Netflix has been labelled creepy after publicly shaming 53 viewers who watched a Christmas film for 18 days in a row. The streaming service wrote on Twitter: “To the 53 people who've watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days: Who hurt you?”

With more than 100,000 retweets, the attempt at humour proved a hit with some, however several users were unnerved at the apparent detail of the data Netflix holds on its users.

Science author Ben Goldacre responded: “So unknown creepy Netflix staff have access to your viewing data, use it to creep on you, laugh at you, maybe publicly.

In response to the negative reaction, a Netflix spokesman said: “The privacy of our members' viewing is important to us. This information represents overall viewing trends, not the personal viewing information of specific, identified individuals.”