For a streaming service that boasted a diverse library, progressive technology and high-end productions, Netflix’s parental control features were lax at best, and many parent-members the world over were not happy. But if your kids have logged into Netflix after 10:30 pm on April 7 you may notice that the streaming giant has globally updated these features with tighter protocols.
In a Google Meet interview with Netflix’s Michelle Parsons, Manager of Kids & Family Product Innovation, and Cameron Johnson, Director of TV Product Innovation, it is clear that there is some sense to the timing for the launch of such a feature amid the ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns around the world, but not intentionally so.
So, for context, what did the platform have prior to the update? The typical Netflix gate (landing page) has the member profiles displayed, with the master profiles (the password holders) included. Netflix, as a default, has a customisable Children’s profile which curates content according to the back-end settings done in the ‘Profiles and Parental Controls’ section in Account Settings. Another existing feature is the title-specific filtration, in that one can prevent content from showing up in searches and on the landing pages by entering the titles’ names .
- Controlling screen time is one of the most worrisome aspects of child-rearing. But Netflix says this, as a potential feature, might not be in the books for them. Michelle explains, “When you try to modify timers at the app level, there are ways for kids to circumvent the timers. Using device-level timers is one option parents have. We want to provide parents the tools and information they need to customise the experience without undermining how long a piece of content might be.”
- The aforementioned title restriction feature could use some development though. At the moment, it only filters out title-specific content, so if a child does not like content related to cars or anime content, you cannot filter out according to keywords. Michelle assures that Netflix is working on this feature though social media will say this has been a long-time demand of members.
Tighter protocols
“This profile hub is the first update we are making which includes a one-stop shop for all the settings for each individual on the account,” says Michelle. “Parents will be able to modify viewing restrictions here on a per-profile basis. Given you will be making these modifications in a child’s profile, you can only go as far up to what is deemed appropriate for kids.”
Once you set a profile’s permissions according to age group, content which does not fall within the allowed margins is filtered out. As a viewer, the child will not see any box art or trailers for the filtered-out content either.
Michelle continues, “We have the ability for members to customise the viewing restrictions both at maturity rating and at an individual title level, now on a per-profile basis. So each profile on a single account can have slightly different settings and customisations based on the individual’s needs.”
Additionally, parent profiles — which mostly have no restrictions on content — have a lock with a four-digit PIN, unique to each profile. These PINs are also used for the profiles’ modifications. To create a new profile with all-access content, the master PIN is once again required. Parents can also control playback settings, i.e enabling or disabling auto-play within a series, which can be helpful in preventing binge-watching and screen-time overload.
“The new tools will offer a lot of flexibility to parents to create an experience that suits their families’ unique needs whether they have small kids or older kids in their households, or varying needs dependent on cultural context,” Michelle concludes. On a user interface level, she adds that there will be no major design change as the intention is to not disrupt the viewing experience.