Discover how to save movies and TV shows to a watch later list on your iPhone or iPad, so you never lose track of things you want to watch.
Remembering all the movies or shows you want to watch can be overwhelming. Apps like Apple TV, Netflix, and Prime Video often surface exciting titles on the Home page, but if you don’t bookmark them, it’s easy to forget about them.
You can save movies and TV series inside the streaming apps themselves and binge-watch them later with a tap. Alternatively, you can use dedicated wish list apps to save titles across different streaming platforms in one spot, helping you stay on top of your watchlist.
Apple TV
Use the Watchlist feature in the TV app to save movies, TV shows, and documentaries you want to catch up on later. It works for Apple TV+, iTunes Store, and third-party services shown in the app.
- Open the Apple TV app and visit the movie or TV show page.
- Tap the plus button (+) at the top to add it to your watchlist.
- You can access these saved titles in the Watchlist section of the Home tab.
iTunes Store
Apple no longer allows you to wish list movies and shows inside the iTunes Store app. However, if you have wish-listed items in the past, you can access them by following these steps.
- Open the iTunes Store app on your iPhone or iPad, running the latest version of iOS.
- Tap Movies in the bottom row.
- Then Go to Your Wish List to see your saved items.
Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and other apps
Nearly all streaming services have some kind of feature to bookmark movies and shows for later. Just go to the concerned streaming app and look for a My List, Watchlist, Watch Later, or a similarly named option.
Use movie and TV show watchlist apps
The App Store offers several excellent apps to track the movies and TV shows you want to watch or have already watched. Many of these apps also show trailers and list all the platforms (Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, TV+, HBO, etc.) where the content is available to stream.
The first four apps mentioned below allow you to create an account, ensuring your watchlist is saved and can be restored even if you delete the app or switch devices.
TV Time
I’ve been using this app for a long time because it supports both movies and TV series, shows trailers, and lists the streaming apps and stores where I can watch, rent, or purchase the content.
- Open TV Time and use the Explore app to find the movie or TV show you want to bookmark for later.
- Tap the plus button on the search results page, or the movie/TV show, and hit Add Movie.
- You’ll find your watch list items in their respective Shows and Movies tabs. From there, you can also tap the tick icon to mark the item as watched and remove it from your watch list.
Letterboxd
This is yet another feature-packed app to keep track of movies (not TV shows) you want to watch. The app also shows the movie trailer and points you to places where you can watch that content.
- Find the movie inside the Letterboxd app and go to its page.
- Tap the three dots menu button and hit Watchlist > Done.
- To view your saved items, go to the profile tab and select Watchlist from the top.
IMDb
IMDb, or the Internet Movie Database, isn’t just for checking ratings, reviews, or looking up cast members; you can also use it to save titles to your watchlist. For some titles, it even mentions where you can stream them.
- Open the IMDb app or visit its website and find the movie or TV show.
- Tap the yellow Add to Watchlist button to bookmark it for later.
- You can view all your Watchlist items on your IMDb profile screen.
MyWatchlist
This is the ideal app if you’re looking for something simple yet functional. It lets you save movies and TV shows in three sections—“To Watch,” “Watching,” and “Watched”—so you can keep precise track of your entertainment.
- Get MyWatchlist from the App Store, use the search button to find the film or TV show, and tap its name on the results page.
- Select Add to Watchlist and then leave it in the “To Watch” section or select “Watching” or “Watched.”
- You can view all your marked items in their respective tabs at the bottom of the screen.
ScreenDiary
The ScreenDiary app has a clean interface with a minimal design. Its Discover section also displays popular, top-rated, upcoming, and new movies. You can search for a movie and hit Add to Wishlist. Note that this app has no cloud backup, but you can export your movie wish lists to a CSV file.
Other apps
If you’re still looking, explore the Watchlist+, JustWatch, or My Movies apps.
If you often share movies and TV shows on social media, try the Beast Movies app. It lets you bookmark titles and displays their posters and images, which you can easily save to your iPhone and share on platforms like Instagram, X, and Facebook.
Use general wish list apps
The iOS App Store has multiple apps to save different kinds of items to the wish list. These can be physical products you want to buy for your birthday, Christmas, and wedding registry or digital items like movies and apps. After trying multiple apps likes this, I found GoWish and Giftful to do the job well.
- Download either the iOS or iPadOS app, sign up for an account, and create a wish list category for movies.
- Open Apple TV, Netflix, Prime Video, or another streaming app, and find a movie or TV show. Then, tap the share button and choose GoWish or Giftful from the iOS Share Sheet. If these apps aren’t visible, customize the Share Sheet to show them there.
Use the Notes app
Finally, if you are not a big-time movie or TV watcher and don’t want to use yet another third-party app, then the stock Notes app should be more than sufficient for light tracking.
Create a new note and save the movie or TV show name there, preferably as a checklist. You can even share this note with your spouse or friends so they can add their own watchlist items here for your next movie night.
Also, be sure to check out: How to save articles to read later in Google Chrome