Netflix announced today that they will not be removing the beloved profiles function that let users set up separate movie queues. Hooray! Speaking from personal experience, when two people share one netflix account, having two queues is essential to maintaining domestic tranquility. Looks like they listened to the 1270 people who left comments on the blog post announcing the feature’s removal. An email to subscribers also thanked them for the customer emails and calls that advocated for keeping the profiles. The news was released on the Netflix community blog by one of the Netflix website production managers. Full announcement, inside…
For users of Profiles, I have good news to report: we will keep the feature with no plans to discontinue it.
We were persuaded by the well-reasoned, sincere responses of loyal members who very much value this feature. As someone who enjoys helping his four-year-old daughter manage her one-DVD-at-a-time, G-rated sub-account, I identified with these thoughtful pleas to maintain Profiles.
Because of an ongoing desire to make our website easier to use, we believed taking a feature away that is only used by a very small minority would help us improve the site for everyone. Listening to our members, we realized that users of this feature often describe it as an essential part of their Netflix experience. Simplicity is only one virtue and it can certainly be outweighed by utility.
As for improving Profiles, there are no definite plans in place yet, but, like everything at Netflix, we seek to make it better and we are open to suggestions. Non-users of the feature and new members will be able to access Profiles in 2-3 weeks. Existing users will be able to continue their use, uninterrupted.
We apologize for any inconvenience the previous announcement caused.
Enjoy.
-Todd
Emails from Consumerist readers sharing the good news hit our mailbox moments after the news was released. Here’s how some of our readers are reacting:
Rick: “Sounds like Netflix got the message. Personally, I never used profiles, but it’s nice to see that they are willing to say, OK, we made you mad, so we’re going to make things right. I like the tone of this message — not too sappy, silly, or over-apologetic. Most companies insult your intelligence one way or another with their apologies.”
Sonya: “Yay!”
Keith: “Netflix does take us seriously 
“
Di: “I wonder how many people have already sold thier soul to Blockbuster over this. Oh well.”
Steven: “We win I guess!”
Profiles feature NOT going away [Netflix Community Blog] (Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
PREVIOUSLY: Netflix Eliminates User Profiles, Infuriates Customers
(Photo: Maulleigh)
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@mrkniceguy: Well, looks like they’re working on a way for users to delete profiles. To bad they’re working on that instead of new features…
Well played Netflix. Well played. I (heart) companies that listen.
It sounds like they really did take our concerns seriously!
I’m a Netflix subscriber, and I use the profiles feature, and I protested in both their blog and via email support. I really didn’t think they would change course though, I am very pleasantly surprised.
@Blackneto: I don’t know why you couldn’t report problem disc’s from your wife’s profile. I’m the main profile and have reported problems with my husband’s discs. Although I’ve never checked if he can do it himself. Usually I’m more on top of the Netflix than he is anyway…
Hmm. Got a little happy with the apostrophes. Whoops.
@robbiemd: it wasn’t their most popular feature. Fewer than 3% of netflix customers used profiles. It was a rarely used feature.
@sean77: Not trying to start an argument, but where did you get that number? I know a bunch of people that use profiles all the time so I would have expected a much higher percentage. Maybe not “one of their most popular and distinguishing features!” as robbiemd kind of gushes, but very useful nonetheless.
@PingPongDarts: The numbers I read were from 1% to 3%, coming from various Netflix CSRs and statements on blogs like Hacking Netflix.
And when I calculated the number of people who had signed the online petition to keep profiles that was circulating compared to the number of subscribers, I came up with 0.002%.
Until this story broke, nobody I had met in real life had even heard of profiles. I really don’t think it was as popular as people keep claiming, it’s just that the people who were upset about it flocked to the internet to complain.
SWEET.
I, for one, can honestly say that this has influenced me to choose netflix. We have – this very week – called Direct TV and our subscription with them ends with this billing cycle. We will then subscribe to netflix and be very happy that my husband and I and the kids can have our separate profiles. Without the profiles, it would absolutely not have been worth it.
From Netflix FAQs:
Q:When will the Profiles feature be available for new users?
A:In response to recent member feedback, Netflix will keep the Profiles feature. Existing Profiles will continue to work. The ability to set up new Profiles will return July 15, 2008.