Casey LissSiri, show me enshittification
Plex reneged on “remote people can stream for free as long as the server owner has a [paid] Plex Pass" and it’s now “remote people _also_ need to have a Plex Pass or a $2/mo / $20/yr sub"
Do not dig it.
(Or, I'm grossly misunderstanding things. Which would be great! But if so, this clause at the top is VERY unclear)
domserio@caseyliss They’re doing a terrible job explaining things but the Plex Pass on the server still covers all remote viewers, according to the blue box still left on the page.
@domserio I don't _think_ that's true anymore.
Happy to be wrong though.
Steve PurchaseI have a lifetime plex pass. My brother streams from my server and got an email (also confusingly written) that confirms he can continue streaming free from my server.
So good news and a reason to be happy to be wrong.
But on the other side of the ledger, the new iPhone app is a huge footgun.
Way less performant. Many things I previously streamed at full quality now stutter, never play, or cause crashes, and only work reasonably well at 720p. And that’s aside from all the bits and pieces of functionality that were stripped out…
Elle@stevepurchase @caseyliss @domserio we got this too. i was super worried bc lifetime plex pass is $250 now and would suck for a lot of my friends 💀
Derek Martin
Buck@caseyliss The "fun days of tech" feel so so so over
NowWeAreAllTom@caseyliss I don’t think you’re correct but it’s extremely unclear
Wayne Dixon@caseyliss According to the email I got from Plex:
"As a server owner, if you elect to upgrade to a Plex Pass, anyone with access to your server can continue streaming your server content remotely as part of your subscription benefits."
So, it seems like people don't need Plex Pass, only the person serving the content.
@waynedixon Email you got…when?
@caseyliss Literally two hours ago at 5:02pm Central tonight.
Jiří Fiala Total Landscaping@waynedixon @caseyliss Ok, that look good, thanks
John Willis 🔰@caseyliss @waynedixon they broke my plex setup a few days ago, I got an email 90 minutes ago. 😓
Cyberpunk Librarian@caseyliss If you’ve not looked at Jellyfin, you might want to check it out. It does everything that Plex does, it's free and open source, you can stream to any device you like, there are all kinds of clients and an official app for iOS and iPadOS, and it pretty much works exactly the same way Plex does, right down to the file naming conventions.
I run mine on a Mac Mini and I have more problems with the Mac than I ever do with Jellyfin.
Jack Brewster@CyberpunkLibrarian @caseyliss I use Jellyfin in docker on my synology (no transcoding though) with infuse on my clients. Works a treat. And I can download to my device (which loooms like you can't do with free plex).
Glenn Fitzpatrick@caseyliss It’s confusing, but according to the FAQ it looks like only one pass/subscription is required, whether it’s the server owner or the account accessing the server:
Mike Escutia@caseyliss Meanwhile, the updated Plex app no longer lets me reorder channels in my Favorites list in the Live TV section. Even worse, when I switch to that section, the channel at the top of the “Featured” channels starts playing—the NFL’s FAST channel. Not a football fan, so I find it annoying.
Jeff Merola
@caseyliss my favorite aspect is I run a very old server, serving locally to iOS clients *in my house* and the iOS client update to force the inshitification refuses to talk to my old server, which cannot be upgraded, and I refuse to spend more money on (as it actually works fine) — so Plex is now totally garbage for me.
Adam Bell 
@caseyliss Tailscale exit node usage 📈
Mert Dumenci@b3ll @caseyliss Jellyfin is the way to go
Tony Snyder
Josh Rivers@caseyliss This is one of those crappy sarcastic reply posts. And for that I’m sorry, but anyway:
If I understood Marco and John correctly last week, it’s not enshitification if you can afford it. Enshitification is something for the poors. Otherwise it’s just “the price” and “market fit”.
Christian Kent 𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥@caseyliss I think the KEY discussion should always be “what costs money” — I don’t mean you, I mean them
Instead of talking back and forth about the contract and promises made, or the vague and express meanings in the communication …
We should never (pretend to) be surprised about enpoopification if something was never cheap or free to provide in the first place
So — rather than talk about the Plex Pass: Who is this video data routing through? Is there much centralisation or is it 99% peer-to-peer?
The closer that this product resembles BitTorrent with a glossy label, the better the chance of meeting expectations that it can operate like BitTorrent
Amethyst 🌸@caseyliss still waiting for them to renege on the lifetime plex pass I bought for just $70 twelve years ago 😅
Mieszko Ślusarczyk@caseyliss IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CURRENT PLEX PASS HOLDERS: (1/2)
For users who have an active Plex Pass subscription, remote playback will continue to be available to you without interruption from any Plex Media Server, after these changes go into effect. When running your own Plex Media Server as a subscriber, other users to whom you have granted access can also stream from the server (whether local or remote), without ANY additional charge—not even a mobile activation fee. More on that later in this update. (2/2)
Leonick@caseyliss it is very unclearly written, but the plans page says the following for the remote pass ”effective option to stream your media—or libraries of friends and family who don’t have Plex Pass—from anywhere”. So if the server owner has Plex pass you’re good?
If that is the case I think it’s better than before where you needed Plex pass to use the mobile or TV apps.
Latte macchiato 
@caseyliss I'm...like 99% sure you're wrong on this. The owner having Plex Pass should suffice.
For users who have an active Plex Pass subscription, remote playback will continue to be available to you without interruption from any Plex Media Server, after these changes go into effect. When running your own Plex Media Server as a subscriber, other users to whom you have granted access can also stream from the server (whether local or remote), without ANY additional charge—not even a mobile activation fee. More on that later in this update.
curdriceaurora@caseyliss Jellyfin beckons you on the other side. Plex selling viewing data was a hump many couldnt cross, this should be last hurdle for many more.
Tom Jacob@caseyliss have you tried Jellyfin + infuse? Made the switch a while back and haven’t looked back. Emby is the server and infuse is a very slick iOS / macOS / tvOS client.
@tomjacob Emby no
Jellyfin yes
Infuse yes
I was unimpressed with both at the time, and AFAIK none of them allow for easy remote streaming to people that are not me.
@caseyliss you’re right. You’d have to do some Tailscale stuff if you wanted that w Jellyfin. It’s not plug and play like plex.
@caseyliss oh, I was wrong, and yes this is stoooopid, because they just pissed me off as a paying (paid?) customer.
@caseyliss Yeah, I got an email about that earlier. I don't use remote access to Plex that often. I hadn't purchased Plex Pass, and I'm not sure I will be purchasing it.
I may just go with the "VPN to my computer, copy the files I want, and then AirPlay, or just plug into a TV" instead of using Plex.
I get that there needs to be a cost if you are using their servers for transcoding and/or transport, but if it's only a connection service, it should be VERY low cost, or free.
Kevin Dente@caseyliss I moment I read that blog post I thought “Liss rant incoming”
Erik Peacor@caseyliss Did we fast-forward to early 2026? Siri can’t give you that answer…yet :)
Zoe Hendrickse@caseyliss Not just this, but the latest updates on apps made them super buggy at times and the changes to Home Screen can also be evil. Final straw for me. I’ve now moved to Jellyfin. A few things missing, but everything else is better and free.
Patrick Toomey@caseyliss I think enshitification might be a fun word we have come up with to describe the Nash equilibrium of capitalism…the “perfect balance” between maximal profit extraction meeting the minimal happiness for consumers that’s necessary to retain them to maximize said profit.
Nicholas Wright@caseyliss I hate this so much. I’m so glad I bought a lifetime Plex Pass way back when it was $100-ish
@caseyliss The dumbest part (which is good for you) is that they still offer lifetime passes from time to time, and they still go on sale for up to 50% off from time to time.
Steven Op de beeck@caseyliss asking plain money for services isn’t enshitification, it’s the opposite.
Sucks though.