Emby and Jellyfin are two other options. I’m sure there are more.
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The people saying this is the “end of days for Plex” have been saying that for years, and yet, here you all still are.
It’s a quite convenient feature with, sure, a few bugs to work out (I’d personally like to be able add or remove certain sections from the Discover section, like how you can with home screen recommendations for your own libraries).
No, it’s not invading your privacy.
And for the people who are saying “I don’t need this because I don’t subscribe to any streaming services”, shame on you for not paying for your Plex content.
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The name is, the offering is not.
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I have to pay for the thousands of home videos I share of the grandkids ?
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Well put.
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Just because some Plex users don’t pay Plex for their content or pay another streaming service for content does not mean a Plex user hasn’t paid for their content. There are many ways to procure content legally without paying Plex a dime.
It is absolutely invading our privacy when our own search terms are sent to a 3rd party (justwatch) and then relevant ads based on that are displayed. It’s a possible way to track what content we have and or are interested in. Plex is suppose to not have any idea what is on our servers. This makes it seem the opposite.
The Discover feature in and of itself is fine per-say. Right now it’s really nearsighted. The beta roll out was nearsighted. A lot of things need to be fixed. Will it go away? Probably not. Do I want it to go away? No. Is it a huge liability the way things are currently? Yes.
Is the forum in meltdown mode? More than I’ve ever seen…
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What is your definition of privacy?
I’ll use this one: privacy
prī′və-sē
noun
- The quality or condition of being secluded from the presence or view of others.
- The state of being free from public attention or unsanctioned intrusion.
- A state of being private, or in retirement from the company or from the knowledge or observation of others; seclusion.
Plex is invading on all three of those definitions.
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Meaning what exactly?
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Wouldn’t even bother engaging in that, it’s clearly posted to get a response and add to the drama of all this. They most likely don’t even understand how to rip content etc…
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Assuming they’re retaining search terms and linking it with identifiers then they could track content we appear to be interested in. However, anything relating to local media is all done locally between the client and the server. Plex have been quite clear that nothing is sent about the existence (or not) of media on people’s servers.
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Just to add my +1 to this, there really should be an option to disable this new feature.
Added my vote too.
Data is sent. It just doesn’t contain data saying where it was generated, is my understanding.
It also isn’t too large a leap to guess that the majority of search terms used are for local media. Plex receives those search terms and will be selling them.
The search term gets sent to the external search provider, but all Plex knows is it came from the search box. Nothing about media on your server gets sent to Plex.
And I’m not sure I agree the majority of search terms are used for local media. I’ve used the search function more playing around with the discover function then I have in my entire time using Plex. Moving forward it’s highly unlikely I’d use it for anything other than stuff I know isn’t on my server but might be on other streaming services I use.
Also, what do you think they’re selling and to who? Even if they were, what impact does it have?
Impacts my privacy. I know we now live in a society that doesn’t care about privacy much anymore, but I still prefer to have mine.
As your Plex libraries grow, your reliance on the search grows too, I find.
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Anything locally is done on the server sure but the search terms are still sent out to a 3rd party. It shows either 1) you own it or 2) you have intent to find it. It’s a privacy issue no matter how you twist the meanings or try to justify this BS.
The obvious solution is to be able to turn off the 3rd party results.
Got anything else?
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I can’t vote on the original post, but i also want to be able to disable this. It’s hella lame.
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Plex, can you please make previous versions available for download so we can downgrade?
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You can unpin it, but it’s still doing whatever it’s doing in the background.
Since it’s release I’ve noticed Plex using more resources than usual every once in a while when it should be idle. Checking plex shows that it isn’t doing anything, or shouldn’t be. There’s no scan, no one watching anything. Nothing. Then why the sudden 30% CPU usage?
Whatever it’s doing in the background is because of “Discover,” which I don’t need or want.
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Add ‘plex’ as a RegEx entry to Pi-hole to block all of this invasive crap. Use version 1.19 to avoid that stupid ‘Upgrade Libraries’ garbage and ugly Yellow Arrow. Screw all of these forced compulsory privacy invading “upgrades”. This will keep all of your local traffic safe from their prying eyes. If you just want to stop the ‘Upgrade Libraries’ nag using version 1.19 will suffice.
People shouldn’t have to install yet another piece of software to use software, which many people pay or have paid for, without it being annoying or invasive.
I’ve been slowly switching over to Jellyfin. It’s got it’s quirks, but so far much smoother and better experience, and OPEN SOURCE.
Sorry Plex, but you’ve lost yet another one.
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