Netflix is toying with the idea of a private viewing mode

Designed to hide the list of your most recently viewed movies and television shows, Netflix is currently testing a private viewing mode that keeps your content history completely private from anyone else that uses the main profile on your Netflix account. In addition to hiding recently viewed content, anything you watch isn’t included in Netflix’s recommendation algorithm. According to a report in Gigaom, the mode is currently being tested in a number of markets with a limited number of users. Those tests are expected to continue throughout the next few months. Speaking to Gigaom about the tested feature, Netflix director of corporate communications Cliff Edwards said “At Netflix, we continuously test new things. In this case, we are testing a feature in which a user watching a movie or TV show can choose to view in ‘Privacy Mode.’ Choosing that option means the program will not appear in your viewing activity log, nor will it be used to determine recommendations about what you should watch in the future.”

While Netflix tends to stray away from hosting stuff that could be considered straight-up porn, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing on there that you wouldn’t want sitting in your viewing history ’til the end of time. Maybe you want to watch Phineas And Ferb on your lunch break without catching flack for it from your buddies later. Maybe you share a Netflix account with your parents and don’t want to explain what Lars And The Real Girl is all about next time they have you over for dinner. Maybe you promised your significant other you’d wait to watch the last new episode ofOrange Is The New Black and, er, didn’t. Whatever your reason, it seems that Netflix is catching on that not all viewing has to be public/permanent. Gigaom got word that Netflix is playing with the idea of a private viewing mode. Once enabled, anything you view would neither show in your viewing history, on Facebook (if you’re one of the few people who actually tied Netflix into Facebook), nor affect what Netflix recommends for you moving forward. With that last bit — that what you watch in “private” mode doesn’t impact recommendations — Netflix has found a solid, family-friendly way to pitch the feature beyond just hiding your viewing shame. Don’t want your kids’ Dora binge-watching sessions to convince Netflix that you would totally dig Go Diego Go!? Problem solved! The bad news? While they’ve confirmed that they’re dabbling with the idea by offering it to select users, Netflix won’t make any promises about when (or even if) it’ll show up for everyone else.