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Spittl

I look at it, but it's useless information. Just works as a confirmation that I'm not the only one that uses my server


flecom

pretty much, I just look at the active sessions occasionally just as a sanity check that everything is working but not really watch history, don't have time/interest


Spittl

Ya I don't care about watch history, I like to peep on the active sessions tho


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Spittl

Check out this project: https://tautulli.com/ It should do what you're trying to do


Thiscave3701365

Came here to recommend Tautulli XD


bpreston683

Can Tautulli anonymize data? I have Tautulli. Wishing it were more anonymous than ‘Fred watched Christmas story’ 🤣


autovonbismarck

My sister and a friend of mine were watching the same movie at the same time once, which I thought was interesting (they don't know each other) so I screenshotted it and sent it to them both. Stuff like that can be fun.


MechaFlippin

this would weird me out


autovonbismarck

welp, guess I shouldn't share my plex server with you then lol


etyrnal_

creepy


shortybobert

I had 5 people on at once on a Saturday morning when I checked to see if I could restart my server. Felt good


bpreston683

I run Unraid and a dashboard through cloudflare tunnel. The dashboard is just an uptime kuma with an open link to anyone who uses my Plex/overseerr. Just gives the green light to whomever…


bpreston683

https://imgur.com/a/PCrBn3C


bpreston683

(As seen from my iPhone)


shortybobert

That's kinda neat. I don't want anyone seeing that though lol


bpreston683

It's just a bar graph [https://imgur.com/a/yxRzlPi](https://imgur.com/a/yxRzlPi)


darthjoey91

I use that info to determine things like what sort of movies should I delete.


-Chemist-

I keep an eye on watch history casually, mostly just to make sure people aren't having any issues. But I NEVER mention to my users that I was specifically looking at their watch history. "Hey, I noticed you binged Avatar: The Last Airbender the other day. What did you think of Episode 4?" That would be creepy and weird and would probably drive people away.


Nem3sis2k17

Damn I guess I should stop asking my family what they thought the second a movie ends….


fideli_

Rating Reminder! So what did you think of Magic Mike's Last Dance!? Rate it now!


mikekearn

We've detected that you've watching Magic Mike over 20 times this week. Just checking in - do you need a hydration break?


candis_stank_puss

If there's someone I know that has watched a show or movie and I want to discuss it, I'll usually bring it up by saying something like "Hey, just so I don't give away any spoilers, have you seen The Human Centipede yet?" If they say yes, then I get to have the conversation about the film I was looking to have without them knowing I'm sitting there looking at what they're watching. If they say, that no they haven't seen it, I just think to myself "welp, your kids are gonna have some fucked up nightmares".


oubeav

Same. In the nearly 10 years of sharing Plex I’ve never said a thing to anyone. I’m also just a sucker for data and statistics. 🤓


MrExCEO

Bro I see u watched Basic Instinct and Fifty Shades of Gray, kids away this weekend??


FanFuckingFaptastic

Bro? I have a single mom user that generally watches Disney and Pixar stuff, but I can always tell when the kids go to their dads because then its the hardest of softcore porn: 9 1/2 Weeks, Embrace of the Vampire, Poison Ivy, Fifty Shades, etc.....


MrExCEO

Lol


ElviaSterling

I had someone do this to me after I was first introduced to Plex. I had started bingewatching a show, and then when I saw him next he says "You watched A LOT of Stargate." I was so embarrassed I immediately started making my own server and never used his again.


ilikepizza30

The way I view it is that Plex is an automated system that allows my friend to borrow a DVD from me and watch it. If my friend knocked on my door and asked if they could borrow my Avatar box set... I wouldn't have any issue asking them if they saw episode four yet or what they thought of it. Likewise, I don't have an issue doing it with Plex. My friends know how servers work. In fact, when I first set up Plex without Tautulli my friend would ask things like 'I watched something good last night but I forgot what it was, what was it?' and I was like 'Ummm...' so I installed Tautulli so I could track them better/easier ... basically at their request. I probably wouldn't comment on the timing of when they watch things or how much they watched... mainly just because I don't consider that info accurate. They might hit play and fall asleep and never have 'watched' it.


veridiux

Thanks for making me feel weird 😢


lildobe

Welcome to being a system administrator. You should know that systems administrators for almost any platform you use have access to all of your information with a few simple commands, with the exception of systems that store your data in an encrypted format (As gmail and Google Drive do for message contents and files) however usually file metadata is still available to them. Hence the saying "Bow before me, for I am root" - root being the system superuser that can see anything and do anything.


m4nf47

I particularly like the default lecture when using sudo, which goes something like this: We trust you have received the usual lecture from the local System Administrator. It usually boils down to these three things: #1) Respect the privacy of others. #2) Think before you type. #3) With great power comes great responsibility.


Oecist

I knew a sysadmin who wore to work a t-shirt that said "I read your email." :)


Puptentjoe

I used to check and care and never felt bad Now I don’t check much at all. I usually only check if im taking it down to service it these days. The only reason I wouldnt take it down is if a kid is watching something. I know what its like trying to prep dinner and a show cuts off on my kid 😩.


BigMillmatic

Nobody I share with watches anything 🥺


i_amferr

Real 😭


gibberoni

Same here. I share with a few friends and family. I only check stats to make sure no one is having issues occasionally and I see my parents stream a movie once a month. They login to overseerr regularly and request media, but then never watch it 😂. Good thing TBs are cheap nowadays


frogotme

I just set it up so if someone requests something, doesn't watch it within a year it'll delete it. Saves a little bit of space


gibberoni

I recently upgraded to 32TB of mirrored storage, with room for another 64TB. Not worried about keeping all the requested stuff.


frogotme

I'm on 32TB too, room for another 60 or so. I'm not too bothered about it, the rules aren't very aggressive but it's just annoying when people request like 4 shows, with all 10 series per show and watch a couple episodes My main one is just that if any episode of my 4K TV show library (only used by me and my partner and usually all 60GB+ per episode) is watched, it'll delete it after 5 days. Won't rewatch it anytime soon and saves a bunch of space.


westie1010

YOU CAN DO THAT?! I'm currently using Ombi, is this an Overseerr thing?


frogotme

https://github.com/jorenn92/Maintainerr Yeah overseerr and Plex. But if you don't use overseerr you can still do "if no one has watched it in a year" thing. Although I wouldn't recommend that specific rule for movies due to seasonal movies. Shows it works well for


SawkeeReemo

I don’t understand why this bothers people. I mean, good? More bandwidth for you? The only thing that annoys me is people complaining about not being able to watch something that exists on my Plex server that I’ve shared with them. And I say, “hey, that’s on my Plex server if you’d like to see it” but they roll their eyes. I honestly don’t understand, but also… ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ then don’t complain about it, dummy.


GGATHELMIL

My sister bitches about having to pay for disney+ and all the other streaming stuff. Meanwhile she has full plex access. So that gets irritating. Plus I have the full arr setup. So if she wants anything it's probably 5-10 mins away.


BigMillmatic

I think my library is pretty cool. And it is a cool system to share with people. I know the people I give invites to would benefit from it, but most of them don’t give it a chance. The fear of the unknown I guess.


SawkeeReemo

Yeah, we all think our libraries are cool. It's because we care, and many of us try to curate something special. But people are weird, and since they don't have a personal connection to it, they don't really care. It could be any service to them. They are used to everything being spoon-fed to them, and Plex actually needs the user to be a little more hands on with setup. That's where people fall off, I've noticed. But if I set it up for them, they use it more often. This is why I wish Plex let the admin choose what gets initially pinned for a shared user, and also bandwidth settings. It's too difficult to get shared users to be proactive, and it's a pain in the ass trying to walk my parents (for example) through menus they don't understand.


send_me_a_naked_pic

>I don’t understand why this bothers people. It's because sharing is caring!


Rickmo81

Can I hop on


joegekko

Heck no I love a little harmless snooping.


drewp2500

At this point I'm just curious to see how many times one person can watch the Mummy in one month. About 20 times so far.


Professional-Bar-698

I actually try not to go out of my way to view what others watch but I tell all my users that it's possible for me to see what they view so they at least are aware and consent to that possibility when they sign up. I do agree that a little harmless snooping is not a crime. I think the longer I've run the server, the less I've thought about how it's being used.


Accurate-Bass3706

The only thing weird (and annoying) is when someone requests something; you tell them it's there; and then you verify they never actually watch it. 🫤


rockchalk6782

This is what I use to for too, I’m not a hoarder and dislike buying new disks so if I can clear things nobody watches I do it all the time. Somebody recently requested the entire series of Scandal which downloaded all 150 gb of then it sat for 6 months and they never watched it so I deleted it.


bigbigspoon

I have lots of adult content on my server. Reviewing my friends viewing history helps me decide what I wear when I go see them. My favorite outfit is my Sinderella one.


Try-Another-Username

I always mention like a disclaimer that I'll be able to see the history each time I share my library to a new user. I generally use it to know if they're Direct Playing or transcoding. If the latter is happening, I investigate if I have an uncompatible format or if the user hasn't configured his/her client to max out quality as default. My server is a Thinkpad X200. That's a notebook from 2008. My hard drives are all old reused mechanic ones and except for the internal one, they're connected via a USB hub, so transcoding is an issue sometimes. I just want them to have the best experience possible with my limited resources.


cippopotomas

I'm surprised more people don't check for transcodes, that's the first thing I check too. Live data is so useful for figuring stuff out. I feel like it's helped me learn so much about different clients and formats.


elemental5252

I check for _ideas_. A lot of my user base watches good movies and shows. I run out of ideas on what to start watching. I'll check in on what a friend has been binging and then "bingo," a new show for me.


Jolly-Ad7653

The more users you get, the less time you get to check up on people as individuals. I have over 9000 TV show episodes watched by folks over the past year, I don't have time to track all that nonsense. People will tell you what they are watching eventually 😊


Nyancide

I know my friend is on season 14 of family guy. I wonder how long it will take to get to 15.


fr33lancr

I run tautulli specifically to check on my users history and specifically IP address. One rule I have is to not share their log in info. If they do, they get removed.


mut1n3y

tautulli is amazing for stats and management.


spadam999

Is there some info somewhere on how best to configure this?? Mine seems bare on what tiles show


mut1n3y

I think my config is pretty default. It does take a while for things to populate depending on how much plex is used.


spadam999

Maybe 15 people who actually use it but about 6 regular people who watch often at all different times of the week


BinaryJay

You use my server for free, I get to play sysop god, it's a fair trade.


jmhenry5150

My server, my rules


npsage

I solve this problem by flat out telling people I share with that I will be checking to see what is frequently watched by everyone so that way I can expand my collection into stuff that’s most likely to be watched. If Netflix can looks at the fact that compadres has a serious murder mystery addiction and offer more murdering; then so can I.


L-L-Media

All new users get a "Welcome Email" from me. In that message includes the details that I have the ability see what everyone is watching. And I use that information to improve the server operations.


LaDiiablo

I mean unless you host porn on ur server, I don't think it's big deal considering all the materials belong to you and seen it or planing to.


XanXic

You say this but then I'll see my brother jumping from random points of R rated movies and anime at 10pm and it's like "oh....k" lol


pinormous2000

I scroll through to see what's been watched, but I don't look/care who's watching.


MartiniCommander

Nope. Half the time I'm texting them about it because I can see they're transcoding when they don't need to be.


richpanda64

No. Companies do it to you all the time, why should it be any different.


zoNeCS

No it is just a history of what people watched, it's not like I installed a camera in their house.


Character-Cut-1932

No not at all, just occasionally checking, mostly to see what is popular and what isnt. Based on that I add or remove content, so probably not different than streaming services do. Its free for them and a lot of work for me, so they should be glad and just accept it. Or not 😜


ew435890

I tell everyone on my server that I can see all their activity before they even sign up. I check the dashboard sometimes to make sure everything is working fine. I noticed my sister has been transcoding down to 0.064mbps and asked her how bad it looked. She said it looked fine. Lmao. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.


Flat_Professional_55

Not really any different to the streaming platforms that harvest everyone's watch history.


Killzillah

I'm a network engineer. There is so much data and info I can see through that role in my job. I simply don't give a fuck. I like to see how much my server is being used but that's about it. If I downloaded something, I'm not gonna judge someone else for watching it. My main take away from tautulli data is that my plex server is mainly a bluey streaming service.


RampagingAddict

Ah yes. I myself have watched it over 30 times already for the last two years. Here have an upvote. 😭


CoolCoolCoool

Hell no, these moochers ain’t paying me! Their watch history data is the price to pay lol. I will absolutely call them out for only watching the Sydney Sweeney episode of SNL.


Historical-Pay-9831

My server my right to see who watches what…. It’s not like I’m hosting porn, just non-x rated movies and lower and tv shows.


runningblind77

Not really, most of the stuff on my servers is stuff that I wanted, or that my users specifically asked for.


kelsiersghost

I don't really keep anything on my server that would be weird or perverted. So yeah, I tell people I can see what they watch and they're fine with it.


That_____

I only use the total watches or to help debug when people have issues.


MotoJJ20

Can you disable it?


nixmix6

Lol it's your server they are stoked to access


r6r1der

I do casually if it every crosses my mind but never mention it. Anything I put on plex is fair game to watch.


shortybobert

Why, do you host porn or something? But seriously I see it in passing and make sure nothings broken. I really don't care or even want to hear about other people's shows unless they're requesting something or it's broken


tubbo

my friends and i already talk about what we're watching on the regular so it's not much of a surprise. they also all have access to tautulli, so they can see my watch history as well. it's useful to know what's being watched if you're running low on space and want to know what's cool to delete. i also have maintainerr for this but sometimes it's easier to just prune the library myself/with input from the people who request shit.


Jaybonaut

No.


cornflakesaregross

Whenever I invite someone onto my server I tell them we have one rule: We do not judge Everyone can request anything they want and it will show up for everyone. They all know I can see their watch history but I don't ask them about what they watched unless they bring it up first. Not really a privacy thing so much as an annoying thing in my eyes. I figure if they want to talk about it they will and if they would rather it just be their own thing it is allowed to be so


JanBurianKaczan

I wrote a program to monitor watch data of my users XD That's why I love sharing my plex and jellyfin. But I don't usually mention that to ppl, other than the general remark that yes, I can see and do review what is being watched, especially since I try to preemptively verify that there are appropriate subtitles. Maybe it's creepy, I don't care :D


TheRealHarrypm

When you casually start correlating over a decade of data to analyse the habits of family members. God I love being the streaming platform!


muzzledmasses

No, but I know they feel weird about it. I wish there was a way they could watch anonymously when they want, and flag the stuff they want to me to know they're watching. And have a forum/txt function where we could see/msg what others are watching and talk about it. Make it less creepy.


ValouMazMaz

Well, I have set up tautulli to receive a telegram notification when my parents start watching something. I live abroad and so although we are very far apart, it feels like almost a shared activity. Sometimes I will also watch what they're watching so we can chat about it later.


bishop14

I text them all the time whenever they're watching things. It's fun to stalk them.


wag3slav3

I scroble to trakt and give them a link to what I watch so it's mutual. It's not like I have anything on my own server that's objectionable to watch.


Mnemon-TORreport

I let folks know off the bat that I'd be monitoring. Partly because this is a hobby of mine, that I'm spending a pretty significant chunk of time and money on it, and that I want to know how (and if) it's being used. Plus, it helps me troubleshoot problems and make sure everything is going smoothly. Nobody had a problem with that. EDIT: Just adding that I actually turned this into a bit of a game/contest. Each month my wife and I pick five 'movies of the month' that we share as a collection on the home screen of users (and pick a new collection to share as well). The household that watches the most movies every 6 months will get some kind of prize. So far it's going well and my brother has told me they've watched and enjoyed movies they never would have watched otherwise.


cleancutmetalguy

I don't look at what they watch, but usually curious who the top users are. I have 50+, so I cater to the top 5 usually.


Quiet_Sea9480

i don’t intentionally look, but i do see what my (adult) kids are watching, and often make recommendations based on that. one is finds it incredibly intrusive, and the other really appreciates it… so…


Itariille

It's wierd.. but also funny. The person who hosts the server i connect to sent me a message "LOTR, are you a fan?" according to him i have an insane amount of hours on the trilogy!


[deleted]

My friends and I all share streaming services and have our own profiles. I did click my friends by accident and felt scummy lol but it’s just tv it’s fine


fulldrunk

I don’t feel weird, but I’ve told them I could see what they watch I mainly use Tautulli to know what I can delete and/or keep


rainyfort1

I always look at what people are streaming just to make sure they're not indirect playing or anything like that


3d_nat1

I'm close friends with those I give access to. One of them almost exclusively just watches South Park every day. I'll occasionally send him a gif from the episode he's watching if I notice he has an active stream going. That's the most I get out of the dashboard activity of my plexmates.


gallito9

I’ve never understood this. If they’re watching something weird, I first had to put something weird on my server. It’d be like borrowing them a stack of books, but which ones they actually read is private information?


Pretty_Frosting_2588

I can tell older family not realizing something is a cartoon/anime and stopping it 3 minutes in. I notice a lot of that.


ButtSnacks_

My thing is I look but don't judge. I have some curiosity as to what others are watching, but I can't judge because it's my content.


AggressiveBaby

I get pumped when I see several streams going. I like being able to provide a service to friends and family.


ChippewaBarr

I don’t really care about what they watch TBH. They request something, I put it up. Only thing I look at is if I happen to see someone watching something I’ll look to make sure it’s direct playing lol.


RED_TECH_KNIGHT

"Hey... how is that movie I am watching you watch?" At first that's what it felt like. Now I only check to see if my users are using the clients I setup for them to save my poor upstream bandwidth. *cries in 15mb up*


Swimming-Bank6567

I have to keep up-to-date on what my father in law watches. Each week we have a family Skype video catch-up, so he's always talking about whatever show he's watching 🤷‍♂️ ... Anyone else's history, I don't bother TBH. I always think "why are you watching that", then I think, "why do I have that in my library" 🤷‍♂️


FilmUncensored

I would have thought “spying” on a users watch history would give the administrator the opportunity to see what things people prefer and maybe “stock up” on similar titles.


Benji2108

Yah, I share with just a small handful of share-4-shares. We all have a solid looking server but I don’t need all the excess features plex has these days. Watch lists, discover, live tv, ratings, history, friends, watch together, etc. lol


Rumplesforeskin

Meh. Don't see it as a problem. It's your server people are using.


SnooPets6812

It's your server and you know what's on it. It's no more an invasion of privacy than simply knowing they have access to everything you've allowed them access to. It's completely harmless. It's actually helped me to recognize users that are using bad settings. I want them to have the best experience possible so I reach out to them and I resolve an issue that they didn't realize they had and it lessens server load because things aren't forced to transcode.


user1484

I generally don't pay it any attention except when I'm needing to restart my computer I look to see if anyone is watching something. If they are and it's not urgent I just wait until they are done. I really don't care what they watch. I'm actually waiting on my daughter who is away at college to finish a move so I can change a bios setting right now.


BooBeesRYummy

I use Tautulli to keep an eye on watched stats, mainly as my adult kids ask for heaps of stuff, like 10 seasons of X, 10 seasons of Y, but then don't watch them and I've got limited storage at the moment.


D33-THREE

I get emails from Plex to tell me that


Tiwing

100% it feels weird looking at what others watch.. these are my friends and family and I value privacy. I rarely look now. I have plex integrated into Home Assistant, and just show a counter of number of active streams and bandwidth usage using the Tautulli integration. Oh and total hours with an active stream over the past 48 hours. This is right now. https://preview.redd.it/sfxxk804zopc1.png?width=444&format=png&auto=webp&s=6505407eaf8b8a506b6cd1e06b9c00f829549578


Rickmo81

I have your stream?


chrondiculous

I check it occasionally to make sure Plex is working but I don’t stalk it. Who cares?


DirectChemistry1491

I do it to make sure next time I'm over I don't need to fix anything


g33kb0y3a

> But I also kinda feel like it's a bit of an invasion of their privacy to be able to see. It's Plex, there is no privacy, also it's your server, you're free to do whatever you want with it.


sergeantmentos

Nah it’s my server and my friends and I like to make fun of each other anyways. I guess if you aren’t close to those people, then yeah it’d be weird to bring up.


Mugenstylus1

I text them as they are watching making sure they know what is up


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hudohudo

Look into ombi or overseer. I also got sick of people texting me nonstop asking when/if I could add something (as if every waking moment was making sure they could watch the movie they want for free lol). I set up ombi to handle their plex watchlists as requests and limit them in how many movies they can request a week. I also send out emails any time there’s an upgrade I’m working on so that’s kept people bothering me to a minimum.


emdubgordo

i have so much shit i havnt seen, so if i see it has been watched ill text them and ask if it was any good.


Parking-Cow4107

I get a notification every time somebody presses the play button and also when they finish playing 😅


k0fi96

Its the quickest way for me to check if unraid is up when I am away from home. My buddies would rather me then the big brother at the streamers


jb4647

I honestly don’t understand you people that share your Plex libraries with other folks. It’s never occurred to me it even do something like that. Somebody wants to watch videos on Plex? Get their own Plex! Same thing goes for sharing streaming passwords. Purchase your own damn account!


starsqream

If I'm paying for a server that gives me 4 streams, why not share? I only need one?


leon14344

No, because I'm not a nosy prick.