Netflix Releases ‘Downloads for You’ Feature to Enable Offline Video Downloads

Netflix has released a new feature called ‘Downloads For You‘ on its app. This is another step to make Netflix content available and accessible for users even when they are not connected to the internet. Netflix already has a feature called Downloads which allows the user to download TV shows or other content and watch them at a later date.

The existing feature is a manual one and can only work when the user deliberately downloads the desired content. With the new feature, Netflix automatically downloads shows and movies that the user is likely to be interested in. However, the new feature will not replace the existing downloads option.

How ‘Downloads For You’ works

For it to work, the ‘Downloads For you’ option has to be enabled. After it is active, the user also has to set a maximum cap for the storage space that can be used. The content that is downloaded will be stored on the device, therefore users have to set the limit for size of space that can be used for Netflix downloads.

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Space can be limited to 1GB, 3GB or 5Gb and content can be deleted after they have been watched so that more space can be freed up. The content available for download includes Netflix own originals like Ozark, The Witcher, and Stranger Things. However, some content may be restricted from being downloaded because of licensing restrictions that Netflix follows.

The downloads will be selected based on the user’s show and movie history and will attempt to correctly gauge the person’s interests and tastes. Whenever the device is connected to Wi-Fi, the content will be downloaded for immediate or later watching. Early episodes of shows will be downloaded and if the user watches them fairly consistently, then more episodes will be downloaded automatically.

The feature has been in beta mode since late 2020 and is only being released to the public today starting with android users.

As Downloads For You launches today, android users will be the first to use the feature globally while iOS users will be able to use it in a few months. Netflix expects the feature to be of more use to people in areas with poor internet connectivity, particularly India, Brazil, Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Internet access will be used to make the content available when there is no connection and can be cast directly to a Television from the user’s device.