Netflix purges all user reviews like it said it would
Say goodbye to the reviews section -- if you even knew it existed.
If you're browsing Netflix for a new show to watch, don't bother looking for reviews on the platform to see if a title is worth your time. The streaming service is done purging user reviews -- a decade's worth of comments praising and excoriating shows, all gone. Under the question "How do I post reviews on Netflix?," the service's Help Center now says: "Netflix customers were able to leave reviews on Netflix.com until mid-2018, when reviews were removed due to declining use. To learn how Netflix suggests TV shows and movies we think you'll love, visit our Ratings & Recommendations article."
It won't come as a surprise if you previously heard about the company's decision to remove written reviews by mid-August. And frankly, it won't be something you'll miss if you mainly access the platform through its mobile app. Reviews were only visible on the web anyway, and that most likely contributed to its "declining use."
Netflix probably had reasons other than the section's decline in use, as well. For instance, it had to deal with issues like "review bombing" by trolls hoping to bring down a show's rating back when it used stars instead of the thumbs up-down system. Netflix might have decided that reviews don't lead to enough views to warrant spending resources on policing them. It has a "percentage match" system that suggests titles based on previous ones you've watched, after all, so there's probably very little incentive for the platform to keep the reviews section running.
