Flip the Switch on These Plex Settings to Boost Your Privacy

As much as I really like Plex and depend on its features for my personal library, I don’t want to share more data than is necessary. It’s not a criticism of Plex, but I’ve changed these privacy settings, and you should too.

6

Go Incognito With Your Profile Privacy Settings

I don’t care for the idea of people being able to see what I’m watching on Plex, not out of shame but because of the principles of the matter. I also don’t want my friends’ usernames exposed when someone sees my friends list, either. You can tweak these settings to be completely private:

1. In Plex, open Settings and choose Privacy on the left-hand side, near the top.
2. For ACCOUNT VISIBILITY & ACTIVITY SHARING, select Edit.
3. For maximum privacy, set everything to Private.

The only option that can’t be private is Account Visibility, so the next best option is Friends Only. Make sure to save, and you’re off to being a little more private.

5

Unsubscribe to Those Pesky Marketing Emails

Watching marketing emails pile up in my inbox irks me, and it’s one of the defining reasons I have two email accounts (or a great reason to use an email alias!). One is used for signing up for services (taking the brunt of the problem), while the other is for personal use. Thankfully, if you have one email, you can at least unsubscribe from Plex’s marketing emails.

1. In Plex, go into Settings > Account.
2. Under Preferences, click the hyperlink there to access your email preferences.
3. In Email Preferences, uncheck every box for maximum privacy.

When you’re done with your email preferences, complete the process by selecting Update Preferences at the bottom.

4

Prevent Plex From Selling Personal Data

While you can use Plex strictly for accessing your media library, it also has ad-supported content you can stream. It’s a nice way to expand on your options if your library is lacking, though there are cheap ways to expand your Plex library. However, it’s an avenue for more data collection, so let’s put a stop to that:

1. In Plex, open Settings > Privacy.
2. Click the hyperlink for Privacy Preferences to access how your personal data is used.
3. Uncheck If this box is checked, then Plex may sell your personal data as described in the Privacy Policy… and also check All No, then finish with Save Preferences.

Now, this will prevent Plex from selling and sharing certain information, but it won’t remove the ads, even if you opt for the Plex Pass.

3

Disable Plex’s Collection of Playback Data

Having data on your playback performance can be used to improve Plex, but give a company an inch and they’ll take a mile. I’d rather disable it for good, just to be thorough.

1. Sign in on Plex’s site with your account and visit Plex’s privacy policy page.
2. Scroll down until you get to the "Your Plex Privacy Rights" section.
3. Click on You have the right to limit what activity data is sent from your Plex Media Server to reveal a checkbox.

Uncheck Send playback data to Plex and you’re golden. I’d give the page a refresh to double-check the new changes stuck.

2

Opt Out of Plex’s Free Content

Since you can’t at all avoid the ads given to you by Plex, you can avoid the free content altogether; in fact, you can disable it from your homepage entirely and avoid the risk of accidentally watching Plex’s streaming library.

Whether from the Plex app or from a browser, open Settings and choose Online Media Sources. Under LIVE TV and MOVIES & SHOWS, click Edit and set them to Disabled. Now the only content you’ll see is what’s in your Plex library. Perhaps now is the time to turn Plex into a streaming hub!

1

Request That Plex Deletes Your Data

Even if you were to use all these tips to boost your privacy on Plex, it doesn’t help the data that’s already been collected. While you can’t do anything about it, if you were to stop using Plex altogether, you can have your data deleted on the way out. Please note that this action will permanently delete your account and all associated content.

1. Firstly, you need to visit Plex’s Privacy Request Center site and pick your country and state.
2. Next, choose Start Deletion Request and provide your first and last name, email, and write out any comments.
3. Finish up by clicking Review Request.

Should you keep Plex around, and you get curious, you can also send access and transfer requests to see what kind of data of yours has been collected.

In my book, fewer services collecting, sending, and selling my data is a win. I may like what Plex offers in terms of features, but like most businesses, there’s no reason to horde my data like a dragon hoarding gold.