It looks like movie nights have gone international.
The official Netflix Twitter account unveiled a new joint effort with social media platform Discord in the form of “Hey, Netflix,” a brand new feature for the platform that allows users to curate and watch content with friends and communities all over the world.
By typing the command “/heyNetflix” in a Discord server, users will be given the option to select one of Netflix’s many titles to view and share with their friends, with additional filters for countries allowing users to narrow down their viewing options to selections that everyone in their Discord community can access.
When a selection is made, a brand new channel will be created in the server, allowing members of one’s Discord community to discuss the film or series with one another.
It’s unclear if the app will allow for any Disney Plus GroupWatch-esque viewings to take place; the option to select just yourself, you and an offline friend, or you and your online friends may suggest that it may be possible, but it also seems that the selections can only be viewed on Netflix itself rather than in the app.
Indeed, the vagueness surrounding the full extent of the app’s ability was apparent in Twitter’s response to the announcement.
Some have gone to test out this new feature, and the results don’t sound promising in the aforementioned department.
Others saw the announcement as an attempt to soften the blow on some of the streamer’s more questionable decisions this year, even if some of those decisions, such as the ad-supported subscription plan, are easily avoided by the common viewer.
At the end of the day, a feature is a feature, and we’ll just have to see how big of an impact it ends up making for both Netflix and Discord. Needless to say, it seems many would discard the new feature in a heartbeat if it meant the streaming giant would cool off on the crusade against password sharing.