Netflix is one of the best streaming services available, delivering a massive library of over 6,000 TV shows and movies to feast your eyes on. Whether you want to catch up on your favorite fantasy show or you’re excited for the next season of Bridgerton, there is plenty to watch. However, not every show or movie on Netflix is worth watching. If your algorithm keeps recommending shows or movies you’re not interested in, it might be time to reset your viewing history.
Netflix gives you options to remove shows from your history and making sure they no longer appear in your Continue Watching queue. Whether you don’t want your friends to realize you’ve been binging reality TV, or you keep getting recommendations for shows you’re not interested in, you can clean up your history and find the shows you want to watch. For more Netflix tips, learn about secret Netflix codes to find categorized lists of shows and movies, or check out the best 31 movies on Netflix right now.
Why you might want to delete titles from your Netflix history
Netflix keeps track of every show and movie you watch through the service, using your watch history to help recommend new shows and make sure you can find your favorites again. But there are a few reasons that it might be worth deleting items from your history.
If you share an account with friends or family members, there might be times you don’t want them to see everything you watch. By removing show and movie titles from your Netflix history, you can ensure nobody else can snoop on what you were watching last weekend when you decided to marathon Temptation Island in a single sitting.
Another big reason to remove programs from your history is to curate your recommendations on the platform. Netflix uses your watch history to learn about the shows and movies you like or dislike. So by removing programs from your history, Netflix will no longer take those shows into consideration when making recommendations.
If you spent a few weeks watching documentaries and you’re in the mood for something new, you can remove those movies and your recommendations will branch out to deliver a more diverse set of options for your next weekend marathon.
How to clean up your Netflix history on a computer or browser
Hiding titles from Netflix is simple from your computer, and shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Just remember that it takes up to 24 hours for hidden titles to be removed from your devices.
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Open Netflix on your computer.
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Select your Profile in the upper right corner then select Account.
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Select your Profile from the menu on the left.
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Under Preferences, select Viewing Activity.
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Select the Hide Icon next to the program you want to hide. It looks like a circle with a slash through it.
If you want to hide every program from your viewing history, you can do this by selecting Hide All at the bottom right of the page.
How to manage your Netflix history on your mobile device
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Open the Netflix app on your mobile device.
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Select your Profile in the lower right corner.
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Select Overflow Menu in the top right corner. It looks like three lines.
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Select Account.
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Under Security & Privacy select Privacy And Data Settings.
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Select Viewing Activity.
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Select the Hide Icon next to the program you want to hide. It looks like a circle with a slash through it.
How to remove movies and shows from Continue Watching
Your Continue Watching queue is filled with the shows and movies still in progress. Netflix uses it to allow you to continue the show you turned off before bed last night, but it will also include any movie or show that you didn’t finish. If you abandoned a movie 20 minutes in because it wasn’t scratching the itch, you might want to remove it from your queue.
To remove a program from Continue Watching on a computer:
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Open Netflix in your browser.
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Hover your cursor over the program you want to remove.
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Select X to remove the program from the Continue Watching queue.
To remove a program from the Continue Watching queue on mobile:
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Open the Netflix app.
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Select the Overflow Icon. It looks like three vertical dots.
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Select Remove From Row.
Now that you’ve cleaned up your history, learn how to watch Netflix movies and shows without internet access or check out these tips for a better Netflix experience on your phone.
