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Netflix Hack Automatically Pauses Video When You Fall Asleep

Screenshot showing prototype Netflix sleep monitoring feature
Sean Fang Thu, 06/03/2014 - 22:42

Ever fallen asleep while watching a TV show on Netflix, only to find that you've managed to miss a couple of episodes worth when you've regained consciousness? The clever people at Netflix might just have a solution for you!

As part of an internal open-source hackathon at Netflix, an ingenious solution to Netflixcolepsy has been found by combining a FitBit device with a specially tweaked Netflix software that will automatically pause the video whenever the viewer is detected to be asleep. FitBit monitors your body position and can detect when you've fallen asleep, and this triggers Netflix to pause the video and issue an on-screen explanation as to why the video was paused. When the user awakes, he or she can start from the spot where they left off.

A video demonstrating this feature can be seen below:

But don't expect this feature to pop-up on Netflix any time soon. The hackathon is a Netflix team building exercise, and it's not an indication that "Netflix will be pursuing this idea as a product improvement", as the disclaimer for the video above clearly warns.

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