Netflix
What the default settings do
Netflix collects detailed viewing history for each profile on your account. This data drives recommendations, continues-watching lists, and personalized artwork. By default, all profiles on an account can see each other’s viewing activity unless a profile lock is enabled. Netflix also uses viewing data for its own analytics and may share hashed identifiers with advertising partners for measurement purposes.
Auto-play features are enabled by default, both for previews while browsing and for the next episode in a series. Netflix participates in A/B testing of features, interface changes, and content presentation, and all accounts are enrolled in these tests by default.
Netflix’s ad-supported plan involves additional third-party data sharing: Netflix has expanded its advertising partnerships to include companies such as Amazon and Yahoo for ad delivery and measurement, alongside identity-matching partners used to link your account to advertising profiles. As of June 2026, Netflix also requires each profile on an account to have its own unique email address, which makes individual profiles more directly identifiable than under the old shared-account-email model.
A reasonable privacy baseline
These settings are found in Account Settings on the Netflix website at netflix.com/account, unless noted otherwise. Most privacy-relevant settings are not available in the mobile or TV apps and must be changed through the web interface.
Viewing activity and profile access
Viewing Activity → Review and clear as needed (Account → Profile → Viewing activity)
Netflix stores a complete history of everything you have watched. You can view and selectively remove individual titles or clear the entire history. Removing a title also removes it from your "Continue Watching" row and affects future recommendations. This must be done per profile.
Profile Lock → On for relevant profiles (Account → Profile → Profile Lock)
Profile lock requires a four-digit PIN to access a specific profile. This prevents other household members from viewing your watch history, recommendations, or My List. It also prevents accidental use of the wrong profile, which can mix up recommendations.
Profile Transfer → Review (Account → Profile → Transfer Profile)
Netflix allows individual profiles to be transferred to a new account, preserving viewing history, recommendations, and saved lists. Review this option if you share an account and want to understand how profile data could be moved. Disabling the ability for a profile to be transferred is available in some regions.
Playback controls
Auto-Play Previews While Browsing → Off (Account → Profile → Playback settings)
By default, Netflix auto-plays video previews as you browse the catalog. Turning this off stops videos from playing automatically on the browse screen. This is a usability preference but also reduces the data Netflix collects about what previews you watch and how long you watch them.
Auto-Play Next Episode → Off (Account → Profile → Playback settings)
When enabled, Netflix automatically begins the next episode when the current one ends. Turning this off means you actively choose to continue, which also reduces passive viewing data and gives you more control over your watching sessions.
Marketing and data sharing
Marketing Communications → Off (Account → Settings → Marketing communications)
Netflix sends email notifications about new content, recommendations, and promotional offers. You can disable these while still receiving essential account communications like billing and security alerts.
Matched Identifier Communications → Off (Account → Privacy and data settings)
Netflix may share hashed identifiers (such as an anonymized version of your email) with advertising partners to measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. Opting out prevents Netflix from sharing this data with third-party advertisers for this purpose. This setting is available in certain regions and may be labeled differently depending on your location.
Behavioral Advertising → Off (Account → Privacy and data settings)
This separate toggle, in the same settings screen as Matched Identifier Communications, opts you out of ads chosen based on your activity on websites and apps outside Netflix. Turning it off does not reduce ad load on the ad-supported plan; it means the ads you see are not selected using your off-Netflix behavior.
Demographic Advertising → Off (Account → Privacy and data settings)
A third toggle in the same section, this opts you out of ads targeted using inferred age and gender rather than viewing history. As with the other two, availability varies by region.
Test Participation → Off (Account → Settings → Test participation, where available)
Netflix continuously runs A/B tests on its interface, features, and content presentation. All users are enrolled by default. Where the option exists, you can opt out of test participation. Note that this setting is not available in all regions, and Netflix may still make general changes to the service that affect all users.
Trade-offs
- Clearing viewing history removes titles from “Continue Watching” and alters your recommendations. If you clear extensively, Netflix’s suggestions will become less accurate until it rebuilds a profile of your preferences.
- Profile locks add a small step each time you access your profile. Other household members will need to be informed of their own PINs.
- Turning off auto-play previews means you will need to click into titles to see trailers, which is slower for casual browsing.
- Disabling auto-play for next episode means you must manually choose to continue watching, which interrupts unattended viewing.
- Opting out of matched identifiers, behavioral advertising, and demographic advertising does not change your Netflix experience or reduce how many ads you see on the ad-supported plan, but it limits how those ads are chosen and how Netflix measures campaign performance.
- Opting out of test participation, where available, means you may not see new features as early as other users.
Who should not change these settings
- If you share a Netflix account with trusted family members and everyone is comfortable seeing each other’s viewing activity, profile locks may be unnecessary.
- If you enjoy the seamless binge-watching experience, auto-play next episode is designed for exactly that purpose.
- If you like discovering new content through browsing previews, auto-play previews serve as a quick way to evaluate titles.
- If you want Netflix’s recommendations to be as accurate as possible, leaving your full viewing history intact gives the algorithm the most data to work with.
- If you prefer to receive updates about new releases and recommendations, marketing communications can be useful.
- If you are comfortable with Netflix’s data practices and want to support their ability to improve the service through testing, leaving test participation on is a valid choice.