Plex now want to SELL your personal data
Text:
I consent to Plex to: (i) sell certain personal information (hashed emails, advertising identifiers) to third-parties for advertising and marketing purposes; and (ii) store and/or access certain personal information (advertising identifiers, IP address, content being watched) on my device(s) and share that information with Plex’s advertising partners. This data is used to deliver personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Your consent applies to all devices on which you have Plex installed. You can withdraw your consent at any time in Account Settings or using this page.
Soure: https://www.plex.tv/vendors/ (Might have to clear cache)
Can also read about the changes here: https://www.plex.tv/about/privacy-legal/
I don't know why everyone in the selfhosting community still even mentions Plex or uses it.
It's closed source, not free; Jellyfin is a no brainer yet people still go to Plex??
The sunken cost of buying a plexpass on sale for 39 dollars 15 years ago.
I bought a Plex pass for 90 or something. I officially dropped Plex about 4 months ago now. For 90 bucks I got something like 8 years out of it. I'll call that a win, I don't feel like I wasted my money, I don't feel like I overpayed. Just moving on now.
Yeah great perspective. I think we all need to have this perspective more as many tech companies will randomly change their minds on their products.
Kind of like how I got free photo backup on my first two pixels. It was a nice feature, I'm sad it's gone, but it's fine.
Did they really kill off free photo backup? That's so incredibly shitty, they even compressed them!
Yeah it was over after pixel 3 or a little before iirc! Although to me it was obvious they would eventually kill it off because that's soooo much storage. It was just a trick to get people bought into Google photos (which is a great service but much too expensive for me and now basically totally replaced by Immich)
damn I've been out of the loop on that one for a while! Agreed, I set up Immich and it's pretty much a drop-in replacement now
How has immich been compared to photoprism? My issue with immich is that new releases kept breaking things. Has it finally stabilized? Lts are super important to me as I don’t want to spend every weekend reconfiguring services for my family.
Forgot to mention- can't compare to photo prism as I've never used it!
I'm new to self hosting and I've only used it for about a month. During the last month all updates have been stable for me! But according to their roadmap they plan to do their official "stable" release a little later this year, so you could wait until then?
Also I'm running it in docker so that might help
Did they really kill off free photo backup? That's so incredibly shitty, they even compressed them!
Same.
Plex is easier to run on older NAS systems, but yeah - that was me :) but i switched to jellyfin, finally
I stuck with Emby for way too long for this reason. I spent $50 in 2017. Gotta get my money’s worth no matter how broken their app was.
Hence the term "sunk cost fallacy".
Jellyfin is hardly a no-brainer. I set it up out of curiosity a few weeks ago and my first question was how do I give access to my friends and family. So I searched, and all of the results were talking about setting up a VPN or a reverse proxy or whatever. Man, I just want to tell my mom "install this app on your tv and log in", which is exactly what Plex does.
I get that Plex is enshittifying, but pretending Jellyfin is a drop-in replacement is delusional.
Jellyfin is a no-brainer. Publishing services on the Internet is complex.
Yeah, but then you're not self-hosting, you're paying or using their free services to manage that for you.
Yup. And letting them collect data on what goes through their service is the cost.
Happens with most services.
I’m sure that one boutique website you shopped on had buried in the T&C that they can sell your data.
Very few people care. So no, for most it is not really a no brainer. It's more effort and work pretty much everywhere. Try to use jellyfin on the Xbox client and tell me that isn't trash.
If they adhered to somewhat modern security principles for their Backend I wouldn't mind hosting it behind a reverse proxy. But since large parts of the API is unauthorized and unprotected, I wont.
And I do not plan on supporting family and friends in setting up vpns on all of their devices
What are the worries behind it? Last time someone was worried about the security it was about knowing filenames of the stuff you host by brute forcing iirc
Knowing (guessing) the file path allows them to access and stream the content. Meaning worst case scenario... Sony (the people known for putting malicious stuff on CDs) can probe your server, and prove the content is there because your server will return the movie file itself.
The issue is their approach to security. I don't trust them to properly secure their software, since they have proven to prefer client compatibility over security.
Understandable. I don't worry that much myself since I haven't heard anything bad happening yet. And with ro rights to media, potential damage at least should be pretty limited.
Depends entirely on where you live I would think.
You’re in a post about people outraged about an opt-in anonymous data sharing option on Plex, and you’re not worried about known security issues because you haven’t heard of anything bad happening yet?
Make it make sense.
Seconded it’s not a no-brainer. I spent days trying to get it set up with Docker on two different computers and three different distros. It wouldn’t install, if it did install it had errors, if it would even open at all with anything other than a black screen. Hours trying to search how to fix it. I gave up and installed it as a standalone app on a common distro. Not as convenient, but FML it finally worked. Really felt like I wasted my time. Personally, this is the exact bullshit linux fanatics completely ignore when they insist on how great linux is vs whatever. I’ve got a shitload of patience, willpower and modest skill to try to get something like this working, but 99% of the population doesn’t. That’s why linux will stay on the back burner. And if it ever becomes just as easy as Windows…guess what? You’ll have many of the same problem as Windows.
I've definitely pulled my hair out with docker too. Banged my head against the wall for a couple days before finally giving up.
I'm not ridiculously tech savvy, but I've tinkered with Linux since I was young, daily drive it on my laptop. I'm not afraid of the command line, and I'm smart enough to search for help and guides when I need it.
But something about docker just breaks my brain. Maybe I'm too old and there's too much abstract thought required, I don't know. But I can't figure it out.
IMO it was my hardware on the first tries. Not sure what your problem was, but after digging around I found something that loosely indicated that my hardware was too old or something - it didn’t play well with the onboard graphics or similar. But the second hardware set I tried it on was far newer, and after all the installation was complete I got a black screen. Every time. No matter which guide I used, no matter what dependencies I thought might be missing or whatever I tried to get it working. A hair pulling experience indeed.
You struggled to set up Jellyfin with docker?
Damn
Don’t be smug.
I'll take any chance, even one involving docker
I am a devops engineer and application architect who spends their entire day developing automated docker deployments for custom applications from scratch and I manage all our reverse proxies and TLS termination and certificates.
5 years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what a docker container really was. Thankfully migrating legacy apps to docker on Linux hosts is my full time job and it has allowed me to become proficient enough in a fairly short amount of time.
We all have to start somewhere and shitting on someone for not knowing something now will dissuade them from ever learning it and potentially remove a future contributor to the open source tech stack before they ever even get started.
If they said they had trouble understanding docker it would've been clearer, but they said Jellyfin was the issue.
I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd start to suspect that the large multimedia corporations building walled gardens of apps in closed Smart TV ecosystems don't really want you to be able to easily tell your mom how to watch shit for free. I mean they'll let you, if you really insist on having that app available, but someone will have to pay THEM money instead first (and probably let them spy on you). That's their racket.
The reason Plex can do it is because they do make money, doing shitty stuff like this to their users, so they can use that money to open these doors into SmartTV-land. The root of the problem is that your SmartTV itself (and your mom's) is a locked down proprietary piece of shit, designed exclusively for shoving all proprietary content these media companies develop down your throat, and there are few convenient workarounds that are available to us, because of course they make workarounds as inconvenient as possible.
Unless you're willing to ditch everything proprietary and insist on open technology for everything, which is hard on its own, you're going to end up with a janky mix of proprietary and open systems that always require some compromises, because the proprietary stuff forces us to compromise. It's literally a "this is why we can't have nice things" situation.
Or... You know... Jellyfin could make it so I don't have to setup elaborate VPN schemes and have every user install that on every one of their devices. For example they could fix their security issues to make it safer to expose JF through a reverse proxy, bug they refuse to not break client compatibility
I'm not a hardcore tech person and this is exactly the issue for me as well.
I want to be able to stream my music collection when I'm away from home without having to get an associate's degree in networking.
Tailscale makes this easy if you are the only user.
I'll look into Tailscale then. I'm guessing there's something funky about adding additional users. I would eventually like to add one or two other people.
I think the free tier lets you have three users. I ended up going with headscale so that could be wrong.
Easy if the device you're trying to listen on has a tailscale app and a JellyFin app, which is unlikely unless you're using your phone or a tablet/pc.
You saying you wouldn't have those things away from home? Or a firestick.
No, I don’t generally carry Firesticks around with me.
So assuming you are traveling, what do you bring with you if it isn't a mobile streaming device, a laptop, or a mobile device that you are going to stream to?
Since you need to self-host Jellyfin, then you are responsible for making the service public.
Jellyfin is a fully self hosted drop in. That means it's up to the server operator to handle everything. You would still tell your mom to just install the Jellyfin app on her TV with the one additional step in your server address which you would tell her.
But yes, you as the operator have to do some extra things like implementating a reverse proxy and if hosting out of your home make necessary network configuration changes to accommodate this access.
You as server operator also have to check what device your mom has and point her to what app download, because Jellyfin doesn't have an app for everything
True though that's less server operator and more "just being helpful to your mom". That said it seems nowadays that a Jellyfin app is available on most devices/ecosystems (or maybe I just don't have experience with enough devices to have an accurate idea).
There is one thing I want from jellyfin. It is to be able to login from their Android app to watch or set something to record without jumping through a bunch of hoops.
Yes, but that person has to create an account. Everyone has to create an account. With Plex. Some people I know immediately say no, others are annoyed that plex would try and shake them down for money.
If you configure Jellyfin, all that goes away. THEN they can simply download the app and login.
I make the account for them. Then I log in as them and set it up so they only see my server. Then I send them the credentials and have them login
So I told people download app enter this url and login. I even send out an email inviting them so they can click the link and create their own username and password. Then if they forget their password they can ask for a reset link.
This is why I use Yunohost. It makes all of that just a "click buttons" affair. Then you can tell your Mom the same thing. Only the domain is yours so Jellyfin can't hold it over your head.
Does it work on a smart tv or roku or whatever?
Yeah they have apps on all the platforms.
All of these, plus more unofficial ones: https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/installation/
The best thing is, you can't use a reverse proxy with it, it doesn't even support it.
I don't even know what a reverse proxy is
Odd, since my Jellyfin sits behind a reverse proxy.
For me it's PlexAmp and the few tech-illiterate friends I have who use my server for video streaming. 99% of the time, I just watch movies on my desktop with VLC player but I've yet to find a self-hosting music player half as good as PlexAmp
Yeah, the sad reality is that Plex’s setup experience is much smoother. And when you’re trying to convert people, the single largest obstacle is often social inertia. So lowering the barriers to entry is extremely important. My mother-in-law would need to sideload the Jellyfin app onto her TV, but Plex is available right on its app store.
Luckily, you can run both side by side. Jellyfin for me and my more tech-literate friends, Plex for those who don’t know/don’t care to learn.
I have read many people say this, but I don't understand what they mean by it. When I set up Jellyfin, it was a very simple process.
Simplicity is relative to each person's abilities and the tool in question.
Apparently all your friends and family are comfortable with hostnames and ip addresses. Not everyone's are. Also, not everyone wants to buy a static ip or setup a dynamic dns service or similar. Plex is definitely simpler. I have used both.
I understand this but we have to realize that what makes Plex simpler is the fact that they are a network intermediary that does what it wants with your home networks; it's like insisting that NordVPN is better than Mullvad
IMHO the only solution will be improving wireguard guis and stuff, Jellyfin is not lacking.
I haven't used Plex, so I'm not exactly sure what it's doing, but I'm guessing it presents you some sort of search to find the server? Isn't that pretty much the same as a domain name, just w/ a search bar instead of a URL bar? If your domain is easy to remember, I guess I don't see an issue. I've also heard you can connect to multiple servers, so maybe that's what people are talking about.
Regardless, I think Jellyfin could handle both. Get some community-funded STUN relay servers to handle discovery and implement a way (if it doesn't already) to have your client connect to multiple servers. There should also be a way to copy all the configs from one client to another (say, a QR code or UUID, settings copied over the same STUN server).
My main issue is that this could open up servers to more potential attack vectors, and Jellyfin already has some security weaknesses. But other than that, I'd be happy to help implement this sort of thing, a STUN server can be run on as little as a $5 VPS.
No, Plex lets you invite friends to your server with a link they can click and sign up. Then they can type a code into their TV app or login to a browser and watch basically like a standard streaming setup they already probably have used.
Jellyfin is less familiar. Arguably not much more difficult but people aren't always rational. The unfamiliar is often intimidating.
I haven't used Plex in a decade and I use Jellyfin, what you're describing sounds perfect. I read up a bit on STUN servers and it's what Syncthing uses, but they also mantain discovery and relay servers (and anyone can host one and can be added to the public list). Security wise they seem to be doing fine?(I'm not an expert, just an informed user)
Idk what combo Jellyfin would benefit the most from; are relay servers needed? The workload is similar but probably higher on average, people stream more often than they do backups
I wonder if having a “sign in” page within jellyfin that just fronts a wireguard configuration panel, saves the creds, and automatically connects and routes app traffic over the vpn iface is a remotely viable idea.
That depends on if someone wants it enough to make it happen.
That sounds good to me, we use wireguard in the family when out and about to access my homeserver, but I'd love if Jellyfin could create ad-hoc tunnels, it'd make us feel safe enough sharing our libraries with friends, perhaps it will convince many Plex users too. What are funkwhale users doing to share their music for example?
The other commenter wrote about STUN servers (IP), I've seen that Syncthing uses them as well, together with discovery and relay servers. Would wireguard be used at any of this stages or standalone? Personally I have no idea, I'm just an observant user 😅
Off topic, but what? Is Nord doing wacky shit with network settings?
I'm not a security expert but my guts (and the many things I read about this stuff over many years) tell me that cheap highly marketed VPNs like Nord seek the less informed users that sign up because half of their favorite youtubers sent them there, the default M.O. is install the (proprietary) app. It might be possible to use them safely but it's not what's happening to 99% of the customers.
They operate in grey legal areas, there are many scandals over the years, they write in their TOS that they can change the terms themselves without notice, if you use their service, you agree at any time.
When I wrote that they do what they want w your network, this is what I'm referring to; idk about the "settings", more like selling access to your residential line (perhaps to other VPN customers)
I mean pretty much everyone I know uses web browsers and sometimes type in web addresses lol
You seem a little out of touch with how people think.
I doubt they're thinking at all if writing a web address is too much lol
"Facebook dot what? Stop the tech speak, nerd!"
Excuse me, I thought the comment I replied to was talking about the setup process of the jellyfin server itself.
Well yeah maybe that too, but a server no one connects to is a paperweight. The connection part confuses laypeople
I mean, even in that regard, I did not find it that hard, but I do have a domain.
Setting up a server? Pretty darn easy.
Teaching all your friends and relatives to figure out what app to use and login with your dyndns random entry or IP address. Or even more difficult, using VPN.
It's not the hosting that's hard. It's the watching for non-tech people.
Maybe I'm just callous but I just don't see that as a problem myself. If I'm offering my own self hosted services for friends or family, the least they can do is put in some effort to learn how to use it. If they couldn't bother, that is their loss.
If people operate a car, the least they could do is learn how to change their brakes or do an oil change.
To most non-tech people, that’s the level of complexity you’re expecting them to adhere to.
That is a very strange equivocation to make and not at all like what I said. But if I did give someone a free car, yes I would expect them to take care of it. And if they don't, and the car breaks, then yes that is also their loss.
"Grab an app called jellyfin, type in this number, pick the profile with your name, password is X"
It's not that different than "Grab an app called plex, here's the username and password, pick the profile with your name" (or sign up yourself and I'll share it with you)
For me it’s a trade-off: yes Plex is less good than Jellyfin from a data/cost perspective. But so far the UI of Plex (which is not perfect mind you), availability of Plexamp (which honestly is very very good), and the fact that I don’t have to pay for it anymore after buying lifetime swings the scale towards Plex for me.
If Plex somehow canceled my lifetime or forced ads on my shows or something, that would be a line — but making me opt out of selling my data is not that line for me.
Different taste on the UI front I guess. I thought the default Plex was awful, couldn't stand it. Jellyfin can be a bit messy though
Plexamp is pretty great. It's my streaming music player of choice.
After gpm shit the bed.. I vowed to never have another streaming music service.
Plexamp it is.
As I said, I've yet to find a selfhosting solution half as good as PlexAmp. It's very, very good and arguably a better service than normal Plex
Thirded on both your points.
The closest thing I've found to Plexamp (on Android) is Symphonium. I only pointed it to my Plex server, but it offers support to so many other services. It also works perfect in Android Audio. It does cost $4, but it's honestly worth that and then some.
But I totally get how great Plexamp is. I use it every day.
Maybe you've tried it already, but navidrome is a great purpose built music streamer. I was using subsonic back in the day, then airsonic, then airsonic advanced. When I first got on navidrome it was a tough pill to swallow since I never maintained my tags, but I gave a little time here and there to comb through it and in the end it feels like a worthwhile investment. It paid off a little bit more when I adopted lyrion music server and squeeze players for local playback around the home since this organizes by the same tags (mostly), so the whole library is kind of plug and play with things that honor the same tags.
Who downvoted you?
Anyway, if you have directory-based music organization, Navidrome won't take that, sadly. However, it will take m3u playlists.
So I can just
ls playlistdir/* > Playlist.m3uand get that directory as a playlist. Simple, lazy solution.Oh, you can also add internet radios to Navidrome.
And one cool trick, which is also pretty good to test out Navidrome without effort, in Termux it is already in the repos, so you can just effort-free
apt install navidrome, run it and play around.Privacy
Notable config:
EnableInsightCollector = 'false'https://www.navidrome.org/docs/getting-started/insights/
Yeah that was the tough pill to swallow, moving away from folder based (the old *sonic gang) to tag based navidrome. Not for everyone, but getting your tags in order opens up some nice doors.
They publish a container image as part of their releases, and you can manage everything with environment variables. If you're used to running containers I'd say this is even easier for testing and playing around.
For me it’s chromecast support. Maybe Jellyfin has that now but it didn’t last time I checked.
When did you check? I've been using it that way for over a year.
I just use Jellyfin for this too, not sure I follow the issue but I haven't used Plex since migrating
"still even mentions plex"
I've been using plex for a LONG time, and bought a lifetime plexpass 12 years ago. I'm pretty sure I haven't started a thread on Lemmy regarding Plex, but I'm sure I'm not alone as a LONG TIME user. Plex just works for me and cost me $75 in 2013. Right now I've got no pressing reason to switch.
If they remove my plexpass features, or start showing me ads / making my user experience worse, then I'll probably look to change, and won't participate in these awful 'plex' posts.
P.S. we should encourage as much new content on Lemmy as possible if you ask me.
Same with me, 12 years, about $70, and it still works just as well as ever. I turn off any new features I don't want, my friends and family can still stream from me for free since I have plex pass already, and it's easy to share without having to pass around my IP address.
Same. I bought the lifetime pass on sale many years ago, my setup is still working fine without me having to have touched it for at least the past 3 years outside of applying an update from time to time. I don't stream their free shows or movies and have those setup so that they don't even show up as an option on my tv.
Do I wish it was still the same company it was a decade ago? Of course... but so far they haven't impacted my experience to the point that I feel the need to replace it with something else. The second that happens I will be spinning up Jellyfin.
Plex was the reason why I learned Docker + watchtower, so that I wouldn't have to worry about updates (work smarter not harder). Now I have like 35 containers and am comfortable with docker. 🐳
Yep, exactly, when they screw me I'll leave
Another longtime user here. If you haven't already, you might want to disable autoupdates on all your devices. The "new experience" is not without its controversies.
Yeah, first thing I did after testing the new app. Still don't know why they feel the need to push this out so aggressively instead of letting it run in parallel until its ready
Until jellyfin adds better user log in plex will still thrive. I do the self hosting I don't want a call every few days about they can't log in. The one click Gmail login with plex is amazing.
I don't share videos with people using google to log into any site.
The whole anti Google holier than thou is annoying at these levels.
Ok fine, don't use Google. But telling your friends and loved ones to switch email providers over your crusade is worse than vegans telling you about their diet.
I'm all for kicking Google to the curb. I'm not for shoving my beliefs down other people's throats.
It's not "shoving my beliefs down other people's throats" telling them that these are the options for signing in the service I'm hosting
Do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
No ma'am, this is a Wendys drive thru.
But really, I think you misunderstood the intended inference from OP, it has nothing to do with email and everything to do with data collection, algorithms, and not quite fair use media access that get's logged to Google (a third party) ad infinitum.
:)
I don't know that Google gets to log your access in that scenario, Plex is just using their login system.
Plex sure does know, though, whether you log in via Google or not, so "I don't share videos using google to log in" is still a bit of a weird statement and not the reason you'd be worried about your piracy habits.
Incidentally, if a friend or family member is hosting a service and "tells me these are the options to sign in to the service I'm hosting" I'd tell them to go away, which is something my own relatives have done to me a bunch when my proposed self-hosted alternative isn't perfectly smooth and just as convenient as the corpo alternative.
Not surprisingly, the only two selfhosted things my family has ever used are Plex and Home Assistant.
Agreed. I have a dozen or so people using my Plex. There is no conceivable way I'm going to get my less tech literate friends and family to use jellyfin, much less am I going to find a way to set it up for remote access with my limited knowledge. Plex is just too convenient right now.
All of my less tech literate friends are getting a warning to abandon their computers entirely.
Ok but there are a million SSO options out there - just because someone doesn't want to allow google as a SSO provider doesn't mean they're telling anyone they have to switch fucking email services.
If you want a remote service to handle your authentication you don't have to use google. I feel like that's something I shouldn't have to point out in a self-hosting community on an open-source and federated social media platform.
I'm vegan and it's my diet!
Hello vegan, I'm vegan as well
Hello vegan, I'm vegan as well as well
Hello vegan, I'm dad.
It has nothing to do with email
It's not a personal crusade. Everyone should be trying to get people away from Google. They are an absolutely fucked corporation who makes a fortune spying on you and everyone you know.
So you don't do a lot of tech support. Nice.
ITT: bunch of nerds with literally no friends or family to share media with lol
Damn, I was with you until the unnecessary vegan bashing.
👍
i dont get this.. im technically still usin emby, but user management is beyond simple and requirs no upkeep. no one has asked me to reset their passwords and ive got a few dozen people usin my instance.
Not forgetting Emby allows either a local or a federated account!
Sounds more of an user problem than a jellyfin problem? If they can't remember their login I'll just not add them to jellyfin.
And this is why people use Plex.
I mean, all joking aside, I wish FOSS alternatives paid enough attention to UX and didn't unironically run on this sort of mentality, because I do want good open source alternatives I can use without getting annoyed or having the other people I'm trying to give access telling me that they're actually just gonna use the other thing if you don't mind.
The overall vast majority of everyone is completely tech illiterate. We can blame them for their lack of tech skills all we want but that won’t change anything. Jellyfin needs a better UX before it’s feasible to use over Plex when sharing libraries with other users.
Conversely, the average FOSS programmer has no idea how to either design for simplicity or document for the novice.
Yeah, being a novice in the FOSS scene can be extremely frustrating sometimes. It can very easily start feeling like you’re reading documentation for a plumbus, where every single sentence seems to introduce a new term you’re unfamiliar with. And it often assumes you’re already intimately familiar with how these new terms work. So even just reading the documentation for one specific thing often means having fifty different tabs open, as you also have to read documentation about a ton of dependencies or terms.
I actually think most of them do, it's just that the simple designs aren't universal enough to gain much traction in a FOSS community.
Let's not act like a user and password is some revolutionary new technical concept. They can remember it for their email provider if they can access the plex link. So why not jellyfin? I think the UX of Jellyfin is more than acceptable in this regard. Sure I wouldn't mind they added this feature but i don't see it as a must have.
I can tell you right now that something like a username and password is exceptionally difficult for most users. Many just have one password for every single application and if they need to use a different email or password, they will be stuck.
The vast overwhelming majority of users do not have password managers, do not know they exist, and will give up at the first sign of complexity. You’re too far into the weeds if you don’t conceptualize this.
Username, password, and URL* Also the majority of users will be on a tv, where typing that in is a huge pain. Plex's centralized auth makes it trivial to link with a browser or app on their phone so they can login.
Jellyfin has a sign in through the app for tv. Which I tell them to use first. And URL is also nothing new. All this stuff are 30+ year old concepts by now. But to each his own!
I'm starting to think it acts as a nice filter. If they can't grasp an URL + login, it would save me from tech support down the line.
I have atleast a dozen family members on mine that are more than double the age that 30+ year concept that don't and never will manage to understand it. You can keep complaining about your own marginal effort, and I will keep preventing hundreds of dollars a month of wasted money by the people I love :)
URL into bookmark, username and password onto paper. Dont tell me they can't do handwriting anymore.
TV? how did they log into their google account to begin with?
but also: they can log in first on the phone or anywhere else, then use quick connect for the TV... added bonus: phone is now a remote.
Yeah, but since you basically need a VPN to share Jellyfin safely, you now also need to install and maintain that on their end
Exactly, we dont add them to jellyfin, we add them to plex because its easier for them lol.
Fair enough, i just have very limited patience for incompetence. if they cant figure out how to remember their user and password. I don't want to have to deal with them at all.
@Decq @Jimmycakes ehh helping people every 6 months of so since they forgot their password. Isn't that bad. I have 10 users and have had to tell people their password maybe four times over four years. Not that bad.
Well yes I know, but that kind of proofs a sign in link is not that important right? :) surely not a deal breaker as they postulated above.
Cool story bro you're such a big man telling grandma she's cut off. Tough guy over here. Absolute unit of a guy.
You can install a plugin to add SSO.
https://github.com/9p4/jellyfin-plugin-sso
Did you notice that they're using a local connection? Still requires VPN/reverse proxy to get it outside the home.
They didn't mention it in the post I reacted to.
But both of your suggestions are excellent solutions to the problem.
@Jimmycakes @Selfhoster1728 they learn pretty fast and the calls stop. Everyone says it's hard I have very tech illerate people using it and yes I get some calls but not alot. And they managed to login way easier then I thought. I think everyone is overblowing how hard Jellyfin is. I mean most people know how to login to a website.
I think most of the people complaining about jellyfin being difficult either haven't tried it for at least a year or are trying to use it alongside their plex service without knowing how to configure them properly.
Which is fair, I just didn't realize how many people were using plex that didn't have an interest in learning remote service deployment.
My family/friends uses it on TV all they do is scan the qr code on plex and it logs them in and basically keeps them logged in forever. On jellyfin it logs out randomly. I run a dedicated Nas with 40tb half filled with media. I started on jellyfin and switched over to plex and never looked back. Just the fact that half the people in my replies think the main use case is on a Pc tells you everything you need to know. It's perfectly fine for tech literate people for everyone else plex is superior.
I would not let anyone access my self hosted stuff who is not using a password manager and secure passwords.
I'm actually fascinated/frightened by the number of people here who are apparently comfortable running an exposed remote service on their personal network without enough tech knowledge to manage user auth themselves or maintain a stack with shared volumes....
I think most of the reason people are using Plex is that they don't have to expose services. Plex handles all the nat traversal and whatnot for them.
Also the people that know how to set that all up and still expose a Jellyfin server to the public internet
Tailscale
I will not make myself the tech guy for half my friends and family, just because I can't share Jellyfin safely without a vpn
That's fair but tailscale isn't a traditional vpn, it makes direct connections between two devices. it was also designed to be extremely easy to setup and it's free for up to 100 devices.
Again it's fair if you don't want to mess with it
The overhead of the live library upkeep on Jellyfin is also quite insane, at least for me. I'm talking taking the whole thing down for many minutes at a time for every other service trying to run on the same machine bad.
What on earth does this even mean?
I've never had to take jf down while managing the library.
It means my last attempt to set up a Jellyfin server on the same machine where Plex is running fine ended up with any changes to my library bringing the entire thing to a grinding halt while Jellyfin tried to parse my media library again.
It may have gotten better over time, but a quick search showed me I wasn't alone in seeing that happen and I was already checked out due to all the other annoyances at that point, so I didn't keep it running longer to see if it went back to semi-acceptable levels later.
It may have been a bug or a config issue, but the point is it absolutely happened to me.
That's absolutely a config issue.
OK, so why can I mess up a config so that the whole thing grinds to a halt?
Plus, I'm not so sure. A bunch of the people I saw mentioning the same thing did so on bug reports that seemed unattended. It's not like I had a byzantine deployment, all the thing was doing was parse library files held in a given location. I installed the software, pointed it to a location and all I ever touched afterwards were the files on the library folders.
I will opt out of a LOT of things on Plex before I troubleshoot that situation, I can tell you that.
I actually can't tell if this is facetious or serious. There are a couple hundred (if not thousand) configuration options or reasons why your chosen setup might have caused the problem you're describing - it isn't really up to the developer to anticipate how every individual user has configured their home server, with every other application that might be sharing the same environment. It might have even been the plex service that was causing the issue.
I ran jellyfin and plex on the same library and machine for probably a year before migrating completely away from plex without any issues, but that doesn't mean I didn't have to read a bit of the documentation to get the config right.
Fair enough, managing your own home server isn't for everyone.
I have no clue what you mean with having to take it down. But with the *narr stack and jellyseer i basically have no library upkeep. Except for one or two difficult shows
Huh? Like just sitting there?
Or is it running a heavy background task like trickplay generation? You can disable trickplay (scrobbling previews) if your system isn't beefy enough to keep up with them.
I run video game servers on my system, and while stream transcodes used to interfere with them, even that was fixed my assigning JF and the games to run on separate CPU cores.
I don't mean to diminish your comment, but I just went through the setup process for both Plex and jellyfin (moving to new hardware) and there was no significant difference between the setups.
Maybe this wasn't the case a few years ago, but jellyfin is just a setup, point to libraries, and enable hardware accel.
Yep. My son lives in another city and uses my jellyfin server. Actually since yesterday, because Plex stopped allowing him to watch remotely.
Sorry, I meant "Plex took away free remote streaming".
You're being really, really snippy. Either have a coffee or take a breather, but calling strangers liars is way offside.
I'm not lying, I can show you my Fw config. My son called me yesterday saying he couldn't watch Plex, something about the Plex pass. I just changed the Fw rule DST nat mangle port and told him to use jellyfin. The user is local, so that's dead easy. Done in 10 minutes.
And yes, most users don't have this kind of experience, granted. But Plex comes with its own stupidities, like in 2020 when my wife had to pay $5 for the Plex app so she could access our library. Or the exercise of sharing libraries if you don't have a Plex pass, which is a real pain.
But that wasn't my point. I was trying to relay that jellyfin isn't as buggy and difficult as a lot of self hosters claim.
I don't mean to add fuel to the fire with Gentry or anything but I can speak towards my experience with jellyfin here. When I started with jellyfin I didn't know a lot about networking or even self hosting, I pretty much jumped in blind. Although it's fair to say I am not new to technical concepts/troubleshooting so my experience is definitely going to be smoother than a non technical user.
For context I am using truenas scale to host jellyfin and I was able to install it, configure it, and get my library going on the first try and it was definitely under 20 minutes. Once I decided I wanted remote access to my library it wasn't super crazy to figure out tail scale (maybe 30 minutes?) and have that available too. It might not have been under an hour total but coming from almost nothing as a newer user I didn't really experience a lot of turbulence.
Are you also a fellow MikroTik/RouterOS user?
My Jellyfin tunnels via traefik and cloudflared. However, the normal Android app somehow can't login, but streamyfin works like a charm. I always had issues with plex, because it relied on their own service. But jellyfin now simply works, pretty nifty
I mean, if they don't want to learn, there is always netflix, prime, Disney +.
Or stay with plex, no shade.
Or you take an afternoon and build something cool like this.
what? It's not like everyone needs to run jellyfin at home. the only thing you need to use is the jellyfin webapp, which I don't understand how is it more complicated than netflix or any other similar service. you log in, pick a movie and hit play. that's it.
Yes. It's very easy. It might not have used to be easy but it is for the last couple of years. Dead simple. About a dozen people use my Jellyfin server across TV's, phones, tablets, laptops. None of them are what I would call techies. It's as simple for them as Netflix.
If you have not set up a VPN for accessing your Jellyfin, I would suggest looking into the myriad of security issues the Jellyfin Backend has. Jellyfin has no business being accessible from the public internet
Jellyfin is basically as easy to use as plex within the same network. I’ve set up both dueing the past 6 months. The only big difference is that Jellyfin is much more of a pain to work through port forwarding.
Plex never worked outside my network so I'm not worried about that on Jellyfin
I'll switch to jellyfin as soon as it works nearly as well.
But for the moment it's missing a lot of features compared to Plex.
I would switch in a heartbeat if Jellyfin didn't... kinda suck, honestly.
But the difference in usability is enough that it's just not an option.
For the record, I updated Plex today and I haven't seen a notification like this anywhere, although that text snippet does match their privacy policy ad data opt-in settings blurb that has been in place for a while. I may need a bit more context here.
Only issues I've had with Jellyfin are reduced flexibility in naming/organizing files and inability (for me at least) to detect personal media.
i manage all files and metadata outside of jellyfin/kodi using mediaelch... it scrapes, renames and sets up all the local metadata files for ingestion perfectly into both my media services.
I'll say that not having to do that is a major postiive. One of the UX things that bounced me off of jellyfin was ending up with a reconfigured library. The correct UX choice is for the software to adapt to your preexisting library, not having to rebuild it all with a different set of information files and naming conventions.
That is a BIG deal when you have a big library. Also why I hate Calibre. Screw Calibre.
There should be a library type called "Home videos and photos" for that.
I probably made a small mistake in setting that up but I tried making the dedicated "home movies" folder and it wouldn't show my videos.
There is that. Remote access is a pain to set up and maintain, and I had some significant performance issues with library scraping, too. The interface is also kind of a mess, particularly if you want to bolt on more than just a video library.
@BrianTheeBiscuiteer @MudMan might I suggest FileBot - just a few bucks but it curates your schtuff and can rename, sort and collate everything in Jellyfin form automagically using imdb and other dbs.
So integrate it in Jellyfin.
I don't want five additional pieces of software to fix Jellyfin's shortcomings, I want it to work.
Mind you, there are still edge cases in Plex, and the renaming dance can still be annoying, but still, it's one thing to have classic Doctor Who DVDs be an alien artifact no software can process and another to have to install additional software to masticate things for Jellyfin on a task that is fundamental to the thing it's supposed to be doing.
Also, I don't want my stuff to be curated and renamed. My library is fine as it is. Part of the annoyance is for software to insist on moving crap around. I know what I have, where I have it and it's all rationally named. It's on the software to parse it.
To be clear, I think you're being friendly and useful, it's just that I'm frustrated by the pattern of helpful users and additional software creating this cluster of self-connected software spaghetti to address UX faults that are fundamental but OSS devs like to ignore indefinitely.
What's actually bad about it?
Like, this is something you opt into and is only relevant if you're watching their ad supported stuff, which I don't know anyone who watches that over their own media on Plex.
And honestly, every "bad" thing I've ever heard about Plex has been the same thing, something that sounds horrible until you understand it
Because Jellyfin users like to feel superior. Accepting that other people have other requirements from software is hard, especially when you feel like you choice is the only valid one.
As a long time Plex user, who has a Jellyfin running in parallel, just not shared, I will keep using Plex until they either force me off of it or Jellyfin manages to make accessing servers remotely easier and more secure.
Because this is the selfhosted community, not the FOSS community. There is some overlap, but they are different. There are many reasons to not use Plex, it not being free and open source are not among them.
Probably because it works well, and has working clients on everything at this point. For some, a one-time fee was worth it when it was cheaper.
Sharing is also easier, as your friends just sign up to a plex account and you share your library with them. No need to send them an ip address and port, or fqdn that you have to maintain if your isp changes your ip address. It has its benefits, tbh, and the core sharing features still work for streaming. All the extra crap you can just turn off.
That why I think its still popular.
I have Plex running alongside Jellyfin.
When transcoding video, Plex uses an extra 5 watts of power. Jellyfin uses an extra 55 watts.
Jellyfin also has security holes for accessing videos via URL without being authenticated.
I don't feel like Jellyfin is ready for being exposed to the internet.
I host a Plex server for close to 70 friends and family members, from multiple parts of the world. I have over 60TBs of movies, tv shows, anime, anime movies, and flac music, and everyone can connect directly to my server via my reverse proxy and my public IPs. This works on their phones, their tvs, their tablets and PCs. I have people of all ages using my server, from very young kids to very old grandparents of friends. I have friends who share their accounts with their families, meaning I probably have already hit 100+ people using my server. Everyone is able to request whatever they want through overseerr with their Plex account, and everything shows up pretty instantly as soon as it is found and downloaded. It works almost flawlessly, whether locally or remotely, from anywhere in the world. I myself don't even reside in the same home that my Plex server resides. I paid for my lifetime pass over 10 years ago.
Can you guarantee that I can move over to jellyfin and that every single person currently using my Plex server will continue having the same level of experience and quality of life that they're having with my Plex server currently? Because if you can't, you just answered your own question. Sometimes we self host things for ourselves and we can deal with some pains, but sometimes we require something that works for more people than just us, and that's when we have to make compromises. Plex is not perfect, and is actively becoming enshittified, but I can't simply dump it and replace it with something very much meant for local or single person use rather than actively serving tens to hundreds of people off a server built with OTC components.
I completely agree. I thought Plex would be fast in the collective rearview mirror as soon as they started forcing connections to their servers, pay-walling, etc. I also had issues with the database corrupting and causing huge slowdowns. I spent days trying and failing to preserve my ratings, watch data, etc.
In the end, I switched to a much simpler setup of an NFS/CIFS share accessed by Kodi on my Nvidia Shield TV. If Kodi chokes (happened once since 2017), I can just wipe the app and/or reinstall and then import the local metadata (XML or NFO IIRC). That takes about five minutes. It just works. Kodi also gives me access to the IAGL, so that's a huge plus.
Jellyfins UI being only mouse based is garbage. Using it on Xbox for instance is terrible. Using it outside of the house is also a pain in the ass.
It’s already setup, and a lack of motivation/time/energy/urgency to make the change…
There's no jellyfin app on my TV.
The point for me is, that I have an acient synology NAS (ds214play) which acts as my media server. There is a community made plex package which I can install easily. As far as I have seen, there is no way to install jellyfin on this NAS, as it doesn't support docker
I don’t use either service. Do they serve the same purpose?
Here's why I still use Plex: for me Jellyfin hasn't been easy to work the way I want it to. I mostly access my media on an Nvidia Shield, and the Jellyfin Android TV app just refuses to play certain videos; I can play them if I use VLC as an external player, but not within the app itself. The more pressing issue is that Jellyfin just refuses to play 5.1 audio, and downmixes everything to stereo. I have other issues, but these are the ones that prevent me from using it.
For me Plex just works.
Because it works. Call me in a few years when movies, TV shows, dvr recordings, live TV (with free, built-in guide support), and working picture support shows up. Oh, commercial removal too (again, built-in, just check a box). A not-shit setup process would be nice, too.
I've tried jf three times now across as many years, and it's still got that 'Linux developer feel' of a tool where the devs got what they need the most mostly-working, and just don't give a fuck about anything else - or a decent UI. No, blue boxes on a black background is not a decent UI. It wasn't when W8 launched, and it's not now. And when W8 is winning the competition, you've already lost.
Feature parity or the argument is moot.
My TV doesn't have a Jellyfin app, only a Plex app. I'm not buying a new TV just to use my preferred media server, sadly :-(
It might be because of security.
https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin/issues/5415
I don't know why people use dishwashers. It's in the kitchen. A lawn mower is a no brainer, yet people still use dishwashers??
Can't access remote unless u setup port forwarding, NAT rule etc etc. Too much work with jelly bin, plus it looks like 1990s UI created by illegal IPTV distributors
Relevant XKCD: https://www.xkcd.com/743/
Jellyfin is the way. Costs nothing other than the hardware needed and nobody is selling anything about you.
Our personal streaming library with Jellyfin is bigger than any public service and we can add to it from VHS, DVD, Blueray, though extra equipment was required for the VHS/Blueray.
It’s also available anywhere we go and we can set up separate accounts for different family members. There’s even a phone app.
That is a honey pot rights holders will be falling over themselves to pay Plex for access to once they hear about it.
Been telling anyone that would listen that they need to get out of Plex since they implemented that first iteration of trying to require you to sign into your own self hosted server with a Plex.tv account. They were telegraphing what direction they were going in with that kind of user hostile move.
Lots of responses about how it was easy to get around so no big deal (or worse that they liked it for some coping mechanism reason) and that nothing else was as easy and feature rich as Plex so it was worth it.
Well now a few years down the road from that they are now going to use that beach head on everyone's Plex server they can to collect what is being watched and sell it to the highest bidder.
Seeing the replies in this thread it kinda makes me wonder what Plex actually has to do for these zealots to quit using their platform.
Like do they literally have to steal naked pictures of you and pass them around the office? Like wtf.
It is as if it is a general rule at this point that centralization breeds corruption. No matter how many statements people make early on in social engagements, centralization leads them to screw people depending on these systems. When making long term commitment to anything, check if it is centralized or how easy it is to unshackle yourself from it.
Me eating 🍿 and reading the comments of Plex users arguing with Jellyfin users, while myself being a user of Kodi which has it's own problems..
Meanwhile, poor Jellyfin just quietly doing the job.
Can someone clue me in on the reason why anyone would prefer Plex instead of Jellyfin?
This is specifically related to watching their free content. You can opt out of the sale & sharing of said data, which is used to play you targeted ads when watching their free content. I am not a big fan, but this is the typical "free" TV spiel. Was there something that changed recently or is it just being recognized now?
"enshittification wont happen to my software of choice"
hahahaha... those ppl with discord, iphones, windows,plex....they wont learn.
I’ve had a lifetime plex pass for several years. Once I tried Jellyfin a few months ago it was all over. My “I’ll run both just in case” period lasted a week or two.
The downside is that Jellyfin will take more setup on your end, especially if you want to let other people connect securely to your server.
The upside is performance and responsiveness. Once I started using it I decided Plex had to go, even if I have to drive to each family member’s house to fix their shit. It was like moving between Linux and Windows, as far as one being designed to work and the other being designed to satisfy dozens of corporate KPIs.
Fortunately the setup for the end user is just as simple once your server is good to go. They just need URL, login, and password.
And since it’s all open source, there’s some fun diversity in clients. I use Finamp specifically for music, and there are audiobook focused ones.
Aww come on guys, my JF boner can only handle so much /s
Seriously though, why did they even give you the option to disagree, you know they're just going to force it 3-6 months.
Just downloaded Jellyfin! Been a Plex user for years. Noticed they’ve stated to add a lot of crap to the Plex interface. I just want to stream my media library. I’m a little disappointed that Jellyfin doesn’t have a native Apple TV app, but SenPlayer looks really nice and their price model is a one time fee. So no subscriptions!
For those who aren't quite ready to delete their accounts get, this link buried on their privacy page can let you opt out: https://www.plex.tv/vendors-us
Not sure why "us" is in the URL, I'm in Canada
best bet for your home theater PC is STILL old computer parts with high capacity storage
Selling IP address info. Huh.
also: water is wet.
The downfall of Plex needs to be compiled into an 80 minute YouTube video with sponsors spaced in for NordVPN and Viagra
I think people feel loyalty to Plex and I understand why. I even understand why they're charging for self-hosting considering their costs of delivering the dynamic DNS, software development, content info, etc. But being closed source, VC funded, and with their core product an increasingly small part of their business, it's all a powerful recipe for enshittification. Tech Altar has talked before about how enthusiast brands often betray their users. Jellyfin was not a trivial set up for remote access, but I've really been happy with it, and I like having the peace of mind of having control over how it works
I miss when you could use something without it turning into spyware. Jellyfin it is then.
I might actually have to switch to Jellyfin then...
I say that as a paying plex pass customer
"Hashed emails". Besides the fact that they can match up a hash from one source to a hash from another source to link them to the same person (they never said they'd salt them), emails often have enough predictability to break the hash. Assuming they all end in "@gmail.com", "@outlook.com", or "@yahoo.com" will get you the vast majority of emails out there. Unlike a good password scheme, people don't shove a lot of random data into their email addresses.
If you're watching their "free" content and agree to that box...
The title made it seem waaaaay worse than what the screenshot actually says
It's interesting to see the different kind of comments here and on Redshit.
Here, people are smart and they are switching to Jellyfin. On Redshit, if people mention Jellyfin in a comment they get downvoted right away.
Man Plex when fully enshitified FAST!
Stopped using plex, replaced with jellyfin
We are altering the deal. Pray, we do not alter it further.
Thanks for the headsup. This is the final push I needed. Been running Jellyfin for 6months or so but need to put more time into it. Plex has been great, and I’ve also been paying (though felt a little conflicted) a sub which I’m willing to do if it keeps a worthwhile project on an honest trajectory aligning with my needs and restrictions, for a good service or product. However they're now doing exactly why I started on the self hosting path. Who’s to say the third party is jot going to be a heavy handed industry body, corrupt authority , let alone the problematic world of adsales? They’re walking a very strange line and seem very confused about their purpose. Other than the all ruining ‘growth’. Seeya plex.
Last shit they pulled I moved to Jellyfin. Today I deleted my Plex account.
How else can they afford to stream samurai cop 3 and other things you never asked? You guys need to support them in becoming the best corp they can be! They want to be big boys now.
python -m http.server is still my media server of choice. It's never let me down.
Even if you can mental gymnastics into believing this won't affect you, we know that's the way Plex is going. How long until it does?
I assumed they already were.
No chance Plex wasn't making money from those who didn't pay for Plex Pass.
Force PlexPass first, get money, then change terms.
Coordinated big-brain evil.
Big plus - identify all accounts interested in privacy. Thus = suspicious accounts.
This is the path for Plex to become Digg, Playon, and reddit.
hashed email xD, if someone has email it's just hash(email) == email. given how many emails leaked producing hashes of 90% of population emails is not a problem
I can imagine this data would sell for quite a bit of money. Networks love to winge about how much they lose to piracy
I’m a big fan of Jellyfin. I would say it is easily family approved. That is for my family in my household who is using it on our home Wi-Fi.
But I am not about to expose it publicly. I have WireGuard set up on my immediate family’s devices and that is mostly ok (until you get on a public Wi-Fi that fails because you haven’t gone through their portal and can’t because the vpn is on, or you are on an airplane’s Wi-Fi with no internet trying to watch their movies and it doesn’t work until you turn off the vpn). Explaining this to my wife has been a nonstop battle.
I’d like it open it up to my siblings families, especially because I have the ersatztv plug-in to create approved child stations, but so many smart tvs and devices don’t support a vpn. How have others handled that situation?
I would simply click I Do Not Agree and then throw the computer in the trash
Damn. They’re really ripping the copper wiring out of the walls.
So expected. Now anyone who's able to support the non exploitative alternatives like Jellyfin please do. It's how you keep the good things going.
I have a lifetime Plex pass but still I am considering switching. Currently I have both Jellyfin and Plex on the same libraries but Jellyfin doesn’t have support for chromecast (on iOS and Firefox) nor support for offline . (Not) covering neither my at home nor travelling use cases 😕
If we find out "I do not consent" opts out, I'm fine with it. If we find out "I do not consent" leads to a "Close our account" page, it's time for pitchforks, especially since they recently had a huge sale on lifetime memberships.
I feel like I know the answer but what happens if you click "I do not agree"?
Hello Jellyfin.
I would probably still want to use Plex due to its superior interface, despite this shit they are pulling. But Plex on my TV is so UNBELIEVABLY slow. I have a large library, like almost 14 TB and still growing. But there's no reason it should take almost a minute (or more than?) for the first content to show after starting the app.
Jellyfin with the same library takes mere seconds before I see the first movie/episode poster cards. It's inexcusable how poorly optimized Plex is.
Emby is a good option if you don't want to hop to jellyfin. I have been pleased with it so far. I found the media tag/idenifier to work better/quicker than plex's.
Edit: OP update the title and has my support should they run for public office.
OP is posting misleading hyperbole
This from the Plex site, emphasis mine.
We’re never going to get anywhere if people on these communities can’t act in good faith and share correct and information - not sensation. Change the OP or mods delete this misinformation.
ETA: shame on the 63 people who mindlessly upvote this crap without factchecking OP too.
My aim is to get my friends and family to stop paying for streaming services and if I have to pay for Plex to achieve this then that’s a win.
Jellyfin is nowhere near as feature complete as Plex and not by a long shot. My users don’t like the UI of Jellyfin and setting up for remote access is no trivial feat. With this in mind and my goals Plex is better suited.
So far have 8 users all saving £10-40 a month not going to streaming services.
Is that really the message you got? It's worded differently than what I see in mine.
Just deleted my account.
Hey, you reading this? You should too.
Goddammit... Right after I got the lifetime pass...
The more services you have depending on a 3rd party which can do whatever the fuck they want, either directly or by changing the rules when the feel like it (i.e. not bound by rules they cannot change, such as root DNS providers are) and then doing it, the less your system is actually self-hosted, IMHO.
For me the whole point of self-hosting is exactly being as independent as possible of 3rd parties that can just fuck you up, be it on purpose (generally for $$$) or because they go bankrupt and close their services.
This is why I've actually chosen to run Kodi on my home server that doubles down as TV Box even though I can't easilly use it from anywhere else (it's possible but it involves using a standalone database that is then shared, which can only be safelly done through customly setup ssh pipes) rather than something like Plex.
It's kinda funny to see people into self-hosting still doing the kind of mistake I did almost 3 decades ago (fortunatelly in a professional environment) of trusting a 3rd party to the point of becoming dependent on them and later getting burned when they abused that trust, and which led me to avoid such situations like the plague ever since.
Mind you, I can understand if people for whom self-hosting is not driven by a desire to reduce vulnerability to the whims of 3rd parties (which includes reducing the risk of enshittification) and is instead driven by "waste not" (for example, bringing new life to old hardware rather than throwing it out) or by it being a fun challenge, don't really care to be as independent as possible from such 3rd parties.
Why does nobody ever mention Emby? To me, it’s everything Plex used to be before it got enshittified!
Damn it damn it damn it!! I can't use Jellyfin because...its what I watch all my porn on. Plex was used for all the family stuff. Mother fuckers! Greed is a bitch. Edit: Wait..what if we are using a VPN...shouldnt we be good then?
Got rid of Plex a long time ago. Trash ass program
Can a link be provided to this consent page?
luckily it never had it
Frogs do enjoy a good sauna. 😊
If that's your line, then more power to you. I'm happy to live in a world where people make choices I don't agree with - but I will always respect those who make an informed choice over people who let fate or advertising make their choices for them.
However, I also wouldn't blame others for looking for an exit. Or testing other waters. Or at least thinking the grass might be greener elsewhere.
If you do continue to use Plex, consider taking a weekend for a hobbyist project such as a VPN server (OpenVPN or Wireguard are classics and broadly indistinguishable from work traffic) or a reverse proxy web server (nginx proxy manager is a good place to start). Not only are these useful and fun†‡, but they defang one of Plex's most marketable features - the automatic NAT traversal.
†I put 3 VPNs on all my phones - a split tunnel to home; a full tunnel to home; and a commercial VPN with international egress points. The split tunnel lets my phone access my home services from any network it's connected to (without impeding traffic destined elsewhere; the other ones are for coffee shop use). I can also give out access to the split tunnel to trusted friends to access my guest network. Also have a site-to site with a friend for off-site backup (with an encrypted tarball of my configs).
‡For the reverse proxy, I enjoy stapling it to my router's public 80&443 and using DDNS to point vanity.example and *.vanity.example to my home public IP (I like to live dangerously; cloudflare tunnel & pangolin exist, too). Inside my home I have *.internal.vanity.example and *.home.vanity.example for the management webUIs and intranet versions of services so that they can be accessed via https with a secure lock.
Having your own tools to build your own cloud - on a raspberry pi, or an old spare laptop or retired desktop, or a second-hand mini PC is worth the hassle, particularly if you are using Plex baked into an Nvidia shield or other proprietary product, can offer options - and it never hurts to have options.
… But at this point I'm well and good into preaching to the choir.
Tl;dr: No hate to Plex users, but maybe have a plan. 😅
Can't sell my data if I've never given them any
What is Plex?
Is Kodi still a thing? Been a while since I had a media server but I have another one in the works because fuck streaming services
Do people actually watch whatever plex streams? The only reason I use plex is to rewatch Star Trek for the 18th time.
Speedrunning destroying your platform.
"Updated “Who does Plex share or sell Personal Data with?” to include the Plex activity that you share based on your account visibility and activity settings as well as sharing/sale of certain Personal Data to third parties.
Seems like it's just for their other services, which I already assumed they were tracking and selling view counts.
someone should make a jellyfish plugin that brings up a consent screen that says you consent to give yourself over to eevee and naruto.
They prominently point this change out and kind of force you to choose whether you opt in or out. There is a single checkbox to opt out of all. But yes, it's a bad direction. Just maybe not the apocalypse implied by some.
One of the security upsides to plex is that any number of people can log in with the same credential.
That means that while Plex can harvest information- what account, what's being watched, IP address, device and player identifier- It doesn't know who to attach that information to. So you can get dozens or maybe hundreds of users polluting the same account with watch information. Less useful information to be sure.
@Sunny
use #jellyfin
so whats the issue? just declining doesn't work?
While selling data in general is shitty, I want to push back on the fear mongering a little bit.
This only applies to new accounts, can be opt-out of, and doesn’t apply to self-hosted content.
@Sunny lol OK so which subdomain do I block.
Can someone explain to me why you need anything more than directories filled with files to view content?
I'm struggling to understand why anybody would need or want something like Plex.
I want to watch a movie. I open explorer, go to the folder movies, select the movie, and double click the icon.
The end.
And you can say no. Where’s the problem?
Also “personal data” is a bit of a stretch.
It's opt-in. Zero issue here.
On no, an opt out, such a tragedy.
Nothing is ever truly free in this world. They gotta pay their bills too.