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by benglish11 1105 days ago
Yeah some time ago Plex started adding their own content or pushing you to streaming services, probably in an attempt to be more legitimate. I use Plex currently and I remember this being frustrating. With some configuration you can basically remove those options though. I mainly consume Plex through the Apple TV app and the UX (once configured) is above average.
4 comments

Yeah, there are probably ways to mostly get it back to what it once was. The problem really is that a) these ways weren't obvious to me at the time, and b) I don't trust Plex to keep those ways. Enshittification is sadly a one-way street.

If Plex kept my content frond-and-center and added useful features on top (e.g. Prime Videos additional information while pausing) I could even have seen myself subscribing to their service. But making the software annoying to use for its main purpose ensures I'll never spend a cent on it.

Imho the issue is you need to configure this for every user, and as plex is local account hostile it means walking family through this/checking it’s been done vs local accounts that you can disable it via admin.
The streaming integration is pretty handy, helps answer the "what service is this on" question.

I don't think it's pushing you to them at all, if you're looking at a show or movie that's available to you via Plex, they're listed first.

> probably in an attempt to be more legitimate.

I think you're correct, and this is why I forgive Plex its annoying transgressions.