Why ads on my own media
Plex does not insert ads into your content.
If using the search feature, make sure you are not inadvertently selecting the version available from Plex’s streaming services.
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I think this is a disingenuous answer, or at least one which is unaware of some recent changes to Plex.
I’ve noticed one multiple occasions now media which we were watching from a local library gets a second streaming version of the series, at the exact episode and timestamp we are on, added to the Continue Watching section. Not only is this happening, but it is the first option, as though we were using it last. This means upon resuming our series, as we always have, the most recent item in the list does now include ads. We were completely unaware of the duplicate, or that we were using a streaming version, until an ad showed up.
If you go to Continue Watching, find the streaming version (which isn’t made clear at all), and remove it from the list, it will reappear when you watch your first local episode. Again, as the left most, most recent looking, item in the list.
While Plex isn’t adding ads to your local content, they have started redirecting you to streaming versions which do include ads.
The answer given is accurate, but fails to address this new feature.
We are on version 4.108.0 and have seen this with both Friends and Frasier. I’ve seen other in reddit talking about this as well, one mentioned Frasier as well.
Specifically the first time we had this experience was on 2023-08-13. Unsure when the update came down, that’s just when it started effecting us. Official Docker image, still scowering options and change logs, but haven’t spotted this change yet.
Short story is if Plex has a steaming version of your local content, you need to change your habits and be very careful when selecting to resume a series. You are now being redirected to versions with ads.
All of what you’re describing is part of their Discovery + Watchlist + Plex Streaming LiveTV and Content Library launch that is a feature set that was contracted to have a beta release date and it was rushed.
With the obvious fact that Plex and their partners content is served up first, you can DISABLE it altogether by going directly to Plex Account Settings
Disable the following:
Not true as Discovery and the development of Plex Live TV channels and content partners was at least 4 years or more in progression. These are not considered recent when there have been many discussions here on this very forum about the beta launch of Discovery + the universal Watchlist along with the preemptive launch of the new Plex TV and Movie Agents that make it possible for it to work together. If you take a look at the Support pages and the Plex Blog posts, these decisions and developments are a year or so old already with at least 6 months of additional beta testing behind them.
All of that is unnecessary, as I just pointed out how to disable it altogether above. Don’t be so alarmist.
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Thanks D_eight6, I have disabled the settings you listed for all users and I will see if the behavior reverts. I appreciate the information, and I’m pleased to know I should be able to adjust how Plex is working.
I do still believe that this is not made clear anywhere in the web GUI settings, from the Continue Watching, or generally when browsing the Plex interface. Plex will add items to your queue, prefer them, and that content may contain ads.
Plex does not insert ads into your content.
If using the search feature, make sure you are not inadvertently selecting the version available from Plex’s streaming services.
I also believe that the above statement is either lacking transparency, or is just incomplete. Possibly our discussion helps complete the answer.
If Discover is enabled, it isn’t an ‘inadvertent’ click that may create a situation where ads are seen. I do not see clicking your most recent item in Continue Watching as inadvertent, when that can change day to day from local or streaming. Plex can, and will, actively change items in your Continue Watching to other versions when Discover is enabled and content is found. This may not happen immediately, and will change over time as both recorded TV and stream services change content. Be they higher quality recordings from live TV, other local versions, or Streaming, the point being it isn’t ‘inadvertent’. Discover changed a most recent item to a never been used before item, and the user was unaware of the change. As you mentioned, Discover is not new, and that means this answer should have included information about Discover.
Why ads on my own media
While true, Plex doesn’t inject ads in to your own media, this question, while vague and lacking details, should have been a clear indication that the person was no longer viewing their own content. The reason they are no longer on their own content is unclear as there are no other details, but one common cause of this is Discover, and it possibly wasn’t inadvertent. This isn’t strictly motivated to insert ads, but it did redirect the person from viewing their own local content to a different version, and it happened in such a way the user was unaware of the change.
With the obvious fact that Plex and their partners content is served up first, you can DISABLE it altogether by going directly to Plex Account Settings.
It may be obvious to some that Plex and partner content is preferred, but as a user wanting to watch local content it isn’t obvious that Discover has actively changed your Continue Watching list. When you do catch on to what is happening, it isn’t obvious that it continues modifying the list. Questions about how an ad showed up when we were selecting local content cannot be met with statements that Plex doesn’t do that. Yes, technically that is correct, but that isn’t what was being asked. There was no noticeable callout that Discover was making changes, no significant callout in the settings that Discover can change the Continue Watching order, and content which we had been using local now had an ad.
All of that is unnecessary, as I just pointed out how to disable it altogether above. Don’t be so alarmist.
I do not believe I was being alarmist, nor was I trying to be.
Content was being forced to the top of our Continue Watching. This content was the same episode and timestamp we last had, was not the same local content we had been using for years, there was no indication that Plex changed the list, and ads now existed in the content being played. The content which contained ads was a complete surprise to us. When we selected the local content, expecting it to become the most recent watched item, it was not. When I searched the settings for what could change the Continue Watching order, it wasn’t clear Discover was capable of this. Not knowing this was ‘Discover’ searching the forums wasn’t surfacing what might be the cause of ads being in what, we thought, was local content.
Short story is if Plex has a steaming version of your local content, you need to change your habits and be very careful when selecting to resume a series. You are now being redirected to versions with ads.
I worded this too strongly. No knowing about Discover at the time, and that it was the feature causing this reaction, I’ll rephrase this. If you leave Discover enabled, you may be redirected from what you wanted to continue watching, possibly to a version with ads, and you do need to be careful when selecting to resume.
Thanks for addressing my concern and calling out what was causing the Continue Watch list to be changed; I’ve disabled Discover.
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