New privacy policy is here: https://www.plex.tv/about/privacy-policy-update-notice/
Discussion here: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/283744/new-privacy-policy-you-can-no-longer-opt-out-of-data-collection/p1
So… time to find a Plex replacement?
You can take a look at https://emby.media/
I personally have a plex pass account and a lifetime sub with emby so I use both a bunch. Emby is more on the open source side of things with power user stuff and plex is aimed at the turn key like solution but stuff like this will happen.
Ah, good old Emby. Thanks for the reply.
I found emby to be a lot better in a lot of areas last time I used it. Transcoding is faster, better control panel, and it’s doesn’t keep locking things behind a paywall like Plex does.
The control panel is pretty…extensive.
There’s also Streama. It’s fully open-source, unlike Emby.
@rodalphoid said:
There’s also Streama. It’s fully open-source, unlike Emby.
I there a good working streama kodi plugin?
I can’t believe I have to look for an alternative to Plex. PLEX of all things! Why in hell did they do this? We paid $150 just to keep this from happening too. I am so disappointed.
Tagged for interest. I’m looking to get out of Plex in the next few weeks myself before TOS take effect.
You have looked at Emby’s Privacy Policy (which appears to be only related to their website, not the software) and their Terms of Use?
They make no mention of collection of metadata or what they might do with it as it relates to the software.
And section 3(g) of the Emby Terms of Use really confuses me. Limitations on reverse engineering software that claims to be GPLv2 licensed?
just making sure this forum thread has this update from elan
After a bunch of discussions this morning, we have some updates for you all ~ https://www.plex.tv/about/privacy-policy-changes/
I hope it shows that we’re listening and we care
@sa2000 said:
just making sure this forum thread has this update from elanAfter a bunch of discussions this morning, we have some updates for you all ~ https://www.plex.tv/about/privacy-policy-changes/
I hope it shows that we’re listening and we care
Yes we know. Although it’s too little too late. Trust has been broken and isn’t won back that easily by a single crisis aversion post by the CEO.
I’ll wait and see what the lawyers cone up with next week and either block all Plex metrics ports on my router or see what streama is all about.
@spykez said:
I found emby to be a lot better in a lot of areas last time I used it. Transcoding is faster, better control panel, and it’s doesn’t keep locking things behind a paywall like Plex does.The control panel is pretty…extensive.
Wait, what? Are we talking about the same software? I can’t even watch something in Android when I don’t pay.
@Coxeroni said:
@spykez said:
I found emby to be a lot better in a lot of areas last time I used it. Transcoding is faster, better control panel, and it’s doesn’t keep locking things behind a paywall like Plex does.The control panel is pretty…extensive.
Wait, what? Are we talking about the same software? I can’t even watch something in Android when I don’t pay.
They also REALLY want you to try Premiere, every time I use the Roku or Shield app there’s a popup. Not impressed.
@sa2000 said:
just making sure this forum thread has this update from elanAfter a bunch of discussions this morning, we have some updates for you all ~ https://www.plex.tv/about/privacy-policy-changes/
I hope it shows that we’re listening and we care
There inherent problem is that we have to take them at plex word and the minute you let them have a foot in the door its tends to change quietly later on.
Also section F basically leaves it up to them to decide when they shall and shall not share users date there no guarantee at all in it. Hell the legal terms aren’t even hard for a laymen to figure out.
At this point this feels a lot like it has a lot less to do with caring then it has to do with plex stepping in it big time and realizing this is way more serious then they wanted.
The only certain thing at this point is that plex shall have the hell monitored out of them in terms of the actual telemetry going to the server.
One misstep and what shall hit the fan shall make this seem like a little mid summers fart.
@WilhelmStroker said:
@Coxeroni said:
@spykez said:
I found emby to be a lot better in a lot of areas last time I used it. Transcoding is faster, better control panel, and it’s doesn’t keep locking things behind a paywall like Plex does.The control panel is pretty…extensive.
Wait, what? Are we talking about the same software? I can’t even watch something in Android when I don’t pay.
They also REALLY want you to try Premiere, every time I use the Roku or Shield app there’s a popup. Not impressed.
Yeah the client pops that up every time you first open it but other then that you dont see much of it so its only minoraly annoying compared to this.
The great this is that we have plenty of options out there.
@stefanvanruiten said:
Yes we know. Although it’s too little too late. Trust has been broken and isn’t won back that easily by a single crisis aversion post by the CEO.
Well nothing actually changed. There was a proposed policy change to take effect a month from now which has been rolled back before it took effect. That’s kinda the point of the grace period, to catch stuff like this and resolve it.
@Magnus33 said:
There inherent problem is that we have to take them at plex word and the minute you let them have a foot in the door its tends to change quietly later on.
And yet this change was announced, loudly, by email, with a summary of changes up front and not buried under pages of legalese. And then rolled back very rapidly when the faults were identified.
The only certain thing at this point is that plex shall have the hell monitored out of them in terms of the actual telemetry going to the server.
Superb. We need someone watching what they’re doing. Complacency is the enemy, and I look forward to seeing your pcap analysis in the future.
@Eeek said:
You have looked at Emby’s Privacy Policy (which appears to be only related to their website, not the software) and their Terms of Use?They make no mention of collection of metadata or what they might do with it as it relates to the software.
And section 3(g) of the Emby Terms of Use really confuses me. Limitations on reverse engineering software that claims to be GPLv2 licensed?
I want to mark your post as both insightful and lol, but i can only do one.
I haven’t yet formed an opinion on this thing, nor have I yet flagged it as a thing to get all ate up over.
Of course Plex is mining data and selling it to the highest bidder - just like everybody else is.
They’re stopping just short of including your social security numbers and credit card info, but really… who knows what they’re selling and who knows who they’re selling it to?
I’ve seen some of this other crap you guys with your chests all puffed up are claiming you’re going to run to - with a lot of loud fanfare, banging of pots and pans, setting dumpsters on fire and the like, but I wonder how many of you will slither back into the encampment quietly under cover of darkness when you find out how much SUCK is bundled up with that new miracle media server package - that’s mining the same data Plex is and selling it to the highest bidder, just like Plex is?
Plex takes advantage of every opportunity to slice they’re own throats. This latest crisis is just more of the same. If Plex knew how to make users happy they’d have users climbing over one another to stand in the line with a giant bucket at the end of it for you to drop your money into, but Plex is bound and determined to alienate users at every turn, so they have to make money in other ways.
Selling out to investors is one of them, investors think it’s cool to mine data and sell it to the highest bidder, so that’s where we are. Get used to it. It’s the world we live in. Hello World.
So long as the FBI doesn’t kick down my door and haul me off to Federal Prison I don’t much care, but really… if they do… the tax payer (that used to be me) is going to have to take over my medical expenses, so… 3 hots and a cot, a few gold teeth, meds delivered on time each day and cable.
I finally reached the big-time, but had to go to the big-house to do it.
Hello World.
what bothers me about this is that they went to all that effort to announce the privacy policy changes, said that they had all been working their assess off on it and never satisfactorily explained what they are going to do with all that data.
I just don´t trust any company to hold that kind and volume of data and not do something bad with it later on.
The word ¨Advertising¨ was used too. Why is this being brought up now? Are we to expect ads?
It wont take a genius to figure out how to make those ads more valuable now will it?
@MattTwinkleToes said:
what bothers me about this is that they went to all that effort to announce the privacy policy changes, said that they had all been working their assess off on it and never satisfactorily explained what they are going to do with all that data.I just don´t trust any company to hold that kind and volume of data and not do something bad with it later on.
The word ¨Advertising¨ was used too. Why is this being brought up now? Are we to expect ads?
It wont take a genius to figure out how to make those ads more valuable now will it?
This. So much this. I assume that all companies I come in contact with are gonna do their best to mine for info; well, my info is pretty boring and they’re welcome to it. But when they start talking about “targeted adverstising”, I’m out. When Hulu first started up and was web only and “free” for watching a couple or random ads per show; that was cool. When they switched to Hulu+ and started charging to watch; limiting what you could watch and forcing “targeted ads”; I said bye-bye to Hulu.
Meanwhile, this half-hearted attempt at PR means nothing. From their own little “explanation”; ** We then emailed fifteen million people 30 days before the policy even takes effect, which is technically not required,**
So basically; they can and still will do whatever they want with our info. Next time they just might not bother to tell us.
Me, not sure how much I care yet; but the first time and ad pops up in my server; it’s gone like yesterday’s fish.
I have reevaluated Emby and find it almost as functional as Plex. In fact on the Shield it is better.
It is somewhat different and takes some getting used to but it works pretty well.
But I play almost everything from “On Deck” (called “next up” in Emby) and it is possible that the menus might not be as good for others however Emby does display its browsing in a grid in a lot of places so you do have vertical scrolling on a lot of clients including Shield, Fire and Roku.
The clients do seem a bit slow to load up on initial startup but that could be due to Emby still performing tasks to get everything fully operational.
