Netflix is changing the way you rate TV and movies

The streaming service will no longer be making use of the traditional star-based rating system

Have you spent a little too much time agonising over whether to give that latest Netflix original series four stars, or maybe three stars?

Don't worry, for it's all about to change; Netflix is ditching the traditional star rating system in favour of something far simpler, the chance merely to rate TV and movies with a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

The rating system had, in the past, been the streaming service's only way to recommend new films and programmes to users, but Netflix has realised there are some major flaws in the system; for example, users would always rate documentaries higher than trashy movies, yet watch trashy movies at a much higher rate.

"We made ratings less important because the implicit signal of your behavior is more important," Netflix VP of Product Todd Yellin stated during a press briefing (via Variety).

Netflix has already been testing the new rating system since last year, with significant positive results: the change to a thumbs up and down system saw a 200% increase in ratings from users.

Alongside the new rating system comes a more customised approach to recommendations; with films and TV now showing a percent-match for each user, similar in the way dating apps might work. So, a 98% match suggests a show that perfectly fits a user's taste, while shows that have less than a 50% match won't display a match-rating.

So prepare to get brutally judged by your friends, especially if you start getting 98% matches with Adam Sandler movies.