Netflix has managed to annoy a good number of its users with an announcement about an upcoming update to its Windows 11 (and Windows 10) app: support for adverts and live events will be added, but the ability to download content is being taken away.
Netflix must realize that it’s a huge frustration for people who relied on offline downloads to watch content without internet access: on planes, trains, and campsites, and anywhere else where Wi-Fi is unavailable or unreliable.
There’s a small chance that Netflix will change its mind if it gets enough complaints, but the streaming service seems determined to add as many money-making features as possible, while taking away genuinely useful ones.
The problem is power dynamic. It is a DRM service built round closed apps. You will take what you are given and like it. You can not view their cultural work without agreeing to these terms (Legally). The deal will keep getting worse until it starts losing money.
Edit: English fixes
They don’t get that their actions lose them money. They will just keep throwing more ads and higher prices at you while their profits continue to spiral down. Who would’ve thought that people will get pissed and drop Netflix when sharing passwords was cracked down? What do they think will happen this time.
They think they have a captured market. They aren’t completely wrong. Normies don’t know how to sail the high seas.