Explained: What is Netflix's Two Thumbs Up feature and what does it do?

With the advent of the new rating option, Two Thumbs Up, Netflix consumers will be able to express a deeper fondness for the TV episodes and movies they adore, not simply like.

According to Netflix, the new feature will provide the streaming service with vital information about customer preferences, allowing it to fine-tune content recommendations. The name is a lucky coincidence, according to the firm, because it refers to Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert's signature "two thumbs up" seal of approval.

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What is the purpose of Netflix's Two Thumbs Up feature?

This is the most significant shift in Netflix's user content ratings in five years. The streamer ditched the five-star system favoring the thumbs up/down format, claiming that binary alternatives gave a more trustworthy data set on which to base recommendations.

Starting Monday, April 11, the new feature will display alongside the thumbs up and down buttons on all platforms, including linked TVs, the web, and Android and iOS mobile devices, and will roll out globally throughout the week. Netflix's Director of Product Innovation, Christine Doig-Cardet, told Variety,

“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.”

This feature will be a stronger signal to feed into the content-recommendation algorithm than a single thumbs up. If someone likes Bridgerton, for example, they might see more episodes or films featuring the actors and other titles from Shondaland.

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How is the Two Thumbs Up feature of Netflix different from its previous features?

When Netflix first began considering the addition of a "love" button, the team used a heart icon. “We thought giving a heart to love would be the most obvious metaphor,” Doig-Cardet remarked. However, many participants reported that they expected to see a two-thumbs-up choice, so Netflix went with it.

After ditching the five-star rating system in 2017, Netflix observed a spike in engagement from consumers who gave a thumbs up or down. Members, according to Doig-Cardet, have "felt like those two options were not sufficient" since then. The three alternatives “strike the right balance of simplicity with giving enough range of emotion.”

Netflix does not anticipate introducing a "two thumbs down" rating. Because a single thumbs down isn't particularly popular right now, Netflix doesn't think two thumbs down will provide much value.

In the second part of 2021, Netflix conducted global "two thumbs up" tests, followed by many rounds of interviews and surveys. Many members returned to titles they had previously viewed to give them a two thumbs up, resulting in a significant spike in usage. Overall, members of the test group believe that recommendations are improving, according to Doig-Cardet.