Former Netflix employee explains eerie level of detail your account is personalised to you

People have been left conflicted over a former Netflix employee's revelation of the extent of the streaming service's level of personalisation. Prepare to never look at your Netflix homepage in the same way again:

I'm no longer surprised when an advert pops up on my phone showing the hairbrush I was just speaking about to my friend, or the exact Peaky Blinders costumes we decided on for Halloween.

However, people have been left conflicted over a Netflix employee's revelation of just how personalised your account really is.

TikToker Nile has spoken out about why thumbnails change for different users.

Nile has claimed she worked at Netflix for a total of three years up until a month ago.

Chris Bardgett/Alamy Stock Photo

Her video responds to another TikToker who claims for thumbnails with just one person in them, the 'algorithm picks the character they think you like the most' and puts them in.

Nile responds: "I really like this creator but he got a lot of stuff wrong."

She goes on to explain: "Number one. All of the artwork is personalised... it doesn't matter if there's one person in there, two people in there, an ensemble cast - it's all personalised.

"Number two. We design the artwork, not based on oh, you're going to like Bradley Cooper over Jonah Hill - that's not how it works. It's way more nuanced than that.

@nilenochill/TikTok

"We choose the shots based on: Is it more comedic versus dramatic, does it connotate science fiction versus horror, the lighting, the colouring, all of those things are by design, it's not just we pick a shot and say [...] he's gonna pick on Bradley Cooper."

Finally, Nile revealed the personalisation is also based on 'what you are watching and what other people who watch similar content are clicking on and responding to'.

She resolves: "It's not based on where you live, how old you are, your gender or your sexuality.

"Netflix doesn't collect that information."

Netflix users have flocked to TikTok in heated debate over the level of Netflix's personalisation.

One user said: "Excellent content! But tbh I can see them not letting the thumbnail team see the demographic data but I have a HARD time believing its not collected."

@TrungTPhan/Twitter

"Based on what you watch, Netflix could make a pretty good guess of the gender and an age range," another argued.

A third said: "Netflix knows I’m gay because no matter the movie I always get a middle aged woman looking fierce."

While another resolved: "I have to believe that Netflix knows I’m a bit fruity."

LADbible has contacted both Nile and Netflix for comment.

Topics: Netflix, TV and Film, TikTok, Viral, Social Media

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.