(I had originally posted this as a comment in this thread but I’m fuming to the point I think this deserves its own topic.)
Like many others, my jaw dropped in horror as I just received my first “Week in Review” email that detailed some of the things my friends are watching. I honestly cannot believe that watch information, not even done directly from my server, is being distributed in such a cavalier manner.
This is a MASSIVE invasion of privacy and can absolutely have very harmful real world consequences! This is the kind of thing that can end friendships, tear apart families, result in getting fired or even lead to physical harm.
As an example from the report I just got from my friends watch habits, I can see that one of my friends is apparently watching a ton of cheesy, soft porn stuff (think classic ‘skinemax’ fare) from some server (it’s not mine) or Plex channel, and I am 100% sure they would be mortified to know that I know this (and heaven forbid if their spouse found out! That would not go well for them).
Now replace this friend, who’s just enjoying their downtime with some cheeky T&A, with a teenager who may be having difficulty figuring out feelings about their sexuality and are just trying to explore by watching LBGT dramas to see if anything there resonates or can help them figure things out.
Suddenly, one of their intolerant friends or parents gets a detailed email report with a cheery title listing every little thing they’re watching, and decides to beat those impulses out of them because ‘not under my roof’. Or they get outed by a friend who thinks it’s just a funny joke to make but turns into teasing or bullying at school and causes them to harm themselves or worse.
I’m honestly wondering how long it will take before we hear about some kind of awful consequences like this in the real world and not just my ‘paranoid’ imagination.
This is a dystopian nightmare of a feature and I honestly can’t believe it’s been rolled out as opt-out like this. SHAME ON YOU, PLEX!
I hope this is rolled back immediately and a public statement of apology of some kind is made.
