# What is "Recommended"? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2020, 5:40am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489 "2020-01-05T05:40:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![edwardjski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@edwardjski](https://forums.plex.tv/u/edwardjski)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 5:40am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/1 "2020-01-05T05:40:36Z")
This seems like an utterly useless tab on the page of each library; why does it exist? How in the world is Plex going to “recommend” my own content to me? WTF is this all about? Perhaps this is useful to someone but I can’t imagine who… Please set me straight if I’m missing something. What I want from Plex is the quickest, simplest, easiest path to my media. “Recommended” doesn’t show the user ALL of their media. I cannot imagine a reason to not immediately give the user access to all of their media. Again, please enlighten me. ---
**Author:** ![BigWheel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/bigwheel/32/78783_2.png) [@BigWheel](https://forums.plex.tv/u/BigWheel)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 6:33am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/2 "2020-01-05T06:33:38Z")
> [@edwardjski](#): > > Please set me straight if I’m missing something. People share their libraries with others who may not know what is in the library. Like family members and friends. It is a quick way to see a view of things like high rate things that are unplayed. Often folks watch a movie multiple times in a shortish period of time like kids watching a Disney movie a million times and can get to them quickly in the recently viewed hub for example If you don’t want to see that tab when you go into a library select 'Library" at the top and it will remember that choice when you go to that library again as long as `Remember selected tab` is enabled in settings (which should be enabled by default) ---
**Author:** ![Xhaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b487fb/32.png) [@Xhaka](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Xhaka)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 7:49am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/3 "2020-01-05T07:49:26Z")
To add to @BigWheel comments… …and seeing as you seem keen on hyperbole and drama rather than just asking the question… I spend 95% of my time in the recommended tab. Almost all my viewing is done from “on deck” for my currently active shows. As for movies chances are I will be wanting to watch a recently added movie. I guess that’s why I added it in the first place…weird I know. I must really be doing it wrong. I guess I should be browsing through my 700 shows and finally getting there, then browsing through its multiple seasons and finally get to S07E21 (as an example). ll seems a lot easier than just hitting play from the default (but as mentioned easy to work around) “Recommended” screen…NOT. ---
**Author:** ![edwardjski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@edwardjski](https://forums.plex.tv/u/edwardjski)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/4 "2020-01-05T13:30:14Z")
Does Plex help you remember that you recently added a movie that you want to watch? When I add media, I know what I’ve added and where it is in the library (alphabetized structure helps). Otherwise, there is a search function. I don’t need a server which serves my own media to “recommend” my own media to me. And I definitely do not want it to recommend media that does not exist on my server. Netflix and every other online media provider does that well enough. ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 1:37pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/5 "2020-01-05T13:37:45Z")
From BigWheel’s post above: > [@BigWheel](#): > > If you don’t want to see that tab when you go into a library select 'Library" at the top and it will remember that choice when you go to that library again as long as `Remember selected tab` is enabled in settings (which should be enabled by default) # As for… > [@edwardjski](#): > > And I definitely do not want it to recommend media that does not exist on my server. If you don’t want to use the ad-supported video on-demand, simply disable it in your account settings: [https://app.plex.tv/desktop#!/settings/online-media-sources](https://app.plex.tv/desktop#!/settings/online-media-sources) ---
**Author:** ![edwardjski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@edwardjski](https://forums.plex.tv/u/edwardjski)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/6 "2020-01-05T13:44:06Z")
Sharing -understood. The ability to share seems like a great _option_. I’m not sure why it is the default though. -doesn’t the sharing of such media fall into a legal gray area? Technically, the only content to be shared is content that is owned by the user, right? Regardless, I’m not hosting a media server for others, I host it for myself and my immediate family. Navigating the library is easy enough (thanks to the alphabetized structure) and allows a user to see all available content -which serves as its own form of “recommendation”. A user may see something they weren’t initially thinking of watching. Further, the search function makes direct access very easy and there is also the ability to scroll the alphabet. ---
**Author:** ![SE56](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/se56/32/222425_2.png) [@SE56](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SE56)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 1:51pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/7 "2020-01-05T13:51:15Z")
Using Filters, example Genre would be a better option for Navigation. ![Screen Shot 2020-01-05 at 11.48.23 pm](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/e/8/e8a6adc7df18b75d63c0bbd124cefc8eee3ec9c1.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![edwardjski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@edwardjski](https://forums.plex.tv/u/edwardjski)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 1:53pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/8 "2020-01-05T13:53:48Z")
The option for ad-supported video on-demand should not be enabled by default. I installed and use Plex to watch content that exists on my system. I reckon that most users installed Plex for the same reason. I can understand the convenience of having personal and external media accessible from the same platform -which is why it is a great option for those who would like to enable it. I am not one of those users. I want to see my content organized by type (movies/TV shows/home videos etc) and I want it accessible with as few clicks and as little navigation as possible. I do not want my own media “recommended” to me, I don’t want to see what is “on deck”. I don’t want to see content that does not exist on my server and I don’t want to have to routinely configure or re-configure every device by disabling features I don’t want. These features are great for those who use them and they should be easily enabled if so desired. ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 1:56pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/9 "2020-01-05T13:56:07Z")
You made your point and you apparently don’t like the offered solutions on how to e.g. simply skip the recommended tab. If you want an option to remove the `Recommended` tab entirely, you might want to vote for this feature suggestion: > [@Option to remove "Recommended" tab in players](https://forums.plex.tv/t/option-to-remove-recommended-tab-in-players/493296): > > Request is to optionally remove the “Recommended” tab/ selection on players. As I have built my own libraries of Movies, TV shows, documentaries and pretty much all the moving visual media I like, I am quite familiar with (my own) library. For this reason, I do not need a “Recommended” tab in my library as I can by heart recommend things to myself (and anyone in the house) without the benefit of a presumably very well coded Recommended tab. Can you please, please, like really pretty please, a… ---
**Author:** ![SE56](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/se56/32/222425_2.png) [@SE56](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SE56)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/10 "2020-01-05T13:59:57Z")
The argument that you know what you add is fine but anyone else that uses the Plex Clients may indeed not Know ---
**Author:** ![edwardjski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@edwardjski](https://forums.plex.tv/u/edwardjski)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 2:33pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/11 "2020-01-05T14:33:21Z")
I asked the question: _What is “Recommended”?_ Unfortunately, the question has not been answered. I would like to know how Plex arrives at a recommendation and why it would presume to recommend my own media to me. Essentially, all content I add to my server _is_ recommended (by me) and therefore the tab and feature is an unnecessary redundancy. Essentially, the recommended tab results appear not to be based on a useful algorithm. Rather, it seems to just be a truncated list. Think about this for a moment… The purpose of a server is to serve content; the “recommended” tab runs contrary to the purpose as it doesn’t display all the available content and instead requires additional navigation to access the full library. Ultimately this serves as an impediment. Its nice that you spend 95% of your time in the recommended tab and that almost all of your viewing is done from “on deck”. Therefore I think it is a terrific option but it should not be the default. The default should be as immediate access to libraries as possible. I spend zero intentional time in the recommended tab and when I do, my time is spent wondering what happened to the rest of my media. ---
**Author:** ![edwardjski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@edwardjski](https://forums.plex.tv/u/edwardjski)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/12 "2020-01-05T14:35:41Z")
So by default Plex should initially show the user a truncated library? If a user doesn’t know or can’t remember content they just added, how much more likely are they to not know or remember what is in their library? ---
**Author:** ![edwardjski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@edwardjski](https://forums.plex.tv/u/edwardjski)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/13 "2020-01-05T14:37:29Z")
Yes. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![edwardjski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@edwardjski](https://forums.plex.tv/u/edwardjski)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 6:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/14 "2020-01-05T18:00:57Z")
> The argument that you know what you add is fine but anyone else that uses the Plex Clients may indeed not Know All the more reason the default should be the entire library. ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/15 "2020-01-05T19:13:02Z")
I don’t think that’s been SE56’s point. That being said… there’s apparently way more scenarios how different persons use Plex (even some that the developers didn’t necessarily anticipate or where other users have a hard time to wrap their heads around, like yours). ---
**Author:** ![Xhaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b487fb/32.png) [@Xhaka](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Xhaka)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/16 "2020-01-05T19:53:30Z")
> [@tom80H](#): > > That being said… there’s apparently way more scenarios how different persons use Plex (even some that the developers didn’t necessarily anticipate or where other users have a hard time to wrap their heads around, like yours). Not to mention again that if people are really so offended by the “Recommended” view the solution was in the very first reply. > [@BigWheel](#): > > If you don’t want to see that tab when you go into a library select 'Library" at the top and it will remember that choice when you go to that library again as long as `Remember selected tab` is enabled in settings (which should be enabled by default) ---
**Author:** ![SE56](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/se56/32/222425_2.png) [@SE56](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SE56)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/17 "2020-01-05T19:53:33Z")
Can we agree to disagree? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/what-is-recommended/521489/18 "2020-04-04T19:53:37Z")
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.