You can make Netflix forget

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

My best friend stayed with me and watched all of Emily in Paris on my account. While I enjoy a frothy dramedy, my taste is different than hers, and that's why I've spent the time since moving past worthless recommendation after worthless recommendation.

You can fix this by using the button on Netflix. If you use theNetflix app on your phone, tablet, set-top box, TV, or even if you use the Facebook portal, there is no need to remember what you have seen. Your recommendations are ruined after a friend visits or your kid goes on a binge.

The Forget button is actually there. Not a button, okay? It's possible to make Netflix forget what you have seen.

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It isn't easy. You have to look at the service on a browser. You have to go to Accounts, which gives you access to a lot more menu and settings than in any of the apps. To hide your shame watches, you have to go to Profile and Parental Controls. You have to open the viewing activity. The forget button is located next to the Men in Black flash on your profile.

If there is something you want to remove from Continue Watching, there is a button available. Is it possible to remove Is It Cake? I only watched one episode from my queue on the App Store, but not on Apple TV.

It is not an easy process. I excised Emily in Paris because I wanted to confirm the removal process outlined by the company.

This shouldn't be hard. It shouldn't be limited to one specific OS or hidden behind a plethora of other things.

The company lost 200,000 subscribers in the last quarter. Password sharing, the war in Russia, and increased competition are some of the factors blamed. I am not naive enough to say that it will win back 200,000 subscribers with a better design, but I do think that the bad-button situation is indicative of a larger problem at the company.

It can't afford to coast. It is facing real competition for the first time since it was destroyed. It's also up against CBS All Access and other ill-conceived money grabs. The streaming services are thoughtful in their approach and use huge back catalogs of shows like The Office, The Sopranos, Star Trek, and the entire Disney animated film lineup to quickly snap up subscribers.

Are you talking about Netflix? It has a mess of two-season shows that are half greenlit by an algorithm based on your viewing history and a sound that isn't as popular as it thinks. I still watch a lot of those shows. I'm going to watch all of Russian Doll this weekend, and I'll probably do the same when the show returns later this year. I can't guarantee that I'll stay subscribed to shows like I will HBO Max.

The catalog problem has been a problem for years, but it will need more than a version of The Office to compete. It can be possible to coast on being first. It needs more. It will need an easy-to-navigate app that suggests what you want to watch instead of what your best friend is watching.