Netflix Has Apparently Been Saving Your Dumb Ass From Going Over Your Data Plan For Years

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I guess this maybe makes me an old fogey Generation Y-er, but I’ve never streamed Netflix on my phone. I don’t even like watching YouTube videos on mine. It’s too small.

But I know many a person who does, and you all can thank Netflix for your dumb asses not blowing your monthly budget on gigabytes of data.

The company admitted to the Wall Street Journal that it’s been delivering lower quality video to users of AT&T and Verizon, to keep data usage low.

The revelation comes because of accusations that it was actually the phone companies doing it. Nope. Netflix.

They posted a statement on their site yesterday about the practice:

We believe restrictive data caps are bad for consumers and the Internet in general, creating a dilemma for those who increasingly rely on their mobile devices for entertainment, work and more. So in an effort to protect our members from overage charges when they exceed mobile data caps, our default bitrate for viewing over mobile networks has been capped globally at 600 kilobits per second. It’s about striking a balance that ensures a good streaming experience while avoiding unplanned fines from mobile providers.

The practice, the WSJ reports, has been going on for five years.

Naturally, because they’ve been missing out on overage fees, those companies are pissed.

“We’re outraged to learn that Netflix is apparently throttling video for their AT&T customers without their knowledge or consent,” Jim Cicconi, AT&T’s senior executive vice president of external and legislative affairs said.

Netflix, in its statement, promised to rectify the problem.

That’s why we will soon introduce a data saver feature designed for mobile apps.

The data saver feature will provide members with more control over their data usage when streaming on mobile networks, allowing them to either stream more video under a smaller data plan, or increase their video quality if they have a higher data plan. We’re on track to make it available to members sometime in May.

Just like so:


Then people will start going over their data allowances and get outraged, and the cycle will begin again.

Ashes to ashes, overages to overages.

[H/T Esquire]