Netflix

Netflix begins testing sleep timer feature on Android

Damien Wilde | Feb 1 2021 - 2:20 am PT

Netflix has started testing a sleep timer feature on Android that, like any good implementation, will stop streaming content after a preset period, meaning you won’t forget what just happened when binging your favorite shows.

It’s actually quite surprising that the feature is new to Netflix, given that Netflix usage has spiked over the past 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, a sleep timer is one of those nice little options that simply adds an option to the Netflix app at the side of the Chromecast icon denoting how long before your stream will completely stop playing.

There are plenty of uses we can think of. Obviously as a sleep aide, but it might be useful to set a show to power down when leaving home or just when you’re doing other chores throughout your home. You can set the Netflix sleep timer in 15-minute increments — 15, 30, and 45 minutes. Naturally, when that time limit has been reached, the Netflix app will stop playing and close.

That should help improve battery life on your device, rather than having it running in the background or as a floating homescreen player/window. Netflix will save your place and you can pick up right where you left off. The media streaming firm told The Verge that this new sleep timer feature is limited to adult profiles at present and could come to all users across mobile, web, and TVs should it prove to be a successful preview or test phase.

For those with children (or even pets), a Netflix sleep timer option would be ideal. We’ll just have to hope that Netflix does eventually bring the feature to everyone, as we’re sure it would be a roaring success. Now you can drift off to the sound of Stranger Things.