How to Get Rid of the Text in the Top Left While Watching Netflix

Lee Stanton January 22, 2022

A Netflix and chill session can be great fun. Grab a snack and a drink, sit down, and play your favorite movie or show. But there’s one thing you don’t need when binge-watching the latest series. Annoying lines of white text can suddenly appear in the top left of the screen. The text displays three or more of video bitrate and resolution, audio format and language, elapsed time, and timed-text (subtitles, closed captioning) language and status.

How to Get Rid of the Text in the Top Left While Watching Netflix

Sometimes it can be helpful to know the elapsed time, status of subtitles, audio format/enhancements, and the resolution or bitrate of the stream. However, you certainly don’t want that info displayed on your screen constantly, blocking the corner and diverting your attention.

Luckily, turning off the top left text isn’t complicated at all. In this article, you’ll learn how to eliminate the text in the top-left corner of Netflix, whether you somehow activated it, or it simply showed up on its own.

How to Get Rid of the Top Left Text Info on Netflix?

The method you can use to get rid of the text in the top left that appears on Netflix depends on your device. As you may already know, the streaming service is available on all devices with internet access.

Remove Text in Top-Left area of Netflix using a Smart TV

Launch Netflix on your Smart TV.
On a smart TV, press the “Info” or “Option” key to remove the text. If there’s no such button, try the “Asterisk button,” which may exist on Roku OS TVs.
If both options don’t work, try them again during the buffering process upon launching a stream.

Remove The Top-Left Text on Netflix using a Roku Device or Roku TV

Launch Roku on your TV or go back to the “Home screen.” This step applies to both Roku TVs and devices.
Press the “Asterisk button” on the Roku remote, then go back to what you were watching.
If the text still appears, try pressing the “Asterisk button” three times when launching a stream and while it is buffering.
If Steps 2 and 3 fail, try holding down the “Asterisk button” when trying the above two steps.

Removing Text in the Top-Left Section of Netflix on Xbox One X/S or Xbox Series X/S

Launch the Netflix App on your Xbox console.
Press the “right control stick” to make the text go away.

Get Rid of Text in Upper-Left Section of Netflix on PlayStation 4/PS4

Launch the “Netflix app” on your PS4 game console.
Press the “right joystick” to turn off the text.
If Step 2 fails, tap on the “Options button” right next to the triangle.
If Step 3 fails, try restarting your PS4.
If Step 4 fails, try removing and then reinstalling Netflix.

Netflix Upper-Left Text FAQs

1. What is TimedText/Timed Text on Netflix?

TimedText is also known as Timed Text, and it is another word for Closed Captioning and subtitles. The dialogue gets displayed in conjunction with its timecode. The authoring specification is Timed Text Markup Language (TTML), but Netflix is slowly developing its new TTAL authoring specification, making localization easier to build and manage. Regardless, TTML uses two lines max to display text in real-time. TimedText displays centered and at the top or bottom, depending on the developer’s preferences. Timed Text also gets used for language translations, such as made-up alien or monster languages, Chinese to English, etc.

No More Annoying Netflix Text

In closing, there are so many programs available for viewing, and Netflix is the ultimate hub for fun and exciting content. Now that you know how to get rid of the top-left text and inspect your settings to remove any distractions, you can relax and enjoy all the shows you want.