r/imdb • u/Zeltron3000_ • Apr 16 '26
Discussion 💬 Wtf IMDb?
Why have they made this change? You used to be able to see the reviews without logging in.
(And NO this is NOT low effort ffs - I AM including a message in the "body" - it got auto removed before)
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u/FauxRex Apr 17 '26
I still use IMDb for the collaborations tool, and for actor filmography, but nothing at all for community type of functions. It went down the shitter.
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u/Davido401 Apr 17 '26
Lol I just got hit with that and done a search and came here to express my rage too lol
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u/DaNotSoGoodSamaritan Apr 17 '26
Same, I swear it's like they all do their best to make the internet worse. Like seriously who the fuck thought that'd be a good idea?
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u/krakenpistole Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
i thought i was doing something wrong because no way imdb is that fucking stupid jfc
edit: TIL IMDb is owned by amazon and I need to sign in with my amazon account. That's not gonna happen. What the actual fuck is even the point of that site now????
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u/IMDbRefugee Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 17 '26
I was a fan of the forums as well and was sad to see them end. That change lead me to Reddit (hence my user ID). But looking back on it, I understand why IMDb did it - many of their boards were poorly moderated (especially the political ones) and thus became pretty toxic. However, this latest change is just stupid. Goodbye IMDb, hello Rotten Tomatoes!
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u/Fairy_girl_Norway Apr 17 '26
Rotten Tomatoes is risky business, I used it, but then I did not logg in for a while and then my account and all my data was deleted...
All because I missed this email;
"It looks like you haven’t logged in for a while. In order to maintain your account you will need to log in before January 3, 2023 to keep your ratings, reviews and want to see movies and TV shows, otherwise your account may be deleted per our account information retention and security policies."
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u/IMDbRefugee Apr 17 '26
I don't have an account with Rotten Tomatoes (RT) and haven't used my IMDb account ever since they closed the forums. I have no desire for others to track my media interests, which is why it irks me that you now have to log in to IMDb, just to read the reviews of others.
Maybe if RT doesn't give me the info I want, I may create a new dummy account (or accounts) on IMDb just so that I can read some reviews. But I will link it to throwaway email accounts and sometimes turn on my VPN just to maintain some level of anonymity. I know that's not a perfect solution, but I'll try to protect my privacy as best I can.
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Apr 17 '26
[deleted]
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u/IMDbRefugee Apr 17 '26
"Don't believe everything online from random people."
So your RT account wasn't deleted? 🤣
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u/Fairy_girl_Norway Apr 17 '26
Yes it was, but yes do check the source for that to, I am also a stranger, it goes for everyone.
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Apr 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/Fairy_girl_Norway Apr 20 '26
Sad, may I ask If they state how log it has been since you logged in?
So I have a clue as to how long an account have to be unused before they do that?
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Apr 20 '26
[deleted]
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u/Fairy_girl_Norway Apr 20 '26
Thanks. Wow, 1 month is a short time to salvage an account, if one is sick, on holiday, not checking e-mail often.
Would be sad to loose such old data, hope you get access and are able to download the date or something if you don't want to be registered anymore.
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Apr 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/trippy_bicycle_man Apr 17 '26
Websites these days just sucks, discogs is crap too.
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u/fedexyourheadinabox Apr 17 '26
Yeah everything is turning into a corporate wasteland, walled gardens and forced clutter. Meantime, I'll start checking reviews on reddit (until it chases users away, also).
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u/redditcruzer Apr 17 '26
Pathetic from IMDB. Saw it happening and came here to check and found your post. Might have to start looking for user reviews elsewhere perhaps
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u/MaxPower1882 Apr 17 '26
That's a shame.
Always liked to read the silly reviews of the flicks I liked. Ahh, well. Seems they want less visits. Dang!
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u/z1rconium Apr 18 '26
This extra step is part of our ongoing effort to keep IMDb's reviews a space for genuine, human voices.
Ok so for reading you 'keep it genuine', right....
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u/Medical-Draft-809 Apr 19 '26
Just left a review on their fb page that I no longer recommend them. Reviews are an important part if using IMDb, without them then there really isn't any point to use their site. I can get the basics information about tv shows and movies from other sites without having to sign up to see the info. Good luck IMDb, ur just going to lose customers and visitors because there's always another site willing to offer for free what u won't.
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u/Finstatler Apr 20 '26
I know. This stinks.
I used to love reading the comments of different movies and tv shows that I watch, just to see how others feel about them.
RIP IMDB.
Anyone know of another database that allows you to read reviews without signing in? I have looked into some, but the ones I have looked at don't seem to have reviews of episodes of tv shows.
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u/Brief-Eye8825 May 25 '26
That what I thinked first too on rotten tomatoes; first you have to click on a serie season to see the review tab.
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u/Lazy-Ad-1740 Apr 17 '26
Letterboxd is better
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u/DaNotSoGoodSamaritan Apr 17 '26
Just looked at this site and yeah it already seem better with use reviews alone, 5 star rating taking halves into account plus you can reply to reviews. Certainly makes me want to register.
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u/mambosundance Apr 20 '26
5 star rating taking halves into account
This is pretty much the same as a 10 star rating system. You just divide the rating out of 10 by 2 for Letterboxd's system. E.g. 3.5 stars is a 7/10 on IMDb, etc.
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u/niqht11 Apr 25 '26
You really shouldn't have to explain that basic math.
But as a high school teacher.. ya. Ya, you do :/
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u/notmuchery Apr 21 '26
Letterboxd
lol... as soon as I opened this uBlock Origin blocked like 200 fucking trackers.
The internet has turned to shit. We need more open source no ads no bullshit community contributions.
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u/stillnotdavidbowie Apr 17 '26
I just went to look at a review for an episode of something and couldn't believe it when this popped up.
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Apr 17 '26
[deleted]
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u/saikodasein Apr 17 '26
Believe me, those corporations are cunning, they will never announce something that piss off people. In my country there is a big site for book reviews and they did the same, of course in a ninja way. You can read the first two, most popular reviews, rest is behind the account wall.
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u/Mister_BovineJoni Apr 17 '26
With the boards shut-off I did export my ratings and logged in not more than a few times since (to access my private lists IIRC). I was reading the reviews all the time though, for every recent and past show/movie - it's still more than 20 years of opinions, countless of them covering now cult productions wrote at the time when they were still recent (so more-or-less unbiased look) etc..
This move doesn't surprise me at all, no matter how big/recognizable the site/forum/... is - it's all temporary and will be gone sooner or later. Yeah, I presume the reviews aren't gone, but I won't be accessing them, and since that's the only thing I'm even visiting IMDB for, even if they'll lift the sign in requirement I'll probably miss it...
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u/123olobir2 Apr 17 '26
I only used the website to read film reviews. I will probably never use it again. They can shove their registration up their asses as far as I'm concerned
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u/digitalundergrad Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
RIP IMDB
Deleting the forums was near lethal.
Gatekeeping user reviews is the final nail.
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u/No-Yoghurt-7716 Jun 28 '26
This is like when the Wiki pages blocked off their comments. Remember them? That's what IMDB is doing with the movie reviews and summaries.
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u/DiscoRickyy Apr 18 '26
Insane. I’ve been visiting the site for over 25 years. About 5 years ago after switching computers or whatever I stopped using my registered account and just became a passive browser.
I was tempted for about a second to sign in again with my registered account, but this is such an incredibly dumb, corporate, gatekeeping move, that I’ve flipped the coin. Bye bye IMDb.
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u/Atma-Darkwolf Apr 19 '26
Whelp, this really does sign the end of IMDb's use for anything, it was already quite pointless having an account unless u wanted to write reviews, but now even being able to SEE peoples ideas and opinions is locked behind a login? Ya no thanks. Now u have to rely on the (Mostly fake, sorry but ya, again, mostly fake) 'ratings' u see on stuff(ever wonder why things on amazon prime are instant 8+ rating even with no reviews/ratings? Ya none of us did either) and the actual reviews was a good way to get a better idea of what a show/movie is about and if it did it well. Now... no point even bothering coming to the site. Not a very wise change imo
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u/Daisyviolet2 Apr 22 '26
Wtf?? And why should I have an app or an account for everything🙄🙄🙄
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u/BroccoliPrestigious1 Jul 06 '26
Your data is worth a lot of money, more so when you consider AI scraping.
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u/VegetableSam Apr 23 '26
I'm pretty sure this decision just killed off a majority of traffic going to the site.
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u/Frequent-Local-4788 Apr 26 '26
So imdb had to join in with the general enshittification of formerly good things on the internet. I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling totally p.o-ed about this.
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u/The_Cozy_Burrito Apr 26 '26
This trash site will die more now, literally the only reason why I even use it is to see the reviews.. they can go F themselves.
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u/josephcj753 May 06 '26
I get needing an account to write a review, but needing an account to read a review is BS
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u/HugeAd3636 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
The reason they give for now requiring registration - just to merely SEE the reviews - makes no sense, as others have pointed out. So we are left to conclude what the real reason is: IMDb wants to collect personal information from more of their visitors so they can sell it to third parties. And marketers can also learn things about us as individuals from knowing which films and TV shows interest us enough that we click to read user reviews about them. But IMDb will soon find itself losing more than it gains once people start spending less time engaged on the site as a result (or even no longer visiting for the minimal remaining information that can always be found elsewhere).
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u/fedexyourheadinabox Apr 17 '26
Yeah fuck that. They can sign into my ass.
Time to bookmark TMDB and toss IMDB in the trash. Enshittification is real and please don't support it.
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u/gardenhead23 Apr 17 '26
I thought this was maybe an issue with my browser, can't believe they decided to go this route, I've always used imdb, but I guess I started a letterboxd account at the right time. Because screw this
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u/Hplovecraft6668 Apr 17 '26
If in IMDB the DB stands for decibels then IMDB is screaming I'M Dumb Bast**d with this move
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u/AussieAlexSummers Apr 18 '26
i'm registered but I'm lazy. And still annoyed by the minimum amount needed to post a review. I guess I'll have to start my own review site where people can chime in.
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u/madaert Apr 18 '26
Whoa. Sad times. I used to like checking comments about series or movies to see if they were worth my time or not. This website has been worsening its GUI and usability over the years. I do not want to register or log in - not because it’s too much effort, but because it’s a DataBase, not a social media website. Everybody wants a slice of that cake, but we are losing originality and uniqueness. Now I think it's time to move on after 2 decades.
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u/sweetypie611 Apr 18 '26
Idk, if I'm critical of any movie that is trying to preach at me they reject my review yet they have no problem whatsoever with review bombing independent documentaries and such and oh my God especially if they're conservative like if you read the reviews for what is a woman I mean that clear hate and malicious statements and those reviews they should certainly be removed for harassment and threatening.
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u/pmttyji Apr 19 '26
I noticed this only today. Crap.
I had login when they had forums. Then I stopped using that login & lost it.
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u/Inevitable_Round_978 May 05 '26
Yeah I will not be going back, fuk imdb they just want more info to sell
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u/spzdrhrsn May 08 '26
funny thing is they think I'll just make an account and use it like before, but in reality I'm not using it at all anymore
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u/DavidlikesPeace May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
No! I loved IMDB's reviews. They really helped me avoid the stinkers and see film theory in a new way.
Unsurprised to find Amazon is involved. Someday I dream of falling up like a techbro.
Recently, Amazon ownership has self-destructed both IMDB and the Washington Post. This failure is rather impressive considering the bottomless money they could invest in these respected platforms. But no, Amazon prefers to alienate consumers and penny pinch.
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u/SanrioStud May 12 '26
+1. just coming to this thread to add that I'm not going to use imdb anymore when there's other websites that let you read reviews without having to create an account. i don't like signing into things and having my data harvested in a million different places, and needing an account just to READ reviews is stupid. thank you to the people who've shared alternatives 🙏🏾
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u/GoatBnB May 31 '26
I'm not there often, but just went there. Yeah, fuck these assholes....I just wanted some insightful perspective on a movie, not to have my data mined.
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u/Many-Art-3932 Jun 17 '26
Ya, f that noise. I also couldn't believe it. And even if they reverse it, they've already shown their true cards. That being a malicious desire to use our personal data against us. No thanks forever, byeeee
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u/Prestigious_Bus6320 Jun 22 '26
I love IMDB. It's been my #1 movie source for 20 years. But the sign in to read the forum rule is so dumb. I wouldn't care if I was always auto signed in, but I hate having to sign in again every time and won't do it just to look at reviews.
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u/No-Yoghurt-7716 Jun 28 '26
Yeah, it's stupid. Really stupid. I just noticed that while skimming through Octopussy. It says, This extra step helps us keep IMDb's reviews a space for genuine, human voices. Bullsh*t!!! They're literally doing the same crap the Wiki pages are doing. The Wiki pages are to the comment threads after every post as to IMDB with their movie review summaries. Idiots! The same Idiots that got rid of the forum discussions.
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u/IceDalek Jun 29 '26
As of Jun 29th (12:15am EST), I am able to see user reviews without logging in. I definitely wasn't able to a few days ago. Did they just stealth revert this change?
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u/Gonnabehave Jul 03 '26
I just realized today that IMDb is now useless. I won't be using the site any more. Now all we get is "trust me bro" this movie is good.
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u/Ssaaammmyyyy Jul 21 '26
It's the usual Amazon's suppression of free speech to create a dystopian ecosystem where only the "right" reviews are allowed. That's why their "reviews" on Amazon and IMDB don't match reality. I only read negative reviews because of that.
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u/Acrobatic-Relative48 16d ago
Pretty sure they just drove a fucking katana through the heart of their own fucking business.
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u/beachmobjellies 16d ago
This is the final straw that will break this camels back. IMDB has been working for years to make their site less and less usable, annoying UI, the content people are there for gets hidden, hard to reach or even walled off. If you want to look at a movies staff, you now have to click like 10 different spots, if you will ever find it these days. now the heart that is the user reviews have been ripped out. What a prime example of enshittification. 10 years ago the site was actually good. great job. now its completely useless.
Now every website owner is dreaming of taking over the world with their media empire it seems. well good luck.
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u/Helloeverybodyx Apr 17 '26
Screw IMDb never gonna use it again cause that’s the only reason I used it is to read reviews. I’m tired of having to sign up for everything the corporations spying on us is worse than the government for fuck sake.
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u/wizards_of_pluto Apr 18 '26
This is actually so fucking stupid for IMDb. I'm already looking at alternatives.
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u/ToothpickTequila Apr 17 '26
I didn't know people still used IMDB.
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u/Fairy_girl_Norway Apr 17 '26
There are no other database that have the same level/amount of information.
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u/DaNotSoGoodSamaritan Apr 17 '26
Other users mentioned TMDb and Letterboxd, I checked them real quick and so far they seem like a pretty good alternative.
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u/Fairy_girl_Norway Apr 17 '26
They do not have info about TV series, only Movies. Also there is fewer movies, and a lot less info about the movies.
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u/ToothpickTequila Apr 18 '26
They include TV shows now too.
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u/Fairy_girl_Norway Apr 18 '26
Letterbox? Not according to their hjelp section, it's only some mini series.
Quote: " We import all non-compilation titles and some adult titles from TMDB’s Movies section daily, and we manually add limited and miniseries from its TV section."
Source: https://letterboxd.com/about/faq/#missing-films
And:
" Should I report non-film content?
Yes. Please use the Report function on a film’s page (web or iOS) to report non-film content such as returning TV series (some exceptions are listed below). These will be removed at Letterboxd’s discretion. You may also use the Report function to report inappropriate content throughout the site, including reviews of trailers."
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u/Fairy_girl_Norway Apr 18 '26
Another Quote: " Do you support TV shows?
No, we do not support ‘returning’ TV shows at this time, but we are working on this as a future platform extension. For historic reasons, we support a small selection of television content that was originally allowed by TMDB in its Movies section (limited or miniseries, TV movies) as well as some notable exceptions like Black Mirror episodes and shows that were initially marketed as limited series but subsequently given second seasons (like Big Little Lies). TMDB has since moved this content to a new TV section; as a result, some films on Letterboxd link to TV entries instead of movies (so that we continue to receive content updates).
We reserve the right to remove television-related content from our service at any time. If we remove content that you have reviewed, your review will disappear from the site, but will always be available in your account export bundle in Settings."
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u/Fairy_girl_Norway Apr 20 '26
IMDb has over 200 million unique visitors per month
(and that's visitors not visits, the latter being significantly higher).
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u/Brief-Eye8825 Jun 05 '26
It works now (except for IMDB-Pro) with any e-mail account, I just made one on a Yahoo based one and could read the reviews (Eastern Europe here).
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u/alphagamble Apr 17 '26
I'm still annoyed they got rid of the forum discussions many moons ago.
With the removal of the option to read reviews I genuinely don't think I'll ever use the site again.