Netflix users furious as streamer announces major redesign 'no one wants'
If it ain't broke...
Netflix users have been left furious after the streaming service announced a major redesign that apparently ‘no one wants’.
The streaming giant is set to introduce vertical videos in a new user interface for its mobile subscribers.
As reported by The Independent, Netflix’s co-chief executive, Greg Peters, shared the news in a company earnings call.
In the chat, he said: “We’re going to roll this out later in 2026 and just like our TV UI, it then becomes a starting point, it becomes a platform for us to continue to iterate, test, evolve and improve our offering.
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“You can imagine us bringing more clips based on new content types, like video podcasts, which Ted [Sarandos, Netflix’s other co-chief executive] mentioned that we’re adding to the general service. We’ll bring the sort of appropriate components of that into that vertical video feed.”
Peters went on to say: “We compete for people’s attention across an even wider set of options that include streaming, broadcast, cable, gaming, social media, big tech, video platforms.”
In the call, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said: “There’s never been more competition for creators, for consumer attention, for advertising and subscription dollars, the competitive lines around TV consumption are already blurring.”
It's all part of a plan to make Netflix more like TikTok, and presumably appeal to a younger demographic while bringing in more new users from the scrolling subculture.
However, it seems like the news was met with a mixed reaction from people online, with many taking to social media to share their own thoughts on the redesign.
On Reddit, one user wrote: “No one wants to use Netflix for daily social engagement. You have exactly one job Netflix, stream the programming and cut out the other bulls***.”
Another said: “All these companies do is copy each other to their own demise. We don’t want Netflix to behave like a f***en social platform.”
A third person commented: “That’s what Instagram did, they copied both Snapchat and TikTok for their features. Netflix might be the next one in line to have stories and reels. Maybe add in a store in the app while they’re at it.”
And a fourth added: “They’ve entered that phase every company does of f***ing themselves right out of business to obtain that unlimited growth in a finite system.”
However, the firm seems optimistic about the future of the new interface’s development as Peters went on to say how it will ‘better serve the expansion of our business over the decade to come’.
He added how this update will enable Netflix to ‘iterate, test, evolve, and improve’ the service over time.