How to Share Your Plex Library with Friends and Family

Published September 1, 2026 · 9 min read

One of the most rewarding things about running a Plex server is sharing it with the people you care about. Your parents can watch your movie collection from across the country. Your friends can browse your music library. Your kids can access age-appropriate content in their own profiles. Plex makes all of this possible with a flexible system of shared users, managed accounts, and granular permissions.

Two Ways to Share: Friends vs Managed Users

Plex offers two distinct sharing models, and understanding the difference is important before you start inviting people.

Friends (External Sharing)

Friends are people with their own Plex accounts. You invite them by email address or Plex username, and they access your server using their own credentials. They appear in your "Friends" list in the Plex web interface.

• Each friend needs their own free Plex account.
• You control which libraries they can see (movies but not photos, for example).
• You can set bandwidth limits and simultaneous stream caps per user.
• Friends manage their own watch history and settings independently.
• They can also share their own server with you in return.

Managed Users (Home Sharing)

Managed users are accounts you create and control under your own Plex Home. They do not need separate Plex accounts. This is ideal for family members, especially children.

• Managed users appear as profile options on the Plex Home screen.
• You can set content rating restrictions (G-only for young kids, PG-13 for teens, etc.).
• PIN protection prevents kids from switching to an unrestricted profile.
• Managed users share your Plex Pass benefits (if you have one).
• Plex Home supports up to 15 managed users with Plex Pass.

How to Invite a Friend

To share your libraries with someone who has their own Plex account:

1. Open the Plex web interface and go to Settings.
2. Click "Manage Library Access" under the Users & Sharing section.
3. Click "Grant Library Access" (the share icon).
4. Enter the person's email address or Plex username.
5. Select which libraries to share. You can share any combination of movies, TV, music, photos, or other libraries.
6. Click "Send" to issue the invitation.

The invited person will receive an email with a link to accept the invitation. Once accepted, your server will appear in their Plex client under their server list. If they have not created a Plex account yet, the email will prompt them to create one first.

How to Create a Managed User

To add a managed user to your Plex Home:

1. Open the Plex web interface and click your profile icon in the top right.
2. Select "Switch User," then "Create Managed User."
3. Enter a display name for the user (this appears on the Home screen).
4. Choose which libraries this user can access.
5. Set content rating restrictions if needed.
6. Optionally, set a PIN to protect the profile from unauthorized access.

Managed users are available immediately on all devices signed into your Plex Home. They do not receive an email invitation because they exist under your account.

Controlling Library Access

You have granular control over what each shared user can see. This is configured per user, so you can give one friend access to movies and TV while giving another access to only your music library. To change library access for an existing friend:

1. Go to Settings, then Users & Sharing.
2. Click on the user's name.
3. Check or uncheck libraries to adjust their access.
4. Click "Save Changes."

Library changes take effect immediately. The user does not need to re-accept an invitation.

Setting Bandwidth and Stream Limits

Remote users consume your upload bandwidth. If you have multiple shared users streaming simultaneously, your available bandwidth can become a bottleneck. Plex lets you set limits per user:

Remote Stream Quality

In the sharing settings for each user, you can set a maximum remote streaming quality. Options typically range from 720p at 2 Mbps to original quality. Lower quality limits reduce bandwidth usage but also reduce the viewing experience. A 4 Mbps cap is a reasonable compromise for most connections.

Simultaneous Streams

You can limit how many simultaneous streams a shared user can have. This prevents one person from streaming on five devices at once and consuming all your bandwidth. A limit of one or two streams per user is common for friends, while family members on managed accounts might get higher limits.

Content Restrictions for Kids

Managed users support content rating filters, making Plex safe for children. When creating or editing a managed user:

• Movies: Set a maximum rating (G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.). Content rated above the threshold is hidden from that user entirely.
• TV Shows: Set a maximum rating (TV-Y, TV-G, TV-PG, TV-14, TV-MA).
• Music: Hide explicit content.

Content restrictions work based on the metadata ratings that Plex downloads from its agents. If a movie has no rating in its metadata, it may still appear for restricted users. Review your library occasionally to ensure ratings are accurate, especially for content in non-English languages where metadata coverage may be incomplete.

PIN Protection

Always set a PIN on your admin account and any unrestricted profiles. Without a PIN, a child can simply switch to the admin profile from the Home screen and access everything. PINs are four digits and are entered when selecting a profile.

Sharing Photos

Photo libraries can be shared just like movie or TV libraries. When you share a photo library with a friend or managed user, they can browse your photos through the Plex web interface, Plex mobile app, or any Plex client that supports photo browsing.

Keep in mind that photo sharing gives the recipient access to all photos in the shared library. There is no per-folder restriction within a library. If you want to share some photos but not others, create separate photo libraries for different audiences — one for family photos you share with relatives and another for personal photos you keep private.

Managing Your Shared Server

Monitoring Usage

The Plex dashboard shows active streams in real time, including which user is streaming, what they are watching, whether the stream is transcoding, and the bandwidth being used. For more detailed monitoring, consider Tautulli, a third-party tool that tracks historical usage, sends notifications, and generates reports about your server's activity.

Removing Users

To remove a friend's access, go to Settings, then Users & Sharing, click on the user, and select "Remove Friend." Their access is revoked immediately. To delete a managed user, go to Plex Home settings and delete the profile.

How Many Users Can You Share With?

Plex does not impose a hard limit on the number of friends you can share with. However, practical limits exist based on your server's hardware (CPU for transcoding), your upload bandwidth, and your storage I/O. A typical home server with a 20 Mbps upload connection can comfortably serve two to three simultaneous remote streams at good quality.

Managed users under Plex Home are limited to 15 with Plex Pass, or 1 without.

Best Practices for Sharing

• Set bandwidth limits for remote friends to prevent one user from saturating your upload.
• Use managed users for family members who live with you, and friend invitations for people accessing remotely.
• Enable hardware transcoding (with Plex Pass) to reduce CPU load when multiple shared users are streaming simultaneously.
• Encourage Direct Play by sharing your media in widely compatible formats (H.264 in MP4/MKV) so clients do not trigger unnecessary transcoding.
• Communicate expectations. Let shared users know that your server is a personal project, not a commercial service. Downtime for maintenance or hardware failures is normal.

Sharing your Plex library turns your personal media collection into something your whole circle can enjoy. With the right settings, you keep control over what is shared, how much bandwidth is used, and who can access what.