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Netflix users could soon have offline mode limited to their mobile devices.
Netflix has supported offline mode for Android, iOS and Windows users for many year but soon that could change on the platform.
Netflix is putting a limit on how many people can use your accounts, it has also stopped the means of password-sharing. And soon, you could be restricted to watching Netflix shows offline on your mobile devices only. It seems the streaming giant is building a new Windows app that will support the ad-tier plans and access to live events as well.
However, the platform says the new app for Windows users will no longer be able to download their shows to watch it offline. Instead, Netflix informs that the offline mode will only work on mobile devices once the new Windows app is released.
The details about this big Netflix change has been shared by a user named Artem Russakovskii on X this week. He was clearly aggrieved to learn about this news because, watching Netflix on the laptop was probably his preferred choice while flying. He calls this upcoming move a terrible change as well.
What!??? @netflix is updating its Windows desktop app and “making it better” by removing the ability to download offline. This is how I watch Netflix on the plane. This is a terrible change. pic.twitter.com/8XsiQqNCM7
— Artem Russakovskii (@ArtemR) May 25, 2024
The pop-up message only says coming soon, so we’re hoping that Netflix has a rethink about its latest decision and probably roll it back since many people are likely to be angered if they lose access to their offline shows on the big screens.
Are Laptops Not Mobile Devices?
One of the users on the post made an interesting comment, asking if laptops these days cannot be categorised into mobile devices? And there is a good sense in that question because the ultrabooks are effectively lightweight and mobile which makes them easy to carry.
Having said that, Netflix is probably looking at mobile devices from the view of their screen size. After all, you don’t have a 12-inch mobile phone, and that is more attributed to the iPads and Android tablets.
It is possible that Netflix has done some research and realised that most people are using the offline mode on these mobile devices, so the purpose of keeping the feature enabled on desktops was probably adding to its overall resources. But when people are paying a big monthly fee for its services, the least Netflix could do was to consult with its customers whether they need this change in the first place. Changes like these could force people to resort to illegal ways of watching content online which isn’t ideal.
Either way, we’re eager to see how the company decides to take this decision forward and if so, which countries will be seeing this change in the near future.
