How to delete your Netflix viewing history, and prevent something you’ve watched from affecting your viewing recommendations

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FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is shown in this illustration photograph in Encinitas, California October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoReuters

  • Netflix uses your viewing history to make viewing recommendations and to let you continue shows in progress in the "Continue Watching" section.
  • If you want to remove individual shows or movies from your history, you can do that in a web browser.
  • You can’t delete your entire Netflix viewing history with one click — you need to remove shows one at a time.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Netflix keeps a close watch on what you watch.

Most of the time, this is a good thing — because Netflix knows exactly what you are watching, it can place shows in progress in the "Continue Watching" section so you can easily pick up where you left off. It also can use shows you have watched to make better recommendations about what you might want to see in the future.

But if you don’t want Netflix to use your viewing history, you have a little control. You can remove individual movies and TV shows from your history. This can keep Netflix from making viewing recommendations and is a sort of "nuclear option" for keeping other people on your account from seeing what you’re watching.

But since you can’t delete your entire viewing history at once, this can be time-consuming if you want to delete a lot of items.

How to delete your Netflix viewing history

1. In a web browser, go to the Netflix website. You can do this on a computer or in a browser on a mobile device, but you can’t use the Netflix mobile app.

2. Click your account icon at the top right of the browser window, and then click "Account."

history 1Dave Johnson/Business Insider

3. Scroll down to the section called My Profile and click "Viewing Activity."

4. On the My Activity page, you’ll see a list of the most recent Netflix movies and TV shows you have watched. To see more, scroll to the bottom and click "Show More."

5. To remove a video from your viewing history, click the "stop" icon to the right of "Report a Problem."

history 2Dave Johnson/Business Insider

6. Repeat that process for any other movies or shows you want to remove.

Anything you delete will be removed from your viewing history within 24 hours.

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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Dave Johnson)

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