How to Delete Recently Watched Movies or Shows on Netflix

After many years, Netflix finally introduced the ability to delete movie and shows from the “recently watched” list on your Netflix account. Rejoice, Netflix viewers, no one will discover your shameful secret. Going forward, you can also use the “Profiles” feature to keep your “recently watched” list separate from other people who use the account.

Steps

Deleting Certain Movies and Shows

1. Log onto Netflix and select your profile. Log onto Netflix on a computer if possible, as some other devices may not have this option available. Select your profile, if a list of names pops up. If you are already logged in, check that it’s using your profile by looking for a name and a square image (such as a happy face) in the top right of the screen. Click this image to change the profile if necessary.
   
   
   
   


2. Visit your “Recently Watched” page. Visit your list of recent activity. You might notice a link to on the list of movie suggestions. If you don’t, you can click the option in the upper right corner, then click . The Viewing Activity button is quite small, so you may need to use + on your keyboard to search for it.
   
   
   
   
   • If you are using Netflix on any device besides a computer, and your Recently Watched page is empty, try turning off the device and turning it on again.^[1]
   
   


3. Click the grey “X” on the right of a movie name. This will clear that specific movie from your “recently watched” history. It may take up to 24 hours to disappear from other devices.
   
   
   
   


4. Remove an entire television series. Click the X next to any episode in that series. The message that appears should include a link for ; click this button and the entire series should be removed from your history within 24 hours.
   
   
   
   
   • This refers to “series” in the North American sense, meaning every episode across multiple years of the television show.
     
   
   

Managing Viewer Settings with Profiles

1. Visit the profile page using a supported device. You’ll need a computer, PS3, PS4, or the Windows 8 Netflix app.^[2] Log into Netflix and hover over the square profile image and name in the top right. Click and you’ll be taken to the settings described below. Once you make a change, it should apply to all devices, although you may need to restart them before they take effect.
   
   
   
   


2. Use profiles to separate viewing history. Create a new profile for each member of your household (up to five profiles) by clicking and entering a name. Netflix will now prompt you to select a profile each time you log in, and keep your ratings and viewing history for that profile separate from all the other profiles.
   
   
   
   
   • Profiles are not password protected, so they are easy to switch between. This method is great for maintaining useful “Recently Watched” lists that only include what you personally watched, but it is not a reliable way to hide information if your family looks for it.
     
   
   


3. Create a temporary profile to avoid adding to recently watched. Before you watch a show you wish to keep private, create a new profile by clicking or the large plus sign next to it. Once you are done watching, return to the profile management page and click next to the temporary profile’s name, then . Click again in the popup message to confirm that this is intentional.
   
   
   
   
   • Note that you can only have five profiles active at a time.
     
   
   


4. Wipe your entire Netflix history by moving to a new profile. This will remove all your ratings and “My List” content, so be certain you don’t want any of your old content to survive before you take this step. Create a new profile using the button, then delete your old profile.
   
   
   
   


5. Create a child’s or teen’s profile. Click next to a profile for your child. The word should now become a drop-down list. You can select Teens, Older Kids, or Little Kids, then click to save the change. Anyone using that profile will now see only movies and shows appropriate for that age, as determined by national rating systems and Netflix’s own judgement.^[3]
   
   
   
   • There is no way to password-protect a profile, so it is still possible for a kid to log onto another person’s profile and watch mature content there.
     
   
   
   • In Germany, but in no other country, you can also create a password that must be entered before viewing mature (FSK-18) movies and shows.^[4]
   
   

Tips

• Netflix may be testing a “privacy mode” where movies do not get added to your “recently watched” history, but it is currently only available to a selection of users.^[5] If you’d like a chance to use new Netflix features before they are widely released, log on using a computer, go to , then click . Click the button that pops up to switch it to the “On” position.
  


• If none of these methods work, you can try watching a few seconds each from many movies, to push old movies off the list. It may take a hundred or more movies to clear your “recently watched” list completely, but ten or twenty snippets may be enough to make your embarrassing view history less obvious at a glance.
  

Warnings

• Deleting a profile will also delete all of that profile’s ratings and “My List” selection of films.
  


• Profiles are not password protected. Even a child may easily find out how to switch to a different profile and watch movies he would not be allowed to on his own profile.
  

Sources and Citations

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How to Delete Recently Watched Movies or Shows on Netflix