ‘My List’ section if it’s set to ‘manual ordering’. But it’s still easy to miss out on classics before they get deleted.

That’s why it’s worth also following @NewonNetflixUK on Twitter for #lastchance alerts on movies and shows that are about to get the axe.

6) Extend yourself

Google’s Chrome browser has multiple handy add-ons that pull in extra info to inform your viewing choices.

FindFlix lets you search Netflix’s many hidden sub-genres, like Asian action movies, alien sci-fi and werewolf horror movies, or Netflixcodes.me (pictured) does the same thing.

Combine either of these with the powerful FlixPlus extension, which, among other things, pulls in reviews from Rotten Tomatoes, and you’ll be the most efficient binge-watching machine since the Binge Watcher 5000 MK3.

7) Ask a bot

While AI bots (thankfully) remain a fair way away from infiltrating your toaster or interfering with you in your sleep, they’re still pretty clever.

Take Facebook Messenger’s AndChill bot. It’ll fire over some surprisingly good movie recommendations based on things you tell it you like, along with some trailers so you can get a feel for its choices.

8) Shuffle mode

Too much choice can be crippling, so if want to find something to watch with minimal effort, Netflix Roulette will recommend something completely at random.

Well, not completely random, otherwise you might end up watching The Christmas Prince in August (or, for that matter, at any time). Narrow things down by picking a genre and a minimum IMDB star rating to ensure you don’t end up with two hours of your life you’ll never get back.

9) Download festival

Netflix’s download feature is a godsend for flights and deadspot-ridden commutes. To download shows to mobile devices, either browse in the ‘available for download’ section, or press the download icon next to the show.

Depending on your plan there’s a limit of between one and four devices that you can download content on. Each one has an expiry date and most must be watched within 48 hours of hitting play, so don’t prep too far in advance for that flight.

10) Size it up

Downloads are great and all, but they’re also going to eat up storage space on your device. To keep on top of them all, go to ‘App settings’ to see a graph.

In Netflix’s higher HD quality, one hour-long show will take up around 500MB, so if you’re trying to save space, SD quality is usually good enough for a phone screen. To quickly free up space, hit ‘Delete All Downloads”.

11) Download shows to an SD card

Rocking an Android phone with a roomy microSD card inside? Set it up to merge the card with the phone’s internal storage and you’ll Netflix will see far more space for offlining films and TV shows than before.

You’ll want at least a Class 6 card to avoid slugglishness, and you won’t be able to remove the card as important system files will be stored on it, but that’s a price worth paying for all that extra storage, right?

12) Beat the buffering

If you’ve got a flakey connection and want to reduce the chances of meeting the dreaded Buffer Wheel of Death, then you can manually adjust Netflix’s streaming quality settings.

In Chrome, you can change your streaming quality by pressing Control-Shift-Option-S, which will bring up a hidden streaming menu where you can change the bitrate and quality, while pressing ‘up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, up, up, up, up’ on a console will do the same on a console.

13) Get the party started

Being in a different country to friends or family doesn’t mean you can’t have an old-school movie night.

The Chrome extension Netflix Party syncs playback between participants, allowing everyone to follow the action at the same time, while a side-screen chat box lets you to talk about the movie (or anything else).

There’s sadly no tasty virtual popcorn option. Yet.

14) Stop squinting at subtitles

Watching a foreign language movie but struggling to read the subtitles? Change their size, style and colour in Netflix’s web browser interface by going to ‘Your account’, then ‘Subtitle appearance’.

Changes will work across other devices too, so choose wisely. And as with everything else in life, avoid Comic Sans unless you want Narcos to look like some sort of slapstick comedy.

15) Or add your own

You can also get subtitles even if they’re not included in the content directly. Go to Subflix and download the Netflix-friendly subtitles in your language of choice.

Once that’s done, load them up via the Super Netflix Chrome extension, and you’re golden. Sadly this only works on PCs and Macs for now.

16) Know your shortcuts

If you’re watching on a laptop it’s always handy to know the various keyboard shortcuts so you’re not constantly fiddling with the touchpad.

A tap of the spacebar or Enter can be used to play/pause whatever you’re watching; hitting the F key blows things up full screen while Esc shrinks them back down again; M toggles mute on or off; and holding Shift and pressing left or right on the arrow keys will fast-forward or rewind whatever you’re watching.

17) Make a Netflix button

If you’re a soldering wizard and know your way around a circuit board then you might want to make your very own one-touch Netflix button which can fire up your favourite show, order a takeaway and dim the lights – all at the push of of a single button.

The steps are far too detailed to outline here, but if you’ve got a free weekend and the motivation, check out Netflix’s page for the full instructions.

18) Mix it up

Flixtape lets you make mixtapes from your favourite stuff on Netflix.

Log into Flixtape with your Netflix account, and you can create playlists of content, name them what you like, and share them with your mates. Your options are only limited by your imagination (and Netflix’s library, natch ) but it’s by far the easiest way to go about that Air Bud marathon you’ve been planning.

19) Control it with your voice

Got a Google Home (or Mini) and a Chromecast plugged into your telly? Fire up the Google Home app, go to Devices > Home > Settings > More > Videos and Photos. Once connected, say “OK Google, watch Narcos’ (or whatever it is you’re currently addicted to) and your TV will launch Netflix and start playing the next episode on your watchlist.

20) Go virtual

Actual TV not big enough for you? Put on your virtual reality headset of choice, fire up the Netflix VR app and you’ll find yourself in a cosy log cabin in front of a giant TV. Select what you want to watch and the cabin lights will dim, letting you enjoy your virtual gargantuan TV experience to the full. Sure, it won’t be as sharp as an actual 4K telly, but it’s handy for avoiding TV scheduling arguments.

21) Get souped-up sound

Those built-in telly speakers won’t do Stranger Things justice but if your planning application for a full surround-sound system has been rejected by your other half’s interior design committee, this Q Acoustics Media 4 soundbar is a fine way to keep your home cinema dreams alive – and it won’t cost you the earth either.

22) Add Alexa

Any 4K TV worth its pixels will have a Netflix app built in but if you want to add some extra skills, Amazon’s 4K Fire TV has Netflix onboard and you can use its Alexa-infused remote to find stuff to watch using nowt but your voice.