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Short-form video is, of course, all the rage. Why sit down to watch a two-and-a-half-hour YouTube essay when you could watch 300 30-second videos in a row? Now, even Netflix wants in on the game—sort of. While it might seem counterproductive for a company specializing in long-form content to get into short-form video, Netflix’s approach is both unique, and oh-so-close to being smart.
On Monday, the company announced “Moments,” a new feature for its mobile app that lets users save their favorite, er, moments from shows and movies for later viewing. These saved clips can be rewatched in the app, of course, but they can also be shared on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
That said, you can’t share the clip itself to your social media: That would be too convenient. Instead, if someone taps on your shared link, it will open Netflix on the other user’s end, and they’ll be able to watch your Moment on their Netflix account.
It’s a shame, because being able to share true clips to platforms like Instagram and Facebook would be a great way to garner word of mouth about a particular show. Netflix already shot itself in the foot when they disabled screenshots in their apps, since it made it much more difficult for fans to share their favorite scenes with their networks. Sure, sharing links to Moments will likely help some users find shows they wouldn’t have otherwise watched, but, in my view, it’s not very convenient to be taken to the Netflix app to watch these clips rather than watch them organically in your feed. I imagine most people will skip posts with links to Moments and miss out entirely, when they easily could have watched the clip and been hooked then and there.
As of today, the feature is live in the Netflix app for iOS. The company plans to bring Moments to the Android app in a few weeks.
How to save clips as “Moments” in the Netflix app
Assuming the feature works in your version of the Netflix app, start a show or movie, then tap on the screen. Here, you should see a “moments” option. Tap this, and Netflix will automatically clip the current scene and save it to your “My Netflix” tab. You can come to this tab to watch any of your saved clips, and share links to them to your socials.