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Home / World

Netflix's 'creepy' tweet reminds us all how closely it's watching us

By Hayley Tsukayama analysis
Washington Post·
11 Dec, 2017 09:53 PM4 mins to read

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Rose McIver stars in the Netflix movie A Christmas Prince. Photo / YouTube

Rose McIver stars in the Netflix movie A Christmas Prince. Photo / YouTube

Netflix sent out a tweet Sunday that roasted a subset of its most devoted users over an open fire: those who are obsessively watching its heavily promoted holiday movie A Christmas Prince.

The snarky tweet got some laughs, but it has also stirred up some backlash - and made some of the company's subscribers begin to consider just how closely Netflix is watching its users.

"To the 53 people who've watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days: Who hurt you?" the tweet said.

The movie is about a female American journalist - played by Kiwi Rose McIver - who gets sent to a fictional European country to investigate a story about the Royal Family.

While the tweet was clearly intended as a joke, it didn't sit well with some customers who found the message "creepy".

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"This is amazing. Except for the 'watching us like big brother' part," one Twitter user wrote in reply.

Of course, people who watch Netflix should expect that the company knows both what you're watching and how frequently you watch it.

How else could the company get super-specialised recommendations for you, such as romantic period dramas based on books? But what seems to have struck a nerve is that Netflix is using information to share viewing habits publicly.

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The tone of the message is also drawing criticism. Netflix, after all, produced and promoted the movie, which is in the vein of an uplifting, unapologetically cheery Hallmark film. Shaming its subscribers, even in jest, for a feel-good film meant to cheer up its viewers didn't sit well with everyone. One user even compared the tweet to "bullying".

Many other reactions were lighter, with several people taking the opportunity to say that Netflix itself was hurting them - either by pulling their favourite shows or with its disappointing selection.

Some questions for reporters to ask Netflix:
—How many employees have access to people's viewing habits?
—Are there any controls on how they can access this data/what it can be used for?
—What's the punishment for creeping on people?
—Why are they publicly shaming customers? https://t.co/bnouaaGnZC

— Trevor Timm (@trevortimm) December 11, 2017

Netflix has kept up the snark in its replies, though the person running the account has also reassured some users that their viewing habits aren't worth shaming them over.

Netflix didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the reaction to the tweet, which has been retweeted about 66,000 times and liked 259,000 times and has drawn 4000 replies.

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The tweet was very similar to a campaign that music-streaming service Spotify ran last year, in which it shared insights from consumer data - not naming its users, but sometimes noting individual accounts.

For example, among other such ads, the campaign called out a single person with a billboard that said: "Dear person who made a playlist called: 'One Night Stand With Jeb Bush Like He's a Bond Girl in a European Casino.' We have so many questions."

Netflix shared its 10 most binge-watched shows of 2017 https://t.co/qZ1XkuFX1h pic.twitter.com/Pf9UDwC9HM

— Business Insider (@businessinsider) December 11, 2017

Marketing messages like this don't violate companies' privacy policies, said Bradley Shear, a lawyer specialising in privacy and social media.

Netflix may be sharing viewing information, but not in specific ways - they're not revealing, for example, that customer John Doe or Jane Doe is watching A Christmas Prince on repeat.

Still, he said, the surprise over the tweet is a reminder that people aren't always fully aware of what they're agreeing to when they click "accept" on a company's terms and conditions.

"People really need to become more cognisant of what data companies are collecting," Shear said.

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Yes, Netflix making fun of the viewing habits of their own customers is a bit creepy.

— Frank J. Fleming (@IMAO_) December 11, 2017
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