Netflix tests countless features year in and year out, many of which never see the light of day. One feature that stuck around was Smart Downloads, which deletes downloaded episodes when you finish watching them and automatically downloads the next episode. As much room as high-definition video content can take up on your phone or tablet, this is a great feature for Netflix subscribers who are constantly on the go.
One of the more recent tests takes Smart Downloads one step further, as rather than download the latest episode of a show you’re already watching, it will download episodes of shows it thinks you’ll want to watch. It’s called “Downloads For You,” and it might help you discover your next favorite show.
As explained by Android Police, those who are included in the test can find the new feature in the Downloads tab of the Netflix app all the way at the bottom of the page. If you choose to set it up, “Downloads For You” will “download a personalized selection of movies and shows for you, so there’s always something to watch on your phone.” Once you set it up, you can decide exactly how many GB of storage you want to set aside for the feature, which is also true of Smart Downloads. That way you’ll never accidentally fill up your phone’s storage.
As someone who frequently jumps on to Netflix only to spend 20 minutes scrolling through movies and shows only to end up logging off to play video games, this sounds like an incredibly useful feature. With just a few shows to choose from, rather than the hundreds available on the service, I might actually pick one and give it a chance. Here’s hoping this feature is received positively and rolls out to the public in the near future.
