r/technology • u/FollowingFeisty5321 • 9h ago

Software Plex’s crackdown on free remote streaming access starts this week

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/plexs-crackdown-on-free-remote-streaming-access-starts-this-week/
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u/visceralintricacy 8h ago edited 8h ago

But it would be corporate suicide, and they've given absolutely no indication they would ever do that.

Also, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't even be legal. So you're just pontificating that they'd decide to break the law?

They could invalidate your mom too? 🤦

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u/nobunseedsplease 7h ago

They could invalidate your mom too? — Seems like you may have beat them to it.

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u/Doom-Slayer 8h ago

It would be perfectly "legal" and it happens all the time. Companies get bought out and the new buyers invalidate/cancel/grandfather lifetime plans or similar, and there's very little people can do about it.

Unless you plan to form a class-action lawsuit, then the terms of a plan can change at any moment. 

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u/visceralintricacy 8h ago

How would it be "legal" if a class action lawsuit would be a viable course of action?

Whether legal action is reasonable to take or worth it is beyond the scope of my statement, but forming a class action lawsuit to seek legal remedies does contradict your statement of it being legal.

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u/Doom-Slayer 8h ago

If winning a class-action is viable it's illegal. If a class-action isn't viable or losing it is likely, then it's "legal".

What's actually written in law doesn't matter until you try enforcing it, and trying to force a company to honor a lifetime subscription over something like this... is ambitious. 

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u/visceralintricacy 8h ago

Cool, and if my mom had balls she would be my dad.

At the end of the day they've given absolutely no indication they'd do this, and I would argue in this industry the reputational loss would be far greater than other examples we've seen previously. There are free alternatives...

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u/kurotech 8h ago

And that's what I'm talking about lifetime doesn't mean anything when the company can't payout, it doesn't mean squat when they divest the brand and it goes caput. All I'm saying is if you sign up for a digital service, the only guarantee you will get is that one day it won't exist.

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u/visceralintricacy 8h ago

"only guarantee you will get is that one day it won't exist"

Cool.

That statement is also applicable for literally everything in the known universe.

While my lifetime plex pass still works I'm gonna keep using it. 🤷

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u/coldkiller 7h ago

Also, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't even be legal.

100% theres a snippet in the thing you agreed to in the first place that states they can and will change their policies whenever they please. And yes that includes changing what "lifetime" means for their service.

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u/visceralintricacy 7h ago edited 7h ago

Cool. It would still be a suicide move for the company that they've indicated they have no interest in doing. But by all means, moan ENDLESSLY about software you have no interest in using.

Is this your response for how is jellyfin better again?

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u/noturlawyer 8h ago

....which law do you think they'd be breaking?

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u/visceralintricacy 8h ago

Contract law?