Netflix Profile Service Lets Users Tailor Reccomendations, See Friends' Movies On Facebook

Netflix will have a new profile service. The long-anticipated tool will separate up users of one Netflix account into up to to five profiles.

The recommendation system will mean that kids in a cartoon-watching binge won't impact parents' movie recommendations...and nor will the racy movies the parents watch after the kids go to bed.

'If the kids have been watching a lot of 'Shaun the Sheep,' that doesn't help you find the next gritty drama to watch,' said Neil Hunt, Netflix's chief product officer.

The profile service will be a boon for Netflix, too, as it will make it easier for them to understand and analyze the viewing habits of individual users.

This is expected to result in more tailored recommendations-and better marketing.

Netflix will be more like a social network, as users will be able to view friends' profiles on Facebook and see what they watched.

The new profile service will be available at no additional cost for all of Netflix's 37.6 million subscribers. It will be available on both the Netflix website and other viewing outlets like the iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Apple TV.

The new feature will also allow people to choose themes, such as "Date Night".

The company hopes the sharing service will help them understand different viewers' tastes.

Netflix shared that about three-fourths of the video watching on its service is due to recommendations already. It hopes that it will continue to have the advantage in this