For over a decade, Plex has served as the definitive safe haven for media collectors and digital preservation enthusiasts. The platform was built on the principles of local media ownership, letting power users stream their personally curated libraries of movies, television shows, and music across their homes without external tracking or corporate interference. But most importantly, Plex remained intentionally indifferent to social media trends, or algorithmic suggestions — precisely why it became the darling of self-hosting, media streaming, and data preservation nerds.However, that traditionally private streaming experience is now undergoing a massive, highly controversial corporate transformation. Recently, Plex announced a suite of changes aimed at cultivating a more social ecosystem, and the first of these updates has finally arrived.