Plex's Grant Access fails to work for Managed Accounts for kids

[zero269]

Server Version#: 1.29.2.6334 (DSM 7)
Player Version#: 1.56.1.3327

I’ve tried granting access to certain media titles for my two youngest children. Although Plex shows they have access to those select media titles - as shown in Plex Home > <User> - Media, my children DO NOT actually have access to this media that I’ve granted access to.

I created these accounts years ago following these guides:
Managed Accounts and Parental Controls and Restrictions on Library Access

The two kid’s accounts in question are using Plex’s Younger Kids default profile which have access to my Movies and Shows libraries. According to their Parental Controls article, this Younger Kids profile has a default restriction that limits access to “TV-Y, G, TV-G, and other equivalent ratings”.

The movie I Granted Access to is a PG movie (The Rise of Gru). Outside of needing to grant access to content they normally wouldn’t have access to, this Grant Access feature does not work.

As a workaround, I had to change the Content Rating from PG to G. I shouldn’t have to do this for every single Movie or Show when I have PG titles that I want them to access to versus all of the other PG content I do not want them to access.

The Grant Access feature should be able to override the Content Rating restriction when the Admin Grants Access to a specified title. Otherwise, what’s the point of this Grant Access if you can’t actually Grant Access to content that a user does not normally have access to?

If the Grant Access feature was not designed for this purpose, then perhaps Plex should add one that does.

My original post on this topic: Managed Users Cannot Access Single Shared Media. However, in that thread, I was under the impression that a request was being sent, which is not the case for Managed Accounts.

[tom80H]

As pointed out in the previous thread… the restriction profile will also apply to single items to which you’re granting your kids access. Granting access is no override for a restriction profile.

[zero269]

Thanks Tom,

I took a look at that old thread and realized I never looked into the whole Labels thing.
However, I read what it takes to use Labels for managing and restricting content for my children, and I can’t say that is a viable solution that Plex is offering.

The limitation to use Plex’s Single Item Access feature with Restriction Profiles is certainly a shortcoming in my opinion.

For this reason, I decided to submit a Feature Improvement Request for Single Item Access that supports the built-in preset Restriction Profiles.

I find the Labels solution to be subpar and far more complicated. However, that doesn’t mean I won’t give it a shot as it may be something I can use for a Family profile that can be used as a default profile on the Samsung TV Plex app.

This will be my alternative solution to what I deem a security flaw with entering a 4-digit PIN on an 82" screen in front of the entire family for my Admin account.