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.