Netflix Rolls Out Vertical Video Feed, Blurring Lines Between Streaming and Social Media

Netflix is in the process of rolling out a new feature that could transform how many of its subscribers watch TV. The feature will make a vertical video feed the default interface when mobile app users open Netflix on their phone. In visual terms, at least, this step brings TV streaming closer to the experience of using social media.

It’s long been speculated that user-generated content will be the future of TV streaming, given that YouTube’s creator-driven model has helped the video platform comfortably outrank the likes of Netflix in terms of viewership and revenues. Now Netflix is moving towards the phone-centric format YouTube has adopted in recent years with the expansion of its “Shorts” feature.

YouTube Shorts were themselves an attempt to rival the short-form video format that’s made TikTok the biggest social media platform among Gen Z users. There’s no question that Netflix now presenting its best shows to watch to app users in the form of a vertical video feed is motivated by the same aim.

Now that TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have become a way of life for those under 30, even major TV companies are recognizing the need to appeal to this demographic by formatting their own content accordingly. Netflix’s new feature could well prove to be the first stage in a transition towards more short-form, vertical-video content on the streaming platform.

Netflix Has Officially Launched A TikTok-Style Vertical Video Feed For Its App

The world’s most popular TV streaming platform has taken the step of turning the navigation interface of its app into a social media-style video feed. Netflix first reported that it was testing this feature almost a year ago, before confirming the change in a letter to shareholders this month. The confirmation in the letter reads as follows:

“In addition to continued innovation on our new TV UI, after a period of testing and iteration, we are launching an updated mobile experience at the end of the month that includes a vertical video discovery feed. This redesign will better reflect our expanding entertainment offering and make it easier for members to engage how and when they want.”

The streaming giant expects to complete its rollout of the feature at the end of April 2026. From this point on, navigating the Netflix app will feel a lot like scrolling through TikTok or Instagram, with TV shows and movies to watch suggested primarily through video previews that automatically fill the length of a phone screen.

This change follows hot on the heels of Disney+’s introduction of vertical videos to its mobile app, which also includes scope for user-generated content based on classic Disney releases. It remains to be seen whether Netflix is also moving in the direction of video content created by its own users.

Either way, it’s clear that when it comes to the user experience of those with watching content via apps, both Netflix and Disney see the world’s biggest social media platforms as their main competitors. In this case, Netflix isn't trying to get ahead by imitating Prime Video or HBO. It’s looking directly at Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Netflix bringing vertical video to its app might not seem like a big deal in itself, but the world’s biggest TV streamer moving in this direction reflects a wider process at play. The boundaries between streaming and social media are beginning to collapse, now in visual terms as well as in other aspects of the content.

On the one hand, YouTube is obviously the business model to follow for platforms looking to maximize the bottom line, as complaints about the frequency of ads on Netflix demonstrated recently. Despite being, in many ways, the most consolidated player in the world of streaming, YouTube has an incredibly agile model, which allows it to be all things to almost everyone.

It combines user-generated content with a freemium subscriber model while peppering the majority of its viewers with ads, yet they keep coming back for more. At the same time, it offers seemingly limitless categories of content simply by being the best host in the business, covering almost none of the production costs for what’s onscreen.

Of course, Netflix didn’t get to where it is today by mimicking YouTube, or any other social media platform, for that matter. It carved out its own niche by leading a revolution in high-quality original programming streamed at a viewer’s convenience.

But it’s no secret that the giants of TV streaming have long harbored ambitions for user-generated content, among other ideas about how to slash production costs to a fraction of what they were in the first decade of the streaming wars. Netflix moving into the terrain of vertical video feeds is surely a harbinger of things to come.

When streaming profits have been projected to reach new heights in the coming years, it might feel a little disconcerting that Netflix is casting its eyes towards social media, a content sphere notorious for its lack of quality control. But there’s another, more positive side to social media, too, which TV streaming platforms have long been trying to tap into.

The sense of community that interactive online engagement helps to build has been integral to the success of countless TV series over the past 15 years, and the small screen’s biggest streamers have made numerous attempts to harness the power of social experience, with varying degrees of success.

Hulu, Disney+ and Prime Video have all experimented with the idea of watch parties, in which the fans can experience watching their favorite shows together on a single stream, while interacting with one another in real time. Meanwhile, Netflix has pioneered live fan Q&As during cast reunions and standup specials.

Several major streamers – including Netflix – have introduced live voting features for reality TV series such as Star Search. Perhaps most importantly, almost all platforms have now given subscribers the option to make their user profiles social, allowing them to share recommendations, watchlists, and other parts of their streaming accounts with friends and family.

Ever since television was invented, watching it has always been a social experience, whether that means watching directly alongside the people you live with, or discussing your favorite series with friends, colleagues or even strangers the morning after an episode airs. In fact, TV entered the realm of social media years before Netflix existed, via online forums in the 1990s.

It’s only natural that Netflix and other platforms should want to assimilate their user experiences with those of the most popular social media platforms out there today. The important thing is that their efforts to appeal to the TikTok generation don’t become a substitute for high-quality long-form content.