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Netflix Windows app is set to remove its downloads feature, while introducing ads (www.techradar.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Netflix has managed to annoy a good number of its users with an announcement about an upcoming update to its Windows 11 (and Windows 10) app: support for adverts and live events will be added, but the ability to download content is being taken away.

Netflix must realize that it's a huge frustration for people who relied on offline downloads to watch content without internet access: on planes, trains, and campsites, and anywhere else where Wi-Fi is unavailable or unreliable.

There's a small chance that Netflix will change its mind if it gets enough complaints, but the streaming service seems determined to add as many money-making features as possible, while taking away genuinely useful ones.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I wish this was limited to just windows phones. My travel device, a windows laptop with a removalbe keyboard, will no longer be able to download shows. Which means no more Netflix on airplanes for me.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

I'm sorry to hear of your loss:-(. Ironically, mobile devices using iOS and Android look to still allow downloading.

Is it possible to simply not update the Netflix app on your laptop?

It really is sad when they push people to use piracy methods, even for things that we would have had access to using totally legal means, but which they choose to no longer support:-(. e.g. in the olden days, it was legal to rip a copy of a CD or DVD for your own purposes, so long as you did not distribute it and thereby prevent a sale to keep the industry running. Whereas by no longer allowing even temporary downloads, Netflix is keeping their same price but now delivering less features in return, which may lose them several customers.