New Follow Feature Available on Plex

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Hello Plex Community!

We have a new feature ready to launch today, one that we’re very excited for you to start using immediately. You can now follow other users on Plex! This feature is something similar to what already exists on other social platforms, where you can follow a user in a one-way relationship to keep up with their reviews, posts, commentary, and more.

Now, this isn’t a replacement for the Friend system we have already in place, so let us explain the differences and answer some common questions that you might already have.

What Is the “Follow” Feature?

Simply the Follow feature allows you to follow another user’s public activity on Plex without needing a mutual friendship. As long as a user’s profile is visible (not private), you can follow them and see their public posts (like ratings, reviews, and public watch history updates) in your Activity Feed. You will not see any content that has been set to private or friends-only.

Follow vs. Friends – What’s the Difference?

Following (new feature!) - This is a one-way relationship. You can follow any user on Plex whose profile visibility allows it, without waiting for them to approve. Followers only see the public content, things that have been set to be visible to “Anyone” or “Anyone Signed into Plex”

Friends (existing feature) - This is a mutual relationship. Two users agreed to become friends. This is a deeper connection where your Friends can see more than just the public content. Based on your privacy settings, they can see content that you have marked as friends-only (such as certain watch history or other activities).

It’s important to note that Follower and Friending will coexist in the Plex community. The Follow feature is not replacing your Friends. Follow users for their public activity and be friends with people you want to form deeper relationships with.

Your Privacy Settings – You’re in Control

Your Privacy and what you choose to share is up to you. The Follow feature does not alter that in any way. Nothing that is set to private is exposed to someone following you. You have full control over what followers (and everyone else) can or cannot see.

You can set your privacy settings up in your Account Settings that adjust the following aspects of your account to be visible to Anyone, Anyone Signed in to Plex, Friends of Friends, Friends Only, or Private. Related settings can be found in Settings>Account>Manage Profile Privacy or Settings>Privacy>Manage Profile Privacy

  • Account Visibility: Who can or can’t see your profile information and follow you? Your account/profile visibility settings determine this. This setting is separate from activities such as reviews. So be aware that if you have public reviews or other activities, users may still see your username and avatar, but based upon your profile visibility settings other information will be hidden or shown.

  • Allow Friend Requests From: Who can send you a friend request (Note: This new setting currently only exists in the mobile apps)

  • My Follow Lists: The number of followers you have, and the number of accounts you follow is visible on your profile, but you can control the visibility of your follower/following lists. For new accounts, these lists will be visible by default. You can adjust this setting on who is allowed to see the lists.

  • Content Visibility: Plex gives you granular control over who sees specific types of your activity: ratings, reviews, watch history, etc… all have their own privacy control. These settings still apply with Followers. Followers only see content you’ve set to “Anyone” or “Anyone Signed into Plex”.

  • Notifications: You can set your notifications to be notified when someone follows you or adjust them to your liking.

  • Blocking & Muting: You can block an account which will remove them as a follower and prevent future interactions. You can also mute an account if you don’t want to see their content. (Read more here about blocking and muting).

For a full breakdown of the Privacy settings, make sure to read this Support Article.

To be clear, we are not changing how your existing privacy settings are set. It is built on Plex’s existing privacy framework: following cannot bypass content-specific or profile-level privacy settings. You are in control of who sees your activities. We encourage everyone to take a moment to review your profile privacy and content sharing settings. If you want to share more, loosen some settings. If you want to share less, tighten those settings. Plex will honor those choices.

Have fun! The new Follow feature is perfect for keeping up with users who share interesting content without having to send a Friend Request. If you do end up becoming friends - even better! Try the feature out today - just visit their Plex profile and click the Follow button. If you have any questions or feedback, head on over to General Discussions and create a topic and tag it Discover.

FAQ

  1. What happens to my existing friends? Don’t worry! Your existing Friends are still there! AND you are automatically following each other by default.

  2. What happens if I unfriend someone? If you unfriend someone, you will also stop following them.

  3. Can I still send friend requests? Of course!

  4. Who can send me a Friend Request? It’s based upon your settings. In your Privacy Settings you can set who can send you a friend request.

  5. What will my followers see? What will they not see?

    1. What will they see?
      1. They will see your activities that are marked as visible to all Plex users. This typically includes public reviews, ratings you give, and watch history. Learn how to adjust your privacy settings here.
    2. What will they NOT see?
      1. They will NOT see anything you’ve marked as Private or Friends-Only.
      2. If you have a review visible to “Friends of Friends”, a random Follower who doesn’t fall into that group won’t see it.
      3. Followers will never see content like your personal media library or server shares. That is private unless you explicitly share your server with them.
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