Still blocking screenshots, Netflix now lets you share clips on social media

Netflix is turning its shows into Quibis now. (If you recall, Paramount did it first with Mean Girls last year. Regina George really is cinema’s greatest trendsetter.) Per Variety, the streamer is launching a new feature on their mobile app called “moments” that will allow viewers to clip short videos from any series they’d like to share with their friends or respective fan armies on social media. It’s a win-win for both parties; fan editors now have an endless (and legal!) bank of Stranger Things and Bridgerton material to draw from, while the company gets a bunch of free advertising on the backs of those diligent posters. It’s something they should have learned a long time ago when everyone was talking about Bird Box, but better late than never. (It’s not like certain scenes or, ahem, songs haven’t gone viral in the meantime.)

“With Moments, members can quickly bookmark a scene while watching on their phone, saving it directly to their My Netflix tab for easy access later,” the company said in a statement. While this return to something resembling a personal library in the age of algorithmic control is exciting, more analog-focused Twitter posters are (temporarily) S.O.L. Taking a screenshot from within the Netflix platform will still result in a black rectangle, but the company did say that they were “excited to add even more features in the future to help members enjoy and share their favorite Netflix moments,” so there’s a chance that will be changing soon as well.

To announce the new feature, the streamer released an ad starring Giancarlo Esposito, Cardi B, and Simone Biles that’s worth a watch just for the clip of Esposito very earnestly doing the Wednesday dance alone. Now all that’s left is for someone to share the entirety of The Irishman via Instagram stories.