Last updated: June 2026
playbar is a Mac menu bar app that displays the now-playing activity of Plex Media Server and Jellyfin Media Server instances you own or have been granted access to. This page describes what data playbar handles and where it goes.
playbar does not collect, transmit, sell, or share any personal data with the developer or any third party. All communication is directly between your Mac and the media servers you choose to connect to.
When you sign in, playbar stores the following on your Mac only:
com.shadowlink.playbar, account plex.authToken. This token is obtained from plex.tv's OAuth-style PIN flow when you sign in.com.shadowlink.playbar, account jellyfin.credentials, as a JSON blob containing your Jellyfin server URL, user ID, user name, and access token.UserDefaults under the key playbar.clientIdentifier. Plex requires a stable client identifier per installation; this UUID serves that purpose and is not associated with you personally.You can remove all of this at any time by choosing "Sign out of Plex" and/or "Sign out of Jellyfin" from playbar's menu.
/api/v2/pins, /api/v2/user) and server discovery (/api/v2/resources)./identity for connection probing and /status/sessions for now-playing data, every two seconds while the menu is open./Users/AuthenticateByName for sign-in and /Sessions for now-playing data, every two seconds while the menu is open.playbar makes no network requests to any other host. There is no analytics, no crash reporter, no advertising SDK.
None.
playbar does not knowingly collect data from anyone, including children.
If this policy changes, the updated version will appear at this URL with a new "Last updated" date.
playbar is developed by Shadowlink. A contact address will be added here before the app is published.