Frequent questions Letterboxd

Home | New Lens | About

Frequent questions Letterboxd

https://letterboxd.com/about/faq/ • 369 KB fetched
Open original page

Letterboxd -- Your life in film

Username

Password

Remember me

Forgotten username or password ?

Add to your films…
I watched…
Edit diary entry

Back

Name of Film

Or add

Add to your diary?

Watched on

I’ve watched this before

Contains spoilers

A moderator has locked spoilers for this review

Tags
Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

Rating

Privacy mode
(Help)

Default

Anyone (public)

Close Friends (selected by you)

You (private)

…

Anyone (public)

Close Friends (selected by you)

You (private)

Use account default

Your diary date (if set) and watched status for this film remain publicly visible.
Ratings on Close Friends and You entries don’t contribute to stats.
Add members to your Close Friends from their profile.
Set your account default for Privacy mode in Settings .

Draft

Draft entries don’t appear in your watched films or diary for others, and don’t contribute to your stats.

Delete

Save

Search:

* Frequent questions

* Paid subscriptions

* Annual sale

* HQ accounts

* Film data

* Importing data

* Embed our ratings

* Migrating from IMDb

* Account deactivation

* Letterboxd brand

* Video Store brand

* Security notices

* Behind the scenes

* Podcast transcripts

*
About Letterboxd

What is Letterboxd?

Letterboxd is a global social network for grass-roots film discussion and discovery. Use it as a diary to record and share your opinion about films as you watch them, or just to keep track of films you’ve seen in the past. Showcase your favorites on your profile page. Rate, review and tag films as you add them. Find and follow your friends to see what they’re enjoying. Keep a watchlist of films you’d like to see, and create lists/collections on any given topic . We’ve been described as “like GoodReads for movies”.

We have apps for iOS, Android and Apple TV. Paying members get an ad-free experience, personalized all-time and annual stats pages, the option to select and filter by what’s available on their favorite streaming services, watchlist notifications, the ability to filter activity streams by entry type and to clone other members’ lists, and much more. Learn about Pro.

Read more about the genesis of Letterboxd and follow us on X/Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and TikTok .

Why is it called Letterboxd?

Wikipedia defines letterboxing as the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the original aspect ratio. Generally this is accomplished by adding mattes (or ‘black bars’) above and below the picture area. Letterboxd is named for our love of the widescreen format, and has nothing whatsoever to do with orienteering or that thing in Stand By Me . Here’s some history .

*
Membership

Do I need to create an account to use this site?

No. You may freely browse all of Letterboxd without an account, but you’ll need to create one if you want to log any films or otherwise participate.

How do I become a member?

Create an account —there is no requirement to be invited by another member.

Create an account in this app or on our website—there is no requirement to be invited by another member.

Does it cost to use this service?

No. Letterboxd will always remain free to use. Some features are only available by upgrading to a Pro or Patron account . See below for more details on upgrading.

Will I be paid for my reviews?

No. We don’t offer payment for reviews, but we’re very happy for our members to build their own paying audience via services such as Patreon .

Do you have a community policy?

Yes. (Also, check out our more fulsome terms of use .)

How do I close my account?

Please refer to our guide to deactivating your Letterboxd account .

*
General use

How should I use Letterboxd?

Short answer: however you like. We invite new members to read our Welcome page , which covers a number of common actions and helpful tips. The easiest interaction is to mark films you’ve seen using the ‘eye’ icon on each poster. You can rate films and perform other actions from the Actions menu on the poster as well. Each film you mark as watched is added to your profile, allowing others to see what you’ve watched, and the site to optionally hide films we know you’ve seen when browsing some pages.

Use the ‘+ Log’ button on our website or the ‘+’ button in our app to log a film to your Diary (including the date you watched it and an optional review, if you like). Do this as you watch films, or to share your opinion of a film you’ve seen in the past (providing a watched date is optional). When logging/reviewing a film, you can also rate and/or like it, and add tags (for the film itself or to remind you how/with whom you watched it). We provide easy tools for making and sharing lists/collections of films too.

Can I watch films on Letterboxd?

Yes, as of December 2025, Letterboxd offers a curated digital video-rental service called Letterboxd Video Store , featuring regular drops of unreleased and/or hard-to-find titles.

What’s the difference between marking a film watched and logging it?

Marking a film as ‘watched’ (using the ‘eye’ icon on the film’s poster or controls, or by rating the film if you haven’t already marked it as watched) tells Letterboxd you’ve seen the film at some point in the past. It’s the best way to ‘back-fill’ films on the service, without having to recall exactly when you watched them. Marking films ‘watched’ adds to your overall tally of films, is useful when browsing lists (we show the percentage of each list you’ve watched) and allows you to optionally hide the films you’ve seen when browsing some screens.

Logging a film (via the ‘+ Log’ button on web, and the ‘+’ button in our app) allows you to record that you watched a film on a particular date. Adding films in this manner builds up your Diary (a record of when you saw each film) and the Recent Activity section of your Profile—films are also marked as watched when you log them, if that flag is not already set. A minimum of ten diary entries in a given year is required to generate a Year in Review page ( Pro members only), or the email summary that we send in January (to all members who choose to receive our general news emails). Most members keep an up-to-date Diary only from the time they join the platform, but it is possible to import your viewing history if you have that data from another service or spreadsheet.

Logging a film (via the ‘+ Log’ button) allows you to record that you watched a film on a particular date. Adding films in this manner builds up your Diary (a record of when you saw each film) and the Recent Activity section of your Profile—films are also marked as watched when you log them, if that flag is not already set. A minimum of ten diary entries in a given year is required to generate a Year in Review screen ( Pro members only), or the email summary that we send in January (to all members who choose to receive our general news emails). Most members keep an up-to-date Diary only from the time they join the app, but it is possible to import your viewing history if you have that data from another service or spreadsheet.

Can I remove a film from my watched list?

Yes, you can unmark a film as watched by clicking the green “eye” icon to toggle it off, but you’ll need to remove any diary entries or reviews for the film, as well as its rating, before doing so (this can be removed on the film’s page).

I’ve been marking films watched instead of logging them to my Diary. How can I fix this?

You can retrospectively add diary entries for films you’ve marked as watched, in order to complete your Diary. If you need the activity dates for when you marked each film, these are included in your account export bundle, which you can download in Settings . (If you’d like to automate this process and you know your way around a computer, grab the relevant CSV file from the export bundle, rename the Date column to Watched Date , and then use our importer to add the diary entries to your account—you’ll have the chance to check them before they’re finalized.)

You can retrospectively add diary entries for films you’ve marked as watched, in order to complete your Diary. If you need the activity dates for when you marked each film, these are included in your account export bundle, which you can download from your Settings screen in our website. (If you’d like to automate this process and you know your way around a computer, grab the relevant CSV file from the export bundle, rename the Date column to Watched Date , and then use our importer to add the diary entries to your account—you’ll have the chance to check them before they’re finalized.)

What’s the difference between liking and rating a film?

You can ‘like’ a film any time to show you enjoyed it, which builds up your Profile and Likes pages, or rate films (via the film’s page, or by logging it, or using the Actions menu on any poster) to give your friends a better idea of how much you loved (or hated) it, and they’ll see this on your Ratings page and in their activity feed (if it’s part of a review or diary entry). If you provide ratings for films, you can later sort films by these ratings, useful for making year-end lists. It’s no problem to use both ratings and likes (or neither).

Can I log a film and review it later?

Yes. You may edit a diary entry and/or add a review at any time after logging a film. Go to the diary entry (from the Diary tab in your Films section) and find the option to ‘Add a Review’. Your review will show in your followers’ activity as soon as you save it (if this is the first time you’ve added one), even if your followers already saw activity when you first logged the film.

When I rate a film, do all my ratings for it change?

No. Ratings attached to previous diary entries or reviews are not updated. This allows your rating to change over time, should you log or review a film multiple times, rather than keeping the same rating for the film for all time. Note that each time you add a rating as part of a diary entry/review (or update the rating in an old diary entry/review), your ‘default’ rating for the film is updated to match.

Why is my number of watched films or diary entries incorrect?

We keep temporary caches for many different types of content, including counts of films watched and logged. If one of your totals is incorrect, try saving changes to your Settings page on our website in order to reset your account caches (there is no need to change any settings).

Why does my films total differ from my diary entries total?

Your ‘Films’ total counts each film once for the period (all time or within a single year), while your ‘Diary Entries’ total counts every individual watch of a film. If you’ve logged any films two or more times within the period, your Diary Entries total will exceed your Films total. (Note that a re-watch will still count towards your ‘Films’ total for the year the first time you watch it during that year, but not on subsequent views.)

Why is a particular actor missing from my most watched stats?

Some cast contributions are internally marked as ‘cameo’ roles, for instance if there is no character name associated with the role or it is listed as ‘uncredited’. These roles do not count towards ‘Most Watched’ stats. (Also known as the ‘Stan Lee Rule’.)

Can Letterboxd generate recommendations for me?

While we view the whole of Letterboxd as one big, organic recommendation engine, we don’t have a section specifically labeled as such. You can, however, use our sorting and filters to find films that may be of interest. For example, this page shows a selection of films you haven’t seen, based on your watched and liked films (you’ll need to use the ‘heart’ icon on a few films to get meaningful results, as this method doesn’t consider your ratings). Many films also have a ‘Similar Films’ list; tapping through to see all similar films for a given title surfaces the themes and ‘nanogenres’ for that title, another great way to discover new films to watch based on your particular areas of interest.

*
Profile and settings

How do I validate my email address?

Each time you change the email address associated with your account, we send you an email containing a link, to ensure you’ve provided an address that you can receive messages to. To resend the email for a non-validated account, Save Changes on your Settings page. If you don’t receive our automated emails, please check your junk/spam folder, and try adding [email protected] to your email contacts to increase the likelihood of receiving them.

How do I validate my email address?

Each time you change the email address associated with your account, we send you an email containing a link, to ensure you’ve provided an address that you can receive messages to. To resend the email for a non-validated account, Save Changes on your Settings page on our website. If you don’t receive our automated emails, please check your junk/spam folder, and try adding [email protected] to your email contacts to increase the likelihood of receiving them.

Does Letterboxd have two-factor authentication for increased account security?

Yes, you may enable/disable two-factor authentication (sometimes called second-factor or 2FA) in Settings . We support time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) via authenticator or password management apps. We do not support SMS- or email-based 2FA at this time, nor do we provide backup codes—if you lose access to your 2FA rolling codes, please reset your password using your email address in order to regain access to your account, or contact support if you require assistance.

How do I add an avatar image to my account?

You can upload your avatar via the Settings screen of our website. If you have not uploaded an avatar, but have connected your X/Twitter account, or you have a Gravatar attached to your registered Letterboxd email address, we’ll use that image instead. The avatar upload screen allows you to pick which avatar you’d like to use: your uploaded one, an image from X/Twitter or Gravatar, or none.

How do I pin content to my profile?

If you’re a Pro or Patron member Pro or Patron member , you can pin up to two reviews and two lists on your profile by tagging them as profile . Your two most recently tagged reviews and lists are prominently displayed on your profile.

Can I change my username?

Yes. Free members may change their username a maximum of once per year, and Pro Pro subscribers (or above) may change theirs once every 30 days. Changes must be performed via the Settings screen on our website. Exceptions to this policy will be considered where privacy concerns or deadnames are involved (please contact support ).

My preferred username is showing as unavailable but there is no corresponding profile. Can I have it?

There are a couple reasons why an unavailable username may not have a corresponding profile: we reserve some usernames for our own future use; and there are a number of deactivated accounts with their original username still attached, a vestige of an older approach to deactivation.

Note: as of May 2025, if you change the username on your account, your previous username is no longer immediately available to be claimed by a different account. Instead, there is a ‘cooling off’ period of a few weeks during which no other account can register the username (if you change your mind, you can revert to your previous username during this period). Once the cooling-off period ends, your previous username is made available for another account to claim. Please contact support if you need assistance with a username change.

Someone else has registered a username I have a trademark for. Can I have it?

Not necessarily. We have a single username space across all global territories, offered on a first-come, first-served basis. While you’re welcome to send us proof of your trademark, the use of a trademark in a username doesn’t always qualify as a trademark infringement in and of itself, and we aren’t in a position to adjudicate in situations that require a detailed trademark analysis.

What’s the easiest way to share my account with others?

Your username represents you on Letterboxd. If you give someone else your username, they can find you either via search, or by constructing a URL in the form of https://letterboxd.com/username/ .

On our website, there are three methods for sharing a member profile:

* Copy the URL from the browser’s location bar

* From the options menu at the top of the profile, select Copy profile link

* From the options menu at the top of the profile, select Show QR code

In our apps, the two supported methods to share a profile are:

* From the options menu at the top of the profile, select Share → Copy Link

* From the options menu at the top of the profile, select Share → View QR Code

Using the link option copies a short URL to your clipboard (using our boxd.it format), perfect for use in messaging apps or email. The QR-code option opens a new view containing a QR code that someone else can scan, perfect for in-person profile follows.

Why do some member bios appear in the sidebar of their profile on your desktop webs

Frequent questions Letterboxd

Links found on this page