Text:
I consent to Plex to: (i) sell certain personal information (hashed emails, advertising identifiers) to third-parties for advertising and marketing purposes; and (ii) store and/or access certain personal information (advertising identifiers, IP address, content being watched) on my device(s) and share that information with Plex’s advertising partners. This data is used to deliver personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Your consent applies to all devices on which you have Plex installed. You can withdraw your consent at any time in Account Settings or using this page.
Soure: https://www.plex.tv/vendors/ (Might have to clear cache)
Can also read about the changes here: https://www.plex.tv/about/privacy-legal/
I think being apprehensive is natural when you're entirely left on your own for security, knowing that you could leave yourself vulnerable if you do it incorrectly. Add to this the fact that half the info you'll find on the process is people claiming you just need to open some ports, which you know to be wrong, and it's easy to see why it's hard to trust any advice you find.
Yea, I don't disagree, and I don't actually fault anyone for using plex for it's simplicity of remote configuration.
I do think a lot of people overlook simple workarounds to doing straight reverse proxies. I've used a VPN to access my remote services without issue for a long time. Granted, that's still a prerequisite skill a lot of people don't have, but I think a lot of people already inside the self-host space already have that knowledge. And frankly, self-hosting as a concept stems from this idea that with a little bit of effort, we can free ourselves from corporately owned SAAS companies - it shouldn't be so divisive to be advocating for self-sufficiency.
There's absolutely a place for plex. It's a lot of people's first foray into selfhosting. But I think people miss the opportunity to learn a new skill when they decide they're willing to put up with abuse instead of taking the hint that it's time to migrate.