Netflix's 'hidden' series: why are there titles that you don't find even though they are on the platform?

BarcelonaA few weeks ago, psychologist and content creator Sandra Parmo recommended a Korean film on her social media, 18x2 beyond youthful days, or in Spanish 18 years later. Quickly, several followers told her that they hadn't managed to find the film on the platform in any way. Parmo gave them a piece of advice: change the interface language to English, the easiest way to locate this title, which for many users seemed invisible. Are there really series or films that appear or disappear depending on the language in which we have Netflix configured? The short answer is yes, but the situation is a bit more complex.

The problem that Parmo's followers had with this Korean movie is repeated with other titles, and it doesn't only happen with Asian productions. The Canadian situation comedy La tienda de los Kim (Kim's convenience, in English) or the Australian sitcomFisk are impossible to find if we have Netflix configured in Spanish (remember that the app does not offer the option to do so in Catalan). On the other hand, if we change the platform's language and switch to English, the two series appear as if by magic. It's not just a localization problem, but also, if the app is set to Spanish, the series cannot be played. To understand it better: let's imagine that a friend who has Netflix configured in English sends us the link to La tienda de los Kim because they want to recommend we watch it. If we have Netflix configured in Spanish, when we click the link, the series title will appear, but no episodes to watch. The same happens with the Japanese series Gimbap y onigiri, for example.

To add more confusion, if the user resorts to the Just Watch application, which indexes all series and films that are available on all platforms operating in Spain, they will find a clear message: "We are sorry, but this series is not available at the moment".

System error

Netflix indicates that this invisibility of certain series is due to how production titles are managed according to the interface language. The platform can display the same series with different titles depending on the language (Spanish, English, or original title, for example). In this regard, it may be that the user searches for Gimbap y onigirifrequently asked questions page to resolve some of the main doubts of streaming service usersBeyond this, this explanation does not solve the mystery of why, when the title is finally located, it cannot be played, a problem that they admit should not occur and that Netflix has assured it is analyzing internally.

The platform has a Frequently Asked Questions page to resolve some of the main doubts of streaming service users. Precisely, on this page, one of the questions raised is "How to see all the series and movies available in your country?". In the explanation given by the company, they point out the following: "If your profile language matches one of those listed for your country in the list below, you will only see series and movies that have audio and subtitles available in that language. Netflix does this to ensure that only titles you can enjoy are shown to you." Therefore, if we look at the list of countries, in the case of Spain, Spanish appears as the language and, therefore, if this is the language we have chosen for our profile on Netflix, we will only see series and movies that have audio or subtitles in Spanish. In this regard, the explanation differs slightly from what is provided by the company's communications department. On the same FAQ page, Netflix recommends that users who want to discover all the titles available in their region regardless of the available audio and subtitles should select "a language other than those listed below for your country".

How to change the language

Changing Netflix's language to explore all the content that has remained hidden until now is simple. If you are using the app from your mobile or a tablet, you need to go to the "My Netflix" tab (bottom right). Once there, go to the "Menu", top right. Then go to "Manage Profile" and choose the profile for which you want to change the language. The last step is to select it through the "Display Language" option.

Despite the phenomenon of hidden series and movies hidden, Netflix is one of the streaming services with a more accurate search tool. To further refine user searches, as of this month, it has implemented a search engine that uses artificial intelligence and is available if the interface is configured in English. This new search engine invites viewers to search according to their mood using concepts such as "I need a good cry".