Tired of picking what to watch? Netflix is testing a Shuffle button

In case you spot a ‘Shuffle Play’ button on the Netflix screen, the one with the profiles, don’t be surprised. Netflix is actually planning to bring in a shuffle feature to the platform and it is currently being tested.

This Shuffle Play might be the ultimate answer to all those ‘What are we watching?’ arguments and Netflix has been testing this since July.

Netflix has already tested a few potential ways this feature might show up including a ‘Play Something’ variant that shows up once you have selected your profile. 

It’s not just an experiment for Netflix since a spokesperson told Variety that the hope is to absolutely productivise something. Netflix says that this new feature is being tested on TV devices for certain users, so you may or may not see it on yours - we didn’t spot it on ours.

The ‘Play Something’ button, according to reports, pulls up an episode of a show or a movie based on other content you have watched. This seems to be similar to the recommendation list that Netflix already has so we will have to wait to find out what exactly is new here.

Last year, Netflix was testing a feature where they would show users a random episode from a specific series. If it is about finding something new to watch that would not show up in your recommendations otherwise, this feature actually makes more sense than one that’s based on an already existing recommendation list.

Netflix has corroborated the fact that they are indeed running these tests in different countries and for different periods of time and will make them broadly available only if people find them useful.