Netflix reveals it’s AXING, a three-year-old feature that helped people decide what to watch

Netflix could soon remove a popular feature from its streaming platform that could affect the content users decide what to watch.

The company plans to remove the match rate shown on titles, which are based on an algorithm that references previous shows and movies that viewers have watched.

This option is being replaced by recommendation tags due to the ability to describe the titles more accurately.

A Netflix spokesperson explained to Dailymail.com that tagging isn’t the only feature that contributes to how a viewer decides what to watch.

Instead, the company relies on the combined efforts of box art, the synopsis and the trailer – in addition to tags, to bring in viewers.

The company decided to drop the match rate because it likely confused viewers who might wonder how the algorithm determined that a title was a 92 percent match and wouldn’t understand how Netflix came to that conclusion.

Netflix told DailyMai.com that it currently has no time frame for when it will drop its matching feature.

Tags separate content by category, including “award-winning directors,” “medical TV shows,” “feel-good dramas,” and “historical pieces.”

Netflix also uses them as descriptors, identifying a show as “soapy and emotional,” “campy and quirky,” or “exciting and visually striking.”

Allan Donald, director of product for Netflix, said The New York Times that tags are like ‘cover lines’ in a magazine,

“Imagine if magazines had no cover lines and just had pictures,” Donald said.

“Tags make as big a difference as a coverline does in that quick ‘this is for me’ decision.”

In addition to box art, synopsis and trailers, Netflix will also rely on tags to recommend content

Netflix’s algorithm recommends movies and TV shows based on previously viewed content

He also noted that when testing tag elimination, “people would take much longer to choose.”

“They stopped with a title because they didn’t like it that much or they didn’t know what they were getting,” Donald explained.

Netflix reportedly has a team of 30 people called taggers who select two or three tags to help viewers select a show or movie that matches their preferences, according to The Times.

Typically, viewers watch a title for just a minute before moving on, according to Netflix, which found that when it temporarily tested removing tags, viewer engagement dropped significantly.

This isn’t to say that tags are entirely responsible for viewer engagement, but they are likely an important factor.

“If you’re unsure about a title and you think, ‘OK, the box art looks catchy and it’s popular, so everyone’s looking at it – but is it for me?’ Donald told The Times.

‘And then you think: ‘Okay, it’s exciting, yes, this is for me.’ That’s what made it click,” he added.

The company’s decision complements other feature changes, including the option to remove other users from their accounts without having to change their passwords.

Last year also added the My Netflix feature that gives viewers access to all the movies and TV shows they want to watch in one place.