Netflix has launched a two thumbs up button — what does it do?

Netflix has launched a new feature to help it curate a better experience for users. Photo: Netflix

If you love something, why give it merely one thumbs up? Netflix has announced it has launched a new feature, a two thumbs up button, that will allow for a better curated home page through recommendations.

The new feature will sit alongside the single thumbs up and thumbs down buttons with the idea being that if a user really enjoys a film or television show, rather than simply liking it, they can love it by giving it two thumbs up.

“Our current thumbs up and thumbs down buttons are a good way for you to tell us how you feel about a series or film, and in return, you get a profile that’s better personalised to your taste,” said Netflix in a blog post.

“However, we’ve learned over time that these feelings can go beyond a simple like or dislike. Providing an additional way to tell us when you’re really into something means a profile with recommendations that better reflect what you enjoy.”

This means that someone who gives a double thumbs up to a show such as Bridgerton will soon get more specific recommendations based on that show, such as other shows or films starring the cast or by the creators, for example from Shonda Rhimes' Shondaland.

In 2017, Netflix got rid of its five-star rating system in favour of the thumbs up/down. In an interview with Variety, Netflix's director of product innovation Christine Doig-Cardet said that users “felt like those two options were not sufficient,” and that having three options “strikes the right balance of simplicity with giving enough range of emotion.”

She also said that the thumbs down button wasn't used often and that if people didn't enjoy what they were watching, they simply stopped.

“We’ve heard from members that there’s a difference between something they liked — and something that they really loved. We’re giving them more control and agency over what is being shown to them," she said.

The new feature will be launched worldwide throughout the week.