Following the addition of being able to download television shows and movies through Netflix’s iOS and Android app last year, the streaming giant is now expanding this functionality to work more intelligently through ‘Smart Downloads.’
Here’s how the feature operates, according to Netflix. Once you’ve finished watching a downloaded episode of a show or movie, the next time you’re connected to Wi-Fi, the app then automatically deletes that episode and downloads the next available one.
In general, Smart Downloads deletes an episode for every episode it downloads in order to save space. Netflix also says that the feature only works over Wi-Fi, which means it won’t use up your precious wireless data cap.
This works the same way with full seasons of television shows. For example, if you just finished season 1, episode 10 of Glow, that final episode will be deleted and the first episode of season 2 — which recently released — will then be downloaded.
Further, Smart Downloads can be turned off by navigating to the top of the ‘Downloads tab,’ and selecting the edit option in the top right hand of the display. Once selected, Smart Downloads can be turned on and off. Status notifications also appear when a new episode has been downloaded.
Smart Downloads is currently rolling out across Android and will be available on iOS “in the near future.”
