Five hidden Netflix settings that make streaming better

Netflix has several tools most viewers never find, and Engadget has rounded up five of them. They let you stop noisy previews, dig into niche genres, review what has been watched on your account and tidy up the screen. None of them requires special skills.

Find niche genres

Netflix sorts shows into broad groups like comedy or action. Secret genre codes go deeper. Type netflix.com/browse/genre/ into a web browser, then add a code. The code 8985 brings up martial arts films. The code 7687 shows film noir. The code 1476024 finds Christmas children and family films from the 1990s.

Codes run four to seven digits, and the Netflix-Codes website lists many of them. What you see depends on your country, since the writer tested from Canada. You can bookmark titles to watch later.

Check your watch history

Netflix keeps a full record of what has been watched, and you can download all of it. This helps a parent confirm a child is not watching content they should not be under a non-restricted account. There is no search tool, so browsing means clicking 'Show More' again and again. A 'hide' icon also lets you remove a title from view.

Clean up what you see

A show you gave up on can sit in 'Continue Watching' for a very long time. You can remove it by hand. The steps depend on the device:

• Phone: tap the three dots under the title and choose 'Remove from row.'
• TV: press and hold the select button on the remote, then choose 'Remove.'
• Web browser: hover over the title and click the 'X.'

Previews are the other common annoyance. If you linger on a title, a preview starts playing, sometimes loudly. To turn this off, go to 'Account,' then 'Playback Settings,' and uncheck 'Autoplay previews.' Unchecking 'Autoplay next episode' also stops the next episode from starting on its own. It also helps anyone who wants to avoid trailers and keep new shows a surprise.

Adjust your subtitles

Subtitles can be too big or hard to read. Click your account icon, choose 'Manage Profiles,' select your profile, then click 'Subtitle Appearance.' You can change the font size, shadows and backgrounds. Netflix does not let you move where subtitles sit on the screen. They stay at the bottom center.

You can also set captions to show only dialogue, without descriptions of sounds. Those descriptions matter for people who are hearing impaired. Viewers who just keep the volume low may not need them.