Netflix has rolled out a new screen lock support feature on Android devices that would prevent accidental touches while watching the popular online streaming services. The new feature is now available across most compatible devices through a server-side update.
Users who prefer logging on to the OTT platform via their smartphones and beaming it on to their Smart televisions or through use of some a casting device would find this feature very useful, especially when they are forced to answer a call or check email. During this process, they could accidentally touch the Netflix app and mess up the viewing.
Android users of the app would be able to catch the new button in the on-screen controls. It is called ‘Screen Lock’ and would become visible when watching a show or a movie. The feature turns off all on-screen controls when active, leaving just one button that can unlock the screen.
Users would be required to go through a two-step process whereby they would confirm the need to unlock the controls through a second tap of the screen. When the screen lock is active, most of the other controls such as play, rewind, pause, forward and playback, subtitle etc. are disabled.
However, users could zoom in and out of the screen or use standard Android navigation buttons or gestures to exit the content streaming. The presence of this button guards against accidental touches of the screen that are quite common with handheld devices, often referred to as ‘fat finger errors’,
But users can continue to zoom in and out, or use Android navigation buttons or gestures to exit the content. However, this can prevent accidental touches for most things that are quite common on handheld devices, given how close our fingers are to the screen at any given time.
There is no reference to when a similar lock support would arrive for the iOS version of the Netflix app.
