Key Takeaways

• You need an active subscription to download Netflix content. You can download content on all Netflix plans except the Basic with Ads plan.
• Not all content is available for download on Netflix. However, all downloads have an expiry.
• Enable Smart Downloads to efficiently manage your downloaded content.

You can stream movies and TV shows on Netflix anytime you want. However, whenever you need to watch on the go, you can download titles ahead of time so you don’t use up all your data.

Downloading your favorite shows and movies on Netflix for offline viewing is simple, but there are some tips and quirks you should be aware of.

Universal Rules for Netflix Downloads

There are some rules regarding Netflix downloads that stay the same no matter what platform you use.

• You will need an active subscription. Not all plans offer downloads; the Basic with Ads subscription is the only plan that won’t let you download any shows or movies, so you’ll have to pick the right Netflix subscription.
• Not all titles are available for download.
• You can download individual episodes of TV shows, so you don’t need to download full seasons at a time.
• You can download videos to multiple devices. Netflix allows a different number of downloads depending on your plan.
• Downloaded movies and TV shows can only be viewed on the device you downloaded them. For example, if you downloaded Stranger Things on your iPad, you can’t watch it offline on your Android phone.
• Downloading and streaming content consume the same amount of data, so downloading won’t save you any bandwidth unless you plan to watch a video multiple times.

How to Download Netflix Videos

Before downloading your favorite shows and movies on Netflix, you need to make sure you have the right device for the job.

As mentioned above, Netflix will be removing downloads from its Windows app starting in June 2024. The Netflix help page explains, “A new Netflix app for Windows is coming soon, which includes support for watching live events, increased streaming quality, compatibility with ad-supported plans.” At the time of writing (July 1, 2024), the Windows app still allowed downloads, though we expect that to change with an upcoming update.

You’ll need to use the Netflix app on your laptop or computer to download content, as it’s impossible to do so via the browser. Unfortunately, Netflix doesn’t have an app for MacOS and Linux, so you can’t download titles on either platform.

To download content on Netflix, follow these steps:

1. First, download and install the official app for your operating system. Next, log in to your Netflix account.
2. On the home screen, select a title that you want to download. Alternatively, use the search icon to search for the item you want to download and tap on it from the search results to go to the dedicated page.
3. Once you’re on the next page, click or tap the Download button to start the process. If you can’t see the button, the title is unavailable for download.
4. For TV shows, hitting download will only save the first episode offline. You can download the rest manually by hitting the Download button adjacent to each episode title.

The procedure is more or less the same across all three platforms. There are only a few differences on Windows and Android.

• Windows: By default, Netflix stores all data on the primary hard drive. We did not have a computer with two hard drives to test, but most Windows 10 apps only ended up writing on the primary hard drive. You can find the Netflix downloads on your computer, but you can only actually play the videos through the Netflix app.
• Android: Netflix allows Android users to save videos to their internal memory or an SD card. To download to an SD card, tap your profile in the top right, then go to App Settings > Download Location and switch from Internal Storage to SD Card.

If your phone doesn’t have SD card support, or it has, but you haven’t inserted an SD card, you’ll only see Internal Storage (as shown above) as the only option when you tap Download Location​​​​​​.

What Are Smart Downloads on Netflix?

Netflix wants to ensure you have a great time watching content offline, so it has implemented a Smart Downloads feature. It means you’ll spend less time managing your downloads and more time watching them. Once you’ve watched a downloaded episode of the latest series, it will delete it and then automatically download the next episode.

Of course, this doesn’t just happen since you have to enable this feature yourself. It also only deletes a file once you reconnect to a network, so if you’re on a long flight, it will only delete the files when you touch the ground and your device goes back online.

• On Windows, you can manage this feature by going to Menu > My Downloads > Smart Downloads > Enable Smart Downloads.
• On Android, tap your Netflix profile in the top right, then navigate to App Settings > Smart Downloads and toggle on Download Next Episode.
• On iOS, tap your profile at the bottom right and select the hamburger menu at the top right, then go to App Settings > Smart Downloads and enable Download Next Episode.

You can learn more about the feature in our article on how to use Smart Downloads on Netflix.

Netflix Downloads Aren’t Permanent

Remember, however, that Netflix downloads aren’t permanent. First, all Netflix downloads expire. Once a title expires, you can “renew” it by deleting the offline copy and downloading it afresh. Second, some titles have a limit on the number of times you can download them for offline viewing per year.

Lastly, while most Netflix originals are there to stay, the content the platform licenses from other content makers may only be present for a specific time. When movies and TV shows are removed from the catalog, they’ll also be removed from people’s downloads.

In summary, downloading content to watch later on Netflix is super easy to do. Thankfully, you should now be more than covered in any situation, regardless of your device.