Netflix Users Can Now Hook Up Accounts To Facebook, Gab About Finally Watching ‘Dr. Who’

I can post all day long on Facebook that I’m seriously addicted to The Walking Dead but wouldn’t it just be great if my Netflix account was connected to Facebook? That way when I finally join the cult of Doctor Who* like everyone is telling me to do, my pals will just know. Netflix will be able to do just that after a long battle with U.S. regulators.

The new feature will allow users to easily share what they’re viewing with a “Friend’s Favorites” and “Watched by your friends” rows in Netflix, reports PCMag. This comes after a bit of a battle with Congress over sharing users’ video rental history.

You’ll have to sign up and opt in to connect with Facebook, and users by default will only be be sharing what they watch on Netflix  within the Netflix site — you’ll have to take an extra step in the “Social Settings” on Netflix.com to broadcast that viewing activity on Facebook.

“There are few better ways to find a movie or TV series you’ll love than hearing about it from your friends,” Tom Willerer, vice president of product innovation at Netflix, said in a statement. “Facebook already makes it easy for our international members to connect with friends over TV shows and movies and we’re thrilled to now bring this experience to our U.S. members.”

Congress approved an update to the 1987 Video Privacy Protection Act in December 2012, which had kept video companies from sharing what their customers were renting. That law was standing in Netflix’s way, but President Barack Obama just signed the revision into law in January so it’s full steam ahead.

Get ready to judge your friends hard for watching Just Like Heaven immediately after Se7en.

*For headline’s sake, Doctor Who had to suffer the name change to Dr. Who.

Netflix Finally Adds U.S. Facebook Integration [PCMag]

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