— PROJECT
Adding a social feature to
the Netflix mobile app
— ROLE
UX/UI designer
— TOOLS
Figma
— DATE
2021
The pandemic has changed the way people use streaming platforms. Many have felt the need to stay connected to their loved ones by watching movies and TV shows together. Netflix’s competitors, such as Disney+ and Prime Video, both offer “groupviewing”: this feature allows users to watch a program remotely with friends and family and chat and react simultaneously.
How might we help Netflix users watch movies and shows remotely with their friends and family?
THE
CLIENT
Let’s talk a little about Netflix.
Netflix was created in 1997 and is the most popular streaming app right now, with 203.66 million subscribers and an increase of 16 millions during Covid.
Netflix’s users spend around 1 billion hours per week streaming content. Due to the pandemic and people staying at home, Netflix climbed from $298.84 to $360.27 in only 7 days (source Forbes).
THE
RESEARCH
But despite the popularity, Netflix has 3 main competitors: Amazon Prime Video, Disney + and HBO OCS. The major advantage Prime Video & Disney + both have over Netflix is the groupwatch feature, that allows users to watch programs with their friends and family remotely.
To understand the scope of this new feature and what the users want from it, I conducted 5 remote user interviews. I wanted to know their habits with Netflix, how often they use the app, what they enjoy, dislike and what they would love to see there.
All of the interviewees are regular Netflix users and have no problem using the platform. They find it easy to navigate and they love the large catalog and exclusive content it offers.
3 out of 5 interviewees said they use Netflix almost everyday, even if they don’t end up watching anything, they go on the app.
Finally, 60% of the interviewees have complained about the lack of groupwatch. Among other features, the groupwatch was proposed by 3 of them.
UI
DESIGN
After defining the user flow of the feature, I iterated with concept sketches and made mid-fidelity wireframes.
I tested it with five users to gather their insight on what should be perfected or changed.
As I wanted to keep my decisions based on the original Netflix’s Style Guide so the new feature would fit perfectly to the app, I created an atomic design. By breaking down the app into components, I was able to see which one will I need to reuse the most in the high-fidelity prototype.
NEXT
STEPS
There is still so much to do with this feature, but among other things I would love to add the possibility to create a Netflix Party for a later time. Users would be able to choose a date, send invites, save the date to their calendar and activate notifications to know when the next Party is planned.
I would also like to add a chat in the lobby room so users can interact with each other before the show and say when they’re ready.
Finally, I want to adapt that feature so that users can watch on a TV screen and use the mobile app to chat.