This is how Netflix plans to steal your scrolling time from TikTok

Faced with TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, the streaming giant is redesigning its mobile application with vertical videos and video podcasts to encourage daily engagement. At its quarterly results presentation on Tuesday, the company announced a major overhaul of its mobile application, which will borrow heavily from the codes of social networks to appeal to users used to scrolling through TikTok or Instagram.

A TikTok-style vertical feed at the heart of the strategy

The new version of the app, scheduled for the end of 2026, will feature a vertical video stream presenting short extracts from Netflix series and films. This is a format that the platform has been testing since May, and is reminiscent of Instagram Reels and TikTok’s For You.

“You can imagine that we will be integrating more clips based on new types of content, such as video podcasts”, said Greg Peters, co-CEO of Netflix, suggesting that these short videos will become a central tool for capturing attention and increasing time spent on the application.

This approach marks a strategic turning point for Netflix, which now recognises that the battle is with the entire mobile entertainment industry.

The podcast offensive to rival YouTube

The company is also launching an offensive into video podcasts, a territory largely dominated by YouTube. This week, Netflix unveiled its first original video podcasts, hosted by the likes of Pete Davidson and Michael Irvin, while forging partnerships with Spotify and iHeartMedia to enrich its catalogue.

The aim, as with Disney+, is to turn Netflix into a daily destination rather than just an occasional viewing service. “Television is no longer what we grew up on. Today, television is everything,” said Ted Sarandos, the other co-CEO, pointing out that the Oscars and the NFL are watched on YouTube, while Apple competes at the Emmys and the Oscars.

Between experimentation and caution

Despite this obvious proximity to the mechanics of social networking, Netflix is keen to distance itself from mere imitation. At the TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 conference, CTO Elizabeth Stone insisted that the company was not looking to become TikTok, but rather to enhance content discovery with features designed for mobile.

This rhetorical caution has not prevented Netflix from acknowledging the reality of the market: the boundaries between streaming, cinema and social content are becoming blurred. The company has demonstrated this by announcing its intention to acquire Warner Bros and by adopting a hybrid distribution strategy between cinemas and the platform.