Plex is cracking down on password sharing, and it’s coming with a price hike

When it comes to streaming services, I can’t think of one more beloved than Plex. Sure, it’s not exactly a Netflix alternative, but whether you’re running your own home server or browsing the collection of someone else, it’s a great way to keep a large amount of media browsable in one space. That said, one of Plex’s main use cases — serving as a way for lots of people to browse a single shared server — is going through a pretty big change, and it’s bound to leave some customers frustrated.

Today’s news is actually sort of two announcements tied together, and it’s worth tackling both of them head on before considering how they might affect Plex fans (via TechCrunch). First and foremost, you’ll soon need to be a Plex Pass subscriber to use remote playback, which is likely how most people interact with the app. Starting on April 29th, unless you’re streaming on a local network, you’ll need some sort of paid Plex subscription to access your library.

Now, unsurprisingly, Plex has thought through what might happen if server owners are unwilling to pay. So, if the owner of a server you rely on does not pay for Plex Pass, you’ll be able to pay for a Remote Watch Pass for either $2 per month or $20 per year, which will reactivate remote streams for your account. Either way, though, someone’s going to have to pay beginning next month.

It’s not just remote playback that’s changing

Get ready to pay a lot more money for Plex Pass

And speaking of April 29th, that’s when the other big Plex change goes into effect as well. Timed not-so-perfectly with today’s remote viewing changes, Plex Pass is getting much more expensive in just over a month. On April 29th, monthly pricing will run users $7 per month (up from $5), annual pricing will jump to $70 (up from $40), with the lifetime pass now running fans $250 (up from a measly $120). Those are some big jumps for a platform that has stayed relatively unchanged with its pricing plan for a while, but thankfully, you have until April 29th to lock in on an annual or lifetime plan at those rates.

This is affecting all users, though, so if you want the cheapest possible plan, grabbing the lifetime subscription for $120 is bound to be the way to go.

If you’re feeling frustrated, Plex does have some good news today to go with the bad: Mobile unlock fees are dead. Previously, to stream content to Android or iOS devices, you needed to either pay a one-time activation fee or subscribe to Plex Pass to get a full experience; otherwise, your playback was capped after 60 seconds. That’ll go away when the new (and surprisingly well-received!) mobile Plex app goes live in the near future, which should help make those new fees feel a little more understandable.