I’m on vacation back home eating good food and avoiding work as much as I can. Also, bored. While streaming Netflix on VPN, I was reminded of the Netflix and Chill switch. Quite intrigued by the idea, I wanted to make it. However, the more I read into it, the more it seemed like a Rube Goldberg Switch; there had to be a simpler way of invoking some of the elements that constitute to a Netflix and Chill night.
If I was on a Netflix and Chill date night, there need to be at minimum:
- A date (Tinder is no help, it’s an exercise to build your tolerance to rejection.)
- Netflix
- Food
To control all these, I thought about using IFTTT but their singular triggers are unhelpful to say the least. So while watching Netflix the idea came to mind to use my iPhone. And as a result we now have MyNetflixAndChill.com.
The website is a simple interface that launches 7 services you’d need (you need to have these apps on your phone) and if you have a Chromecast/Apple TV connected to your TV – it gets better. The setup truly shines when you have an Apple Watch or a Microsoft Band allowing you to control your media.
There are 2 versions of MyNetflixAndChill.com as of now:
- Open the apps on your phone
- A Lite version that takes you directly to the webpages (lite.MyNetflixAndChill.com)
You simply go to MyNetflixAndChill.com, and you’re presented with 7 options:
- Spotify: select it and it’ll open the Cozy Evening Spotify playlist for you to play
- Netflix: select it and it’ll go directly Silver Linings Playbook (I had to do this because there’s no way to directly open a specific genre in Netflix through a link, SLP lets you see more romantic movie options. Also, I just helped pick a movie for you. So you’re welcome.)
- Seamless.com: If you’re in NYC, you survive on Seamless. You know what it is
- Delivery.com: If you need groceries-ish items
- Uber: Be a gentleman, provide a cab pick & drop for the girl. Use Pool if you’re traveling
- WeMo: I have one to control the room lights for when you want to call it a night (Not available in the Lite version)
- Silence your Phone: C’mon dude, be a gentleman. It’s date night. (Not available on the web version.)
For now, the site is customized to NYC, in a few days, I’ll update it to include a few other cities if the need arises.
Pro Tips:
- You can save this site to your homescreen as a bookmark
- Thanks to Apple, you have the quick app toggling option on the top left of the screen to go back to the My Netflix And Chill panel from an app
While I know you can individually go to each app to do these tasks, but where’s the fun in that?
We are working on Apple Watch version of this too. Just for kicks. I have ideas for the next iteration which will be a full fledged app – it’ll require some skills and learning so might be a while.
PS: I know the pros have Launch Center Pro that lets you setup all this, but that’s the point, it makes you do the work. I just did it for you. You’re welcome.
Update:
#1: We now have an India-specific version with location-based redirect and India-specific services that include:
- Gaana – You’ll be taken to the new romantic bollywood playlist
- Eros Now – Unfortunately, their devs (and that of other Indian movie streaming apps) are lazy, as a result you’re redirected to their webpage
- BigBasket – For groceries
- FoodPanda – Ordering food