In the endless battle against “scroll fatigue,” HBO Max is borrowing a play from Netflix to figure out what you really want to watch.
We’ve all been there. It’s 8 pm. You fire up a streaming service, full of optimism, only to spend the next 20 minutes aimlessly scrolling through a sea of digital thumbnails. You recognize some, are baffled by others, and ultimately give up and re-watch The Office or just go to bed.
This “endless scroll” is the biggest enemy of streaming giants, and HBO Max is rolling out a new weapon to fight it.
The service is officially deploying a new rating system, a simple-looking tool designed to finally get inside your head and figure out what you actually want to watch. The system, which had been in testing, is now coming to the HBO Max app on the web, mobile, and smart TVs.
It’s a straightforward, three-tiered approach. You can now rate any show or movie with one of three options: “Love,” “Like,” or “Not for me.”

So, how does it work?
On the surface, it’s exactly what you’d expect. When you finish a movie or an episode, a prompt will appear asking for your feedback. You can also find a “Rate” button on any title’s description page to log your opinion at any time.
The real magic happens behind the scenes, in the algorithm.
According to HBO Max, the system will directly tweak your personal recommendations based on this feedback. If you tag The Last of Us as “Love,” the service won’t just suggest more post-apocalyptic dramas. It will populate a brand new, high-priority carousel on your homepage titled “Because You Love…” This, in theory, becomes your new go-to row for high-confidence recommendations.
Conversely, any title you hit with “Not for me” will be effectively banished. The algorithm will learn to deprioritize not just that specific title, but also other shows and movies that share its DNA, saving you from having to scroll past that one reality show you can’t stand ever again.
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