Netflix adds enhanced access controls

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Netflix has rolled out a series of changes that will likely come in helpful during in the age of social distancing.

The streamer says the features are now available for all accounts and are mostly accessed under the “Parental Control” settings under a user’s settings menu — and select features can also be applied at the profile level.

The first feature allows specific profiles no be able to browse or watch titles with certain ratings. The feature works on both the MPAA movie ratings systems (such as PG, PG-13 and R) as well as the TV parental guidelines (TV-Y, TV-Y7 and TV-MA).

Netflix has also introduced a feature that lets account holders prevent specific titles from ever appearing within a profile. This setting does not rely on any ratings systems.

In addition to the feature that Netflix (finally) added earlier this year that prevents video clips from automatically playing while browsing the library, Netflix is also letting users disable the feature that automatically adds the “next episode” countdown and button when the credits start rolling.

This can come in handy for families wanting to limit the amount of screen time kids are exposed to.

It’s worth noting this doesn’t actually prevent the next episode from being played, it just removes that “temptation.” The feature could also come in handy for adults looking to monitor their own “screen time.”

Netflix also added two PIN features to help protect profiles, both of which are limited on an account wide basis — and only the primary account holder can manage these tools.

Setting up these features requires the “master” Netflix account password.

A PIN can be applied to each profile within an account, which is helpful in preventing kinds from commandeering the remote and watching more than they should be. It’s also a good way to prevent kids from accessing one of the other profiles (with more lenient content settings) either by accident or on purpose.

There is also now a feature that lets families require a PIN for certain accounts to watch content with a certain rating or higher.

This is obviously a good way to prevent kids from watching something they shouldn’t — but also lets you grant a “case by case” override if you judge content to be OK.