A popular feature is disappearing from Netflix.

With a recent update, Netflix users were unpleasantly surprised to find they could no longer access the Cast icon in their mobile app, which allowed them to launch programs from their smartphone (or tablet) and stream them to the big screen. Where has the Google Cast feature of the Netflix app gone? This is an unpleasant surprise because many subscribers prefer the mobile interface to the Smart TV app, which they consider more cumbersome, for browsing their content. Furthermore, the mobile device or streaming device then acts as a remote control, another convenient feature. But no, if your TV already has a remote control, Netflix explains, the Cast icon becomes obsolete. In fact, the change affects all modern TVs, and only a few older devices ("older Chromecast models or TVs compatible with Google Cast," Netflix specifies) still retain the familiar icon. And again, this is conditional on having an ad-free subscription option. The disappearance of the Cast function, Google treated like Apple… This decision seems to be a logical consequence of the elimination of Apple AirPlay compatibility in 2019. Netflix certainly wants to prioritize browsing directly on the big screen, its application having now become ubiquitous and even integrated by default into commercially available Smart TVs, right down to the Netflix button on the remote. Another hypothesis is also plausible: the technical difficulties associated with "casting" content interspersed with advertisements, particularly for restarting the program after a commercial break. These are issues perfectly managed within the TV's native application.