Here’s How You Can Stop Netflix From Autoplaying Previews

One of the worst things about Netflix is when you’re casually scrolling through the list of new shows looking for something to watch, and a preview trailer starts up without warning. Maybe you’re just a slow reader, that doesn’t mean you want to watch it!

A Tweet by Sarah Hollowell blew up a few weeks ago, where she wrote “my entire kingdom for a way to turn off the autoplay while browsing Netflix”. Others chimed in with similar complaints about this “feature”, and it received over 5700 likes and 400+ retweets.

Eventually, it got back to someone at Netflix, who addressed the complaint in the same thread, responding with this statement:

Some people find this feature helpful. Others not so much.

We’ve heard the feedback loud and clear — members can now control whether or not they see autoplay previews on Netflix. Here’s how: http://netflix.com/previewsetting

That’s right, thanks to Sarah’s seemly random Tweet, Netflix has taken action, and we can now turn off this annoying feature. To turn off autoplay previews, first log into your Netflix account via a web browser. Next, choose “Manage Profiles,” select your profile, and deselect “Autoplay previews while browsing on all devices.”

According to the Netflix help page, “There may be a delay before the setting takes affect. You can force an update by switching to another profile, then switching back in order to reload your profile with the updated setting.”

While you’re there, you can also disable Netflix’s autoplay next episode feature if you like, though I actually find that one pretty handy when I’m binging a show. Hope this helps!