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I want to grant access to users, but don’t want them to see the other users. So I can do this by granting library access, but from what I can tell it only works if you’re accessing Plex from a web browser, so the user can login using their email address. Is there any way to let library access users use the native TV app for Plex without being a managed user?
The Plex client (web, mobile app, etc.) makes no difference.
Do not invite them to your Plex Home.
If someone is in your Plex Home and uses Switch User, they will see the list of users in your Plex Home.
If you share libraries with them (Settings → Manage Library Access) but do not invite them into your Plex Home, they login with their own Plex account. They cannot use Switch User to change to another account that has access to your server.
You can test this yourself. Create a separate “test” Plex account using a free e-mail account (Yahoo, Google, etc.). Share libraries with it, but do not invite it to your Plex Home. Then login on a Smart TV, mobile app, etc. using the test account.
Oh! I’m at work right now, but I’ll try this when I get home. So it takes whatever the user is logged into their smart TV with as their login and automatically authenticates them? What if I grant them access using their gmail account, but they are using an LG TV that doesn’t have link to a google account? When they open Plex, won’t they just be presented with the managed accounts in Plex Home (I have 3 of those)?
If your goal is to have a totally separate person in the same house using the same TV as you and your Plex Home users then you will find that will not work the way you seem to want.
Every time that person wants to use that TV with their own Plex account they will need to completely sign you out and then use the link code to sign their own Plex account into the app on the TV. Then you would need to do the same to get back your account and your Home users back on that TV.
For the LG app the person would need to already have a Plex account which they then link to the app using instructions on the TV. Them making a Plex account on our website it probably easiest
Are you wanting to do this for people in the same household?
If so, then you are better off having them in a Plex Home and using Switch User to change between accounts.
There is no way to hide the list of accounts in a Plex Home when switching users. Doing so does not make sense.
You can PIN protect the accounts to keep people from switching to the wrong account.
In the Plex app settings, disable Sign In Automatically. Whenever someone launches the app, they will be presented with the Pick User screen. They can then pick their account and enter their PIN (if set).
What I described above does not really work for multiple people in the same house. It would require signing out of the Plex app, then signing back in with the desired username every time you wanted to switch users.
If you had someone in your Plex Home that is not in the same house (a remote user), and does not need to switch users, you could remove them from the Plex Home. They would sign in with their own account and never see the list of other accounts.
Let me know if I’m misunderstanding what you are trying to accomplish.
No, these people aren’t in the same house, and not in my house. They are accessing my library remotely. I think I understand though. They just need to login to Plex, when they first install it on their TV, with the email address I used to grant them access, right?
They need to create their Plex account first which they can do from a link in the email you sent them if they don’t already have a Plex account. it will open a web browser on their phone or computer to create an account first
Once they have a Plex account they open the app on their TV they need to follow the instructions to link their Plex account to the app on their TV.
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Perfect, thank you!
If they already have their own account and are part of your Plex Home, you can “demote” them to a shared account.
Go to your Plex Home. Mouse over their name. Click on the X on the far right. That will remove them from your Plex Home. They will still appear under Manage Library Access.
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