If You Can't See The Netflix Original Badge On Your TV Or Phone Anymore, You're Not Alone
One of the easiest ways to find something to stream on Netflix is the Netflix Original badge — a helpful identifier that tells any user that a specific title is exclusive to the streaming platform. On the other hand, users could also avoid Netflix Original movies, considering that Netflix films rarely enjoy the same quality as TV shows. "KPop Demon Hunters" is a rare exception, though, in a sea of disappointing Originals. That apart, the Original badge has started disappearing from title cards over the past few days, with What's on Netflix being among the first to report the sudden change. The blog reported on Thursday that the Netflix Original badge started disappearing from the interface in multiple locations across multiple devices.
On Friday, the iPhone app received the same UI update that removed the little red Netflix logo from title cards. We can confirm that the logo no longer shows up in Europe. As of Sunday, we could not spot the Netflix Original indicator on either the web interface or the iPhone app when looking for "The Diplomat", one of Netflix's recent Original TV shows. It's unclear what prompted Netflix to remove the branding element, as the company has not formally acknowledged the change.
New Netflix design changes in the works?
What's on Netflix speculates that Netflix might be looking to modernize its interface. Removing the Original badge lets the streaming service offer cleaner title cards. The company might be testing the new design change in some markets before officially announcing it. Also, the blog notes that Netflix's library of Original content has grown considerably in the last decade. Netflix released 4,755 Netflix Original titles in the U.S. in the past 10 years, which accounts for 63% of the current library. Netflix rolled out a big user interface redesign earlier this year, giving the Netflix TV app a makeover and introducing AI chatbot features in the Netflix mobile app. However, not all users were impressed with the TV app redesign, at least initially.
For example, a Reddit user wrote: "The layout is now cluttered and confusing, with good features buried under unnecessary animations and tabs. It now takes twice as many clicks to get to the content I actually want to watch." Netflix is aware of the negative feedback. In June, the company spoke in favor of the redesign, saying that its research showed most people like it. "With bigger boxes, we're showing more information up-front to help you make a better decision," a spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. "Instead of seeing 20 or 30 titles at a time, now you're seeing information at a glance." That said, it's unclear how the Netflix Original badge fits into Netflix's current and future design plans.