I watch countless movies and shows on Netflix, hunting for the next best thing. Sometimes I get hooked and end up binge-watching multiple episodes of a show, while other times I ditch a film partway through. I used to feel like I had to see everything to the end, no matter how awful it was, but life’s too short.
Netflix tracks your watch progress and stores everything in the Continue Watching row on the homepage. This is convenient when you want to pick up where you left off, but it’s a nuisance when something is half-finished and you have no intention of returning to it. Thankfully, it’s possible to tidy the Continue Watching row, and it’s something I do regularly.
How to Remove a Title From Continue Watching
The Continue Watching row appears on the Netflix homepage, typically as the second or third row below the main banner promotion. However, it might appear higher or lower.
This constant relocation of the Continue Watching row is a pet peeve I have with Netflix—I’d like to be able to pin the row to the top so it’s always immediately accessible, though I understand why Netflix doesn’t offer this because it wants me to scroll past its latest and greatest offerings first.
When you finish an episode of a show, the next one appears on the Continue Watching row. If you don’t finish an episode or movie, it also appears in the row for you to jump back in. If you watch to completion, it won’t appear.
If you have no intention of continuing with something, you can remove it from this row to keep the list focused and tidy. When you remove a show or movie, it doesn’t delete it from your viewing history, nor does it hide the title on Netflix. This means that if you change your mind and want to keep watching, you can quickly find it again by searching for its name, and it’ll then reappear in Continue Watching.
The exact method to remove a movie or show from the Continue Watching row depends on the device you’re using. Once a title is removed, the change applies immediately across all devices you use Netflix on.
On your web browser:
- Go to Netflix’s website.
- Hover your cursor over a title.
- Select “Remove From Row”. The button is an X mark.
On your mobile or tablet:
- Open the Netflix app.
- Select the three vertical dots below a title.
- Select “Remove From Row.”
On your TV:
- Select a title to go to its overview page.
- Press down repeatedly to navigate down the menu.
- Select “Remove From Continue Watching.”
How to Remove a Title From Your Viewing Activity
When you remove something from Continue Watching, it’s still tracked in your viewing history and used to influence your recommendations. As such, you might prefer to remove the show or movie from your viewing history entirely—doing this also removes it from Continue Watching.
This is only possible through a web browser, not the mobile app or your TV, though the changes apply across all devices within 24 hours. You also can’t remove activity from a kid’s profile.
On your web browser:
- Go to Netflix’s website.
- Hover your profile picture in the top-right and select “Manage Profiles”.
- Under the “Profile Settings” heading, select the profile you wish to adjust the viewing history for.
- Under the “Preferences” heading, select “Viewing Activity”.
- Select “Hide From Viewing History” next to the title you wish to remove. The button is a circle with a slash through it. If you hide an episode, you then have the option to “Hide Series” if you wish.
You can wipe your entire history if you select “Hide All” from the bottom of the list, though consider creating a new Netflix profile rather than using this nuclear option because you may regret it.
Get the Most From Your Netflix Subscription
If you don’t usually poke around in Netflix’s settings, now is the perfect time to take the opportunity. One of the best improvements I’ve made to Netflix is to disable autoplay previews (Manage Profiles > Select your profile > Playback Settings > Disable “Autoplay previews…”) to stop trailers blasting in my face as I browse.
There are plenty other Netflix features you’re probably not using, like playing Netflix’s ad-free games and customizing subtitle appearance, so make sure you’re getting the most from your subscription. If you ultimately decide the service doesn’t have enough to satisfy you, or you’ve grown tired of the price hikes, you may want to pause or cancel your Netflix subscription.
Subscription with ads
Yes, $8/month
Simultaneous streams
Two or four
Stream licensed and original programming with a monthly Netflix subscription.
