• Casting is pulled from the Netflix app to newer Google TV devices
• You now can’t cast at all on an ad-supported Netflix plan
• The change came without warning and hasn’t been explained

Netflix has decided to disable one of the most useful features available on its Android and iOS apps, without any warning: you can now no longer cast videos wirelessly from Netflix on your phone to newer Google TV devices like the Google TV Streamer and Chromecast with Google TV.

You can still cast from the Netflix app to older Chromecast devices (those without a remote, such as the Google Nest Hub), but only if you’re paying for a more expensive Netflix tier. A significant change is that you can’t cast at all on the ad-supported plan now.

If you’re at home and have the Netflix app on your TV or streaming stick, that won’t be much of a problem. However, it’s something that travelers regularly rely on – in hotels, for example – and it’s also useful when visiting friends and family.

I’ve often used Google’s simple casting tech to watch Netflix on my phone when looking after my friends’ houses, pets, and children – it means not having to jump through hoops to log in on another television. It’s also really handy when staying in places like Airbnbs, but apparently not handy enough for Netflix to want to keep it around.

It’s for our own good

[RANT] Netflix no long has casting support. you must now use the app directly on the streamer without your phone. from r/Chromecast

As per The Verge, there’s been no explanation of why this useful feature has been mostly ditched, not even on the official support page. It matches what Netflix did with Apple AirPlay back in 2019, saying it helps the streaming service to ensure a certain “standard of quality for viewing” is being met.

According to one annoyed user on Reddit, Netflix is again going with the line that this will improve the customer experience – presumably because apps installed on an actual TV or streaming dongle are supposedly more reliable, with no wireless beaming required.

Not for the first (or last) time in the world of tech, a move that’s bad for users is seemingly being sold as actually good for users. From third-party Reddit apps to a Reels-first Instagram, we’re regularly told that what’s best for the tech companies is also best for us.

By ditching the Google casting tech (as well as AirPlay), Netflix will now know more about the hardware you’re using – giving it more control over which devices you’re watching on and where you’re logged in, without any outside interference.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.