Netflix finally lets TV viewers delete the shows they've stopped watching
Netflix's user interface has grown increasingly useful over the years, but one big problem remains: it tends to get cluttered with limited options for cleaning it up. That is finally changing, the company has announced, at least when it comes to the "Continue Watching" row. Going forward, anyone who has a Netflix subscription can remove abandoned shows and movies from this row on any device, including TVs.
The streaming platform offers a huge library of content, making it easy for users to start a random show or movie, get partway through, then decide they're not interested in watching until the end. When you click away without finishing, the title will be automatically moved to Netflix's "Continue Watching" row. This is a great feature, as users can quickly locate the shows they've been watching and pick up where they left off.
If you have a habit of starting and then abandoning shows and movies, however, the "Continue Watching" row gets cluttered. Users have requested a way to manually weed out the content they're no longer interested in, and Netflix cites that feedback as the catalyst for its newly added feature.
How to remove shows from Netflix's "Continue Watching" row
The option to remove content from Netflix's "Continue Watching" row expanded to TVs on January 27, 2022. According to the company, all of its users worldwide now have access to the feature, which can be found on any device that supports Netflix. Initially, users could only remove content if they opened Netflix on mobile devices or web browsers.
To remove a show or movie through the TV app, users will need to click on the content in the "Continue Watching" row to open its individual page. On that screen, users can then scroll down the "Play" menu and select the new option titled "Remove from Continue Watching." Given the feature's close proximity to other menu items, Netflix says users who accidentally select the item can undo the removal by hitting the back arrow button.
This is a welcomed expansion, as many Netflix subscribers stream on TVs and may not have realized there was an option to remove unwanted shows using mobile and web. However, the overall ability to customize one's personal Netflix account remains limited. Users have been asking for a way to remove titles from other rows featuring suggested content, making it possible to, for example, scrub movies they've already watched and shows they don't plan on watching.