How long do Netflix downloads last before they expire? It’s a question that’s of interest to many people in South Africa and around the world. Netflix is arguably the most popular online streaming service that can be found out there.
South Africa has alternatives such as Multichoice’s Showmax, but they still lag behind Netflix. We have a previous article in which we talked about how to download Netflix shows and movies onto your device. We noted then that these movies have expiry dates. So, how long can you watch a downloaded Netflix show before it is deleted?
How long can you watch downloaded Netflix shows and movies?
The default expiry date for downloaded Netflix movies and shows is 7 days. However, there are some that will expire earlier than that. Should that be the case, you will see the number of days remaining on the show in Downloads. Some movies and shows expire after 2 days, with the countdown starting from the moment you press play.
Why does Netflix impose time limits on downloads?
That’s the answer to the question, how long do Netflix downloads last before they expire. But why does Netflix impose time limits on downloads in the first place? If you download a movie or some other show, shouldn’t you be allowed to have access to it forever?
Unfortunately, that is not so. According to Netflix, expiry periods on some shows are imposed by the licenses that the company enters into with the providers. That’s the reason why there are variations to the times before Netflix downloads expire.
Can you redownload expired movies and shows on Netflix?
In this article we answered the question; “how long do Netflix downloads last before they expire?” It was noted that the default is 7 days but some shows will expire 48 hours after you have started watching them.
But what if a movie that you have been burning to watch has expired? Can you redownload it? Perhaps you downloaded it onto your device a couple of days previously, but you didn’t get the time to watch it. A lot of us take advantage of free WiFi at work and elsewhere to carry out downloads. But what if the title then expires?
The good news is that you redownload most expired Netflix titles. The only caveat is that the title needs to be still available on Netflix. In fact, the moment a title leaves Netflix, it will be removed from your device regardless of whether you still have days before its expiry.
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