Y’all just need to cancel your Netflix, they are too expensive for far too little

"What killed streaming?" - article from 2026

And I am set to remove Netflix subscription, while introducing torrents.

Ads are the one thing I won't tolerate on a paid service.

Pirated movies don’t have this problem.

I’m just saying, ruin your own service, and lose to pirates who can provide a better one for free.

These companies are gonna complain about piracy being so rampant while making their service so awful that piracy becomes a better choice

I got Netflix stock, and i can tell you guys that stock is just going up and up.

People rly are fking stupid

Install an android emulator. Problem solved.

Start pirating again. Problem solved.

Make your own movies and shows. Problem solved.

Start a company, get rich, buy Netflix, problem solved.

Stop watching stuff, do something else. Problem solved.

Found a secret society, infiltrate politics worldwide, stir chaos and destruction, let the world burn and built a new Netflix from the world's ashes where you still can download stuff. Problem solved.

See? It's not that hard!

(In case it wasn't clear, I am joking.)

Meanwhile with piracy, you have none of these issues.... Good job, convenience wins.

..... Yarrrrr mateys

its like they want you to turn to piracy

They've gone full circle at this point: it's like paying for TV channels and piracy is looking really attractive again, even though Netflix was the reason many people stopped doing that initially (I assume)

So they are introducing ads and removing the download option, both moves unfriendly to consumers. Sounds like they plan to do a "We've listened to consumers and" shelving one of those moves for later (probably the download option) when the hubbub over the worse option dies down.

My wife and I unsubscribed a few months back. I've not noticed.

Took me a minute to figure out why these 2 updates would be bundled together. Must be cause if you downloaded something you'd be able to bypass their ads

Enshittification follows its course.

A quick reminder : you don't need to watch Netflix.

"While downloads will no longer be supported, you can continue to watch TV shows and movies offline on a supported mobile device," the Netflix document says

So essentially Windows devices are no longer "supported" wrt this particular feature.

It essentially means the Windows app will be little more than a wrapper for the Netflix website.

It's possible that the move means Netflix can save some money on licensing, which may cost extra if downloads are included – enabling users to take shows and movies around with them and watch them without an internet connection.

So once again everything devolves down to licensing - i.e. it sounds like they were pressured into this hard choice to leave those users in the cold, which they did. Probably bc the user base of Windows phones is so tiny? (Edit: bc they are discontinued, though more likely they meant the desktop - i.e. laptops - sorry if I caused any confusion).

Though that is one of the main advantages of Netflix these days, as opposed to e.g. piracy.

TLDR: Ultimately it is yet more enshittification, and while due to licensing rather than Netflix, still it is Netflix users (on Windows devices) who will bear the burden.

My advice would be to disable automatic updates and coast for a long while on the current app version, though that can be easier said than done due to multiple locations of automatic update settings. I have zero experience with Windows lately, but good luck if you want to try it!:-|

Capitalism breeds innovation

How is this not considered false advertising? They literally market offline viewing as a feature

this is part of the reason why the stock market does what its doing

my internet is too shitty to watch without downloading though so it's not because of me

Guess it's time to use the other download feature.

Guess people are gonna have to sail the seven seas.

The people on your man o' war
Are treated worse than scum
I'm no flogging captain
And by God I've sailed with some
Come with me to Barbary
We'll ply there up and down
Not quite exactly
In the service of the Crown

🏴‍☠️

🏴‍☠️ 🏴‍☠️ 🏴‍☠️

This is no big deal because Windows users are used to ads. Sorry feeling snarky.

Netflix living long enough to become the villain I see