Netflix is one of the premiere providers of movies online. At £5.99, its users get to stream movies and TV shows on their computers, phones, and even gaming consoles. It’s a really small price to pay for so much entertainment – which is why UK citizens were pretty stoked when Netflix was launched in their country. However, the launch was sullied by people’s displeasure over the prominence of Facebook on the registration page.

People readily assumed that they needed to connect their Facebook accounts to their Netflix one in order to register. The backlash was swift and immediate. People took to Twitter and, ironically, Facebook, to complain about the policy. But as it turned out, the whole thing was just a misunderstanding. Netflix put the option there to make it easier and faster for people to register. However, those who did not want to link their Facebook accounts with Netflix only had to click on a link that directed them to a page where they could register using their email address alone. Netflix had to post a Tweet clarifying that they were not making a Facebook login compulsory for UK users.

Of course, why would they? After the storm of criticism that Spotify had to endure over the whole Facebook log-in and frictionless sharing fiasco, it would be counterproductive for any other company to attempt the same thing. Spotify had to do quite a bit of back tracking during that incident but still earned quite a bit of bad press despite all their efforts.

Then again, even if the whole thing was a misunderstanding, it was still quite a big blunder for Netflix to make the Facebook log in option so much more obvious than the regular registration button. The way people see it, the Facebook log in option should just be an accessory to the main registration button.

What they did get right was to put in the option of revoking permission from your Facebook-Netflix account any time. An account that is linked to Facebook would automatically share your viewing activities to your friends – so if you already registered using your Facebook account but don’t like the idea of frictionless sharing, then I would strongly suggest that you take advantage of that opt out button right now. If you were hesitant to sign up because of the alleged “Facebook requirement” though, don’t be. A Facebook account isn’t necessary to make a Netflix account at all.