Plex Gets Social: Public Profiles & Reviews Now Available

Plex Enhances Social Features with Public Profiles and Reviews

The streaming platform Plex has evolved significantly from its origins as a personal media server. It now provides a complete solution for content discovery, streaming, and sharing, encompassing its own ad-supported free TV and movie library.

Recently, the company has been expanding its social networking capabilities, introducing new functionalities to further connect its user base.

New Social Networking Tools

A key addition is the ability to make your Plex profile publicly accessible. This allows other users to view your activity and engage with your content preferences.

Furthermore, users can now share their TV and movie reviews, fostering discussions and feedback within the Plex community.

The Evolution of Plex's Social Features

Plex initially ventured into social networking in November 2023 with the launch of “Discover Together.”

This feature enabled users to create profiles and connect with friends to share viewing habits.

Initial reactions were mixed, with some users expressing concerns about the default opt-in nature of the feature. Plex addressed these concerns by ensuring that adult content is excluded from users’ Activity feeds.

Competing in the Streaming Landscape

By integrating a more social experience, Plex aims to strengthen its competitive position.

It now rivals not only other free, ad-supported streaming services but also dedicated platforms for movie and TV reviews, such as Letterboxd and TV Time.

Sharing Your Plex Profile

With the latest update, Plex users can now share a public URL – watch.plex.tv – that directs to their profile.

By default, users are discoverable through the app’s search function, unless they have disabled this option in their settings.

Profile Visibility and Privacy

Visitors to your profile can view your recent viewing history and your Watchlist.

Plex assures users that these changes do not alter existing privacy settings.

Controlling Review Visibility

Plex users now have granular control over the visibility of their Ratings & Reviews.

You can choose to share your reviews with everyone, only Plex users, Friends, or Friends of Friends.

Alternatively, you can keep all your Ratings & Reviews private.

Existing and new users will default to sharing reviews only with Friends, according to Plex.

New User Interface Preview

Alongside the social features, Plex is previewing a redesigned user interface, initially available on Apple TV.

This redesign features improved navigation, enhanced customization options for personal media, easier access to features, and richer artwork integration.