Common Misconceptions about VidAngel

Over a million families have supported VidAngel over the years. While this service has been the answer to successful movie nights for so many households, we raise a question mark for others unfamiliar with VidAngel. After years of comments like: “This will make the movie five minutes long.” “YOU CAN’T WATCH OUTLANDER WITH A FIVE-YEAR-OLD.” “You need Jesus.” And one of our personal favorites, “Have you ever heard of fast-forward? It’s free.” Plus, so many unmentioned all-caps moments/comments that we should clear the air with this small and concise list of common misconceptions about VidAngel.

“VidAngel offers clean, family-friendly content.”

Our filters let you make popular movies and shows from Netflix or Prime Video more family-friendly by skipping and muting offensive content. However, we’re not a streaming service with a vast library of family-friendly content—Pure Flix does that well, and we love them for it. While we offer some clean or family-friendly content, it’s not our primary focus. Remember, just because we have an ad for a show or talk about it on our social media doesn’t mean we think it’s one you should watch with your five-year-old.

“VidAngel censors or edits the stuff I watch.”

Another common misconception is that VidAngel censors or edits movies. We put you in control of your home entertainment. You decide what to filter and can change those preferences anytime. Think of us as a pre-programmed remote that automatically mutes or skips scenes you want to avoid. That’s not censorship. We never apply filters without your permission, don’t take a stand on what should be filtered, and don’t permanently alter physical or digital copies of the shows you watch.

“VidAngel can filter everything I watch.”

We wish this were always true, but we have agreed with some studios not to filter their content. Plus, prepping a show for filtering takes time. We aim to provide filters for the most popular new releases within days of their release. Currently, we offer filters for 20,000 streaming movies and TV shows. Check the VidAngel app to see what’s available for filtering.

“All of those filters will make a show really choppy.”

It depends on what you’re watching. Our filters are designed to be precise, so you won’t miss more than you want. Audio mutes only for the specific words or phrases you choose to skip, so most dialogue remains intact. Scenes are skipped seamlessly, often without you noticing. However, if a movie has a lot of filterable content (we’re looking at you, Wolf of Wall Street), enabling all filters might cause frequent audio mutes and video jumps. Remember, you control what’s filtered and can always adjust your settings.