If you scroll to section “M” - it states that Plex does not collect: titles, metadata, or file names.
So how the hell do they know how to leak our watch history to our friends? I was feeling content after locking down my privacy settings but I realized that this is actually a much larger issue than I initially thought. There is no reason for plex to have any idea what any of us are hosting. Thats the whole point of self-hosting.
They don’t. All they know is when you’ve changed the watch status of an item from unwatched to watched. But there are multiple ways that can be done (watching an item on a server when sync watch status is turned on, making something as watched on a playlist, watching something on Plex’s own streaming service) and they all look the same at Plex’s end.
I understand that - but im unclear how seeing the status of media going from “unwatched” to “watched” doesnt include basic information about what is hosted on your server.
According to Plex, the information includes when the watch state changes. It does not include if the change happened for media on your server, a server shared with you, or when watching via video on demand (the free, ad supported streaming service).
They do not store partially watched status, as that could potentially be used to tell from which source you watched the movie/show.
I’m with @bbarb5 on this, that it is very unclear.
It’s irrelevant that the Sync Watch help page states that “Plex does not know what content may be located on a personal Plex Media Server”.
Because at some stage the Watch State service will be sent some data related to your account that originated from your personal server. Despite whether the source of the Watch State change was never recorded.
So unless there is other fine print that I’ve missed, metadata about you and your personal server does leave your domain and violates the privacy policy.
