Netflix Windows app is set to remove its downloads feature, while introducing ads ( www.techradar.com )

Netflix has managed to annoy a good number of its users with an announcement about an upcoming update to its Windows 11 (and Windows 10) app: support for adverts and live events will be added, but the ability to download content is being taken away.

Netflix must realize that it's a huge frustration for people who relied on offline downloads to watch content without internet access: on planes, trains, and campsites, and anywhere else where Wi-Fi is unavailable or unreliable.

There's a small chance that Netflix will change its mind if it gets enough complaints, but the streaming service seems determined to add as many money-making features as possible, while taking away genuinely useful ones.

gnygnygny ,

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

OpenStars , (edited )
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

"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!:-|

Chronographs ,

If there’s still downloads available on mobile it’s probably not licensing. Iirc the downloads were only available in shit quality anyways so as always, pirating is a better experience.

deweydecibel , (edited )

Only if the people that pirate the shows are able to obtain those higher quality downloads.

As these platforms become increasingly hostile to users, they're going to be well aware of the subsequent increase in piracy, and implement even more methods of preventing their content from being pirated.

It will always be impossible to stop piracy completely, but you can make it increasingly difficult to obtain best quality.

Keep in mind all of the various things that are starting to be implemented or suggested to ensure device/environment "integrity" in recent years. I promise a day is coming when Netflix and other streaming services will only allow streaming to "approved" browsers and devices, i.e. the ones that allow them to scrutinize every single bit of the stack down to the hardware.

Chronographs ,

Sure in theory but for all their posturing and obnoxious DRM methods it hasn’t seemed to work at all.

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

It probably depends on what "working" means - it won't ever stop piracy but if they can make things more difficult, then that fact alone gives them a woody.

Also people trying to manipulate the corporate ladder - "hey let's maximize our revenue stream by synergizing the... yeah just gimme a raise won't'cha?" (and since they pay themselves, they won't mind if they do... then use all their "initiatives" like this as justification for that fact). End-users aren't the "customers" anymore these days, in giant megalithic corpos - we are the product that is sold, to whoever is willing to pay.:-(

ReveredOxygen ,
@ReveredOxygen@sh.itjust.works avatar

It doesn't really matter if you make piracy more difficult if you don't make it impossible. Only one person has to figure out how to rip it, then everyone else can watch it

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

That's why they will lose... but the authoritarians still keep trying, it's just how they are built. They really aren't intelligent enough to understand any other way, and those few who might seem not to care, being greedy enough to get what they can while they can, letting others deal with the fallout.

QuarterSwede ,
@QuarterSwede@lemmy.world avatar

This is part of why I like Apple TV+ so much. I watched two episodes of Slow Horses in 1080p HDR on my iPhone while in an airplane. It was fantastic.

OpenStars , (edited )
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

I am not certain I know what you mean.

Netflix hasn't given any reason for ditching downloads on Windows: when Windows Latest asked about it they were simply directed to the relevant support document, which confirms that a new app is "coming soon", without the download option.

The fact that downloading is still available on Windows is purely bc the update hasn't rolled out yet.

They think (unproven) that this radical change might be due to the cheaper licensing options if they remove the ability to download. A cost-benefit analysis where Windows users will either take it and like it or else who cares about Windows mobile users anyway if they leave. Either way, a victory for licensing companies, or they'll spin it that way regardless.

My worry is that it will embolden them to go still yet further, making it harder on both pirates and paying customers just bc they can get away with doing so.:-(

SaltySalamander ,
@SaltySalamander@fedia.io avatar

who cares about Windows mobile

This isn't about a Netflix app on Windows Mobile. It's about Windows, the desktop OS app.

ReveredOxygen ,
@ReveredOxygen@sh.itjust.works avatar

They're talking about the fact that Netflix isn't removing the feature from their Android/iOS apps

deweydecibel , (edited )

"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.

If I had to guess, it might be because the people that pirate Netflix shows may be doing it from the Windows app using the download feature. After all, you have full access to the file system on Windows.

Meanwhile, iPhones have always been locked down to prevent the user from accessing the file system, and Android in the last couple versions has locked its file system down too, while Google continues to become increasingly fierce in trying to detect and block anybody with a rooted device.

OpenStars , (edited )
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

Android in the last couple versions has locked its file system down too

Really!? I'm a bit behind, but somehow this surprises me. I mean, not the intention, bc Google's motto these days is "definitely be evil", but that it had gotten this far this fast.

Anyway at a guess all you'd have to do is download whatever you want, then root, profit, then turn off root and it wouldn't even know? Plus the tons of ways that you can do things without even needing root access these days, and I haven't even mentioned yet a custom ROM. And ofc piracy, where someone else obtains the video files, e.g. ripping from a physical medium. So they will most definitely lose that flight. And in the meantime, the most honest customers are the ones who suffer.

Overall I just chalked this up to: anyone who uses Windows (or iOS) basically is at the mercy of profit-seeking behaviors. You will own nothing, and like it - or else!:-(

morriscox ,

https://medium.com/@mohit2656422/android-scoped-storage-dd50104a0cbd

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

Thanks for sharing!

Oh wow, so much going on there.

What if a malicious app decides to place child pornography or a crypto mining whatever onto your device - but since its space is "private", can unethical people now legally do that, and simply blame that Google wouldn't let them see into the space, hence they "did not know that it was there"? This would seem to open the door to so very many problematic issues...

On the other hand this seems related solely to "external" storage - I haven't used external storage on an Android for... actually I've never used it iirc. For this Netflix case, would they disallow downloading onto your device unless you have an external SIM? Also, if you used external storage, then how da fuq could they control you popping that external storage into some other device entirely, like a rooted device with a custom ROM!? It would have made so much more sense for internal storage... or possibly I am missing something there.

In any case, that sucks that Google seems more and more to be buying into the "walled garden" philosophy - you know, "for your convenience", aka selling YOU as the product to the investor class.:-(

A quick search seems to suggest there is no known way around this, except to use an older Android OS:-(. I would hope that this would absolutely wake people up to realize why Google cannot be trusted - as if what happened to searching wasn't enough on its own.

morriscox ,

Possession of stolen items and/or child porn is all that is required, no matter the reason. Crypto mining would probably be considered a you problem, unless your phone is owned by an employer. Each app has its own storage and can access shared storage.

https://developer.android.com/about/versions/11/privacy/storage

Access to data directories on internal storage

Android 9 (API level 28) started to restrict which apps could make the files in their data directories on internal storage world-accessible to other apps. Apps that target Android 9 or higher cannot make the files in their data directories world-accessible.

Android 11 expands upon this restriction. If your app targets Android 11, it cannot access the files in any other app's data directory, even if the other app targets Android 8.1 (API level 27) or lower and has made the files in its data directory world-readable.

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

But these rules only seem to apply to apps that follow the rules. Or perhaps on an OS that does so. Hence a custom ROM would be able to bypass it, or connecting the external storage to a computer via USB or some such? At which point it seems needlessly restrictive. But, I am no expert, and it would indeed increase security for a naive user, so likely that's what they are aiming at.

morriscox ,

The OS seems to enforce this but is above my pay grade. A custom ROM no doubt would work.

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

A super-long time ago I got a Nexus, b/c they were awesome, and Google was still thought of as being somewhat awesome for offering those.

Nowadays I have been dreading the thought of a Pixel - I'd more likely get a Fairphone I think - but whatever I get, it's sad to think that a custom ROM is probably going to have to be the default for so many people:-(.

morriscox ,

The longer a business is around the more people that get replaced and the new people are going to be different and which leads to a change in culture and objectives. So basically the name is the same but everything else is different, including what the company produces (since products seldom don't change).

If the company goes public then there's definitely going to be a complete change since shareholders will demand as much profit as they can get, no matter how or what the consequences can be. They may complain about Prime Video showing ads when they pause a movie yet demand that Amazon give them a stronger return on their investment.

That's a bit long-winded. I have a Samsung Galaxy phone (and watch) and have been tempted to see about using a custom ROM (I jailbroke most of my phones) but it's my daily driver and I'm leery of messing up.

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

True dat.

I also have a Samsung Galaxy, a S22, and kinda regret it. Somehow it's always hot, like just having the screen on is enough to make it hot, and it literally hurts my fingers after a few minutes. Maybe it's my fault somehow, but I definitely researched a lot before buying and all the text and video reviewers swore that the cooling was adequate. I'm so done with big expensive phones.:-( One day I may buy a cheapie and when I have an adequate daily driver play around to see what a custom ROM could do to improve the experience. Basically I miss my Nexus is what I guess I am saying:-).

morriscox ,

Have you tried Samsung Thermal Guardian?

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

Samsung Thermal Guardian

No - I never created a Samsung account, so I am much to blame for my phone's lack of performance, though at the same time I also blame it for not creating that right from out of the box, for such an expensive device:-).

morriscox ,

I agree. Whether they claim that it's to reduce bloat or to get people to create a Samsung account, they really should have included https://apps.samsung.com/appquery/appDetail.as?appId=com.android.samsung.utilityapp as core functionality. You should also look at https://apps.samsung.com/appquery/appDetail.as?appId=com.samsung.android.goodlock

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

What bothers me the most about that is how they use double-speak to try to have it both ways - like Samsungs are both supposed to be "great", and also those features are claimed to be "optional", but when you try to go without an account... suddenly you find that much of the phone isn't "great" anymore:-(.

Also, why not allow downloading of such a 100% "free" app without needing an account?

Also, why need an app at all to stop the phone from getting hot just from holding it in your hands and trying to surf the F-ing web with it!? I mean, even if I had an account, that's still effort and more importantly attention I have to expend to make the phone minimally viable...

I'm more used to Apple product I suppose, which truly do "just work" right out of the box. Or replacing the OS on an Android phone, so trying to use it like the former when I clearly should do the latter I guess is my fault. But it also does not absolve them from gatekeeping their product behind a "store" concept, which they clearly are trying to suck me in with the promise of a few freebies and then hope that I stick around to purchase more and more products. The commercialization of it all just turns my stomach.:-(

In any case, thanks for the links! If I take the time to register in the store those sound helpful.

ricdeh ,
@ricdeh@lemmy.world avatar

while Google continues to become increasingly fierce in trying to detect and block anybody with a rooted device

While that's true, I don't think that anyone is able to tell at this time whether such efforts will ever become effective. Atm, we have things like GApps, so this is a non-issue.

slurpinderpin ,

Infuse let’s you download shows off your Jellyfin server and watch offline

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

Let's not pretend that an "average" mobile user is capable of doing that?

Which is why we need to help one another to get there:-).

deweydecibel ,

If we're talking about mobile, the Jellyfin app lets you download to the device already.

If we're talking about laptops, as far as I'm aware, the Jellyfin desktop app doesn't have a download feature.

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

I don't see that feature listed at https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.jellyfin.mobile/? I have never used Jellyfin though - it looks quite awesome! - and so know nothing about it, I mention here to say that it might either depend on how you install it or perhaps it's a plugin.

AChiTenshi ,

I wish this was limited to just windows phones. My travel device, a windows laptop with a removalbe keyboard, will no longer be able to download shows. Which means no more Netflix on airplanes for me.

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

I'm sorry to hear of your loss:-(. Ironically, mobile devices using iOS and Android look to still allow downloading.

Is it possible to simply not update the Netflix app on your laptop?

It really is sad when they push people to use piracy methods, even for things that we would have had access to using totally legal means, but which they choose to no longer support:-(. e.g. in the olden days, it was legal to rip a copy of a CD or DVD for your own purposes, so long as you did not distribute it and thereby prevent a sale to keep the industry running. Whereas by no longer allowing even temporary downloads, Netflix is keeping their same price but now delivering less features in return, which may lose them several customers.

AProfessional ,

You must be a time traveler because Windows phones don't exist. This is about normal Windows.

Plopp ,

Surely it'll be supported on desktop Windows once Windows 10 is released?

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

I presumed it meant existing ones, even if they are no longer making new ones. But yeah, I see you are right, it does seem about the desktop, or presumably meaning laptops that could go offline.

AProfessional ,

Windows phone died 8 years ago. None of it is supported or used.

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

I edited my original comment with an apology. It looks like the last release was January 2020.

AProfessional ,

Hmm? 2015 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Phone

Its looong dead.

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

That refers to 8.1 Update 2 (8.10.15148.160), but down under Versions, it mentions an NT 10.0 with an EoL date of January 14, 2020 and the footnote says:

Originally scheduled on December 10, 2019, but delayed following one more security update due to the release of iOS 13.3. Supported until January 10, 2023 via the paid Extended Security Updates service.

And even then people could still hold onto their old phones (though I'm not sure if Windows allows bootloader unlocking and custom ROMs as readily as Android). I keep mine until the battery gives out, many years after purchase - even if only as a media device after removing the SIM, like to control casting to my TV. 8 years is actually normal for me.

Anyway, you are right I bet they were referring more to laptops with a desktop Windows OS.

fluckx ,

Is Windows mobile still a thing? I thought they meant the app in the windows store ( desktop/laptop).

Last time I saw somebody use a windows phone was 10 years afk :/

OpenStars ,
@OpenStars@discuss.online avatar

Looks like the last release was 2020, so yeah they almost certainly meant laptops.

slaacaa ,

Capitalism breeds innovation

CaptainBasculin ,

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

nutsack ,

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

vox ,
@vox@sopuli.xyz avatar

wdym even a shitty 50mbps connection is enough to watch stuff at 1080p
heck, even 3g/4g with it's unusable 10-15mbps is still good enough yo stream video at a decent quality

desktop_user ,

shitty 50mbps

shitty would be less than 10mbps, perhaps you are from places where the internet isn't comically expensive.

vox ,
@vox@sopuli.xyz avatar

10mbps is not even an option anymore tho for most isps.
50 is the lowest that's still exists, with most isps offering 100 or 300 as the cheapest option

MoonlitCringe ,

What a world it would be if everyone had minimum 50mbps internet.
"Good" rural internet is 1mbps for a lot of peeps, and a whole lot more people have a whole lot lower speeds.

dukethorion ,
@dukethorion@lemmy.world avatar

Some people still live is DSL land, even in the US.

SilverFlame ,

I wasnt able to upgrade to fiber internet until about 2017

JordanZ ,

I’m desperately waiting for fiber. Still expect it to be 6-12 months out but they’re actively building it. I live ~20 miles from a state capital. Fiber is still very rare even in suburbs of major cities the US.

iamtherealwalrus ,

Welcome to Europe, where we get 1gbps fiber at reasonable prices. Here in Denmark it is available at ~$30/month for example. Because the same fiber infrastructure is accessible by many different ISPs to offer to consumers.

JackbyDev ,

They cover over 99% of my city with fiber and I can walk to city hall from my house. Still doesn't cover my street.

RGB3x3 ,

I wasn't able to upgrade until last year. And there are still places around me that don't have fiber

Lost_My_Mind ,

My doctor says I need more fiber.....

Lost_My_Mind ,

shitty 50mbps

.........................I feel like anyone who grew up with 56k gets legal right to strangle you for these personal attacks against our childhood.

vox ,
@vox@sopuli.xyz avatar

but it's not 90s anymore. it's hard to even find a slower connection than 100-300mbps nowadays.
even in a remote village with nothing but fields in kilometers i got an offer with 100mbps as minimum speed

FangedWyvern42 ,
@FangedWyvern42@lemmy.world avatar

Guess people are gonna have to sail the seven seas.

BigTrout75 ,

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

Aurenkin ,

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

cdf12345 ,

🏴‍☠️ 🏴‍☠️ 🏴‍☠️

AgentGrimstone ,

Netflix living long enough to become the villain I see

uriel238 ,
@uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

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

🏴‍☠️

Freuks ,
@Freuks@lemmy.ml avatar

Piracy ship

lauha ,

Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum!

ANIMATEK ,

I just hope this does not affect WEB-DLs 🥲

SaltySalamander ,
@SaltySalamander@fedia.io avatar

It won't. This isn't how WEB-DLs are produced.

LainTrain ,

How are they produced?

CriticalMiss ,

Cheap android tv boxes

grue ,

I wish I had the software to do it myself.

CriticalMiss ,

Unless you know exactly what you’re doing, you’ll have to spend a lot of money on trial and error because Google will keep nulling your widevine keys.

SaltySalamander ,
@SaltySalamander@fedia.io avatar

Only very rarely, and usually it's a rooted nVidia Shield with a cheap HDMI splitter that strips HDCP from the signal. And those aren't called WEB-DLs, they're Webrips. WEB-DLs are downloaded directly from the source.

CriticalMiss ,

They buy cheap android tv boxes and get the widevine decryption keys off them, then use them to web dl directly from the source

SaltySalamander ,
@SaltySalamander@fedia.io avatar

WEB-DLs are downloaded, via command line, directly from the source. What you're getting is literally what the streaming service would stream to you, minus DRM, nicely packaged into an mkv file. The only time they are captured/recorded is when the 1080 and 720 sources are dogshit, so they capture a 4k stream and reencode it with the settings of their choice.

LainTrain ,

That's helpful, thanks, but how are they downloaded, via command line directly from the source?

Scrollone ,

I'm laughing in Plex

unreasonabro , (edited )

the televisionification (good grief, what?) of the internet is truly one of the most monstrous and monumental failures of creativity the world has ever seen.

Cramming this square peg into that round hole no matter the fucking consequences

nothing matters but money, right? (kys pos)

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