I tried testing a movie from my home server in plex through firefox and repeatedly got this message, even after reloading.
I knew that they had paywalled the apps on mobile and streaming from outside the network but now they have also blocked watching your own movies through your own hardware.
I do get the point that making software should be able to sustain people but I dont see the move of plex as a fair thing to do. Yes, they have made great software but taking your home server hostage feels like the wrong move.
Even a pop up that says "we need you to donate please" would have been fine. make it pop up before every movie, play donation ads before any movie but straight up disabling the app is kinda cruel.
Anyway, i have switched to jellyfin and it is insanely good. please give it a try. you can run it alongside plex with not issues (at least i had none) and compare the two.
In any case, good luck. Let me know if you need help.
That's what I do myself but in a lot of cases VPN is beyond the grasp of the grasp of the friends and family that are being shared with.
Tailscale is somewhat approachable for this, there are a number of streaming devices that support TS clients. But then tailscale will eventually enshittify their free offering. Wrapping headscale into this will add yet another layer of complication. VPN is far more secure but I think it makes it unapproachably complicated for many.