Does Popcorn Time still work?

No, the original Popcorn Time no longer operates. Popcorn Time, a piracy-based alternative to paid subscriptions that allowed users to stream content as soon as the file began downloading, is no longer in operation as of January 2022. It happened due to legal challenges and a decline in usage. The original site was shut down in 2014. Then multiple clones or so-called "forks" came online. However, movie studios and other free streaming sites ultimately led to the project's abandonment. Although some sites still use Popcorn Time, they are not connected with the original company or its developers.

Is Popcorn Time illegal?

Popcorn Time used the BitTorrent network to deliver copyrighted content to users without the copyright owner's permission. As a result, it is copyright infringement in most countries. So the answer to this question depends on where you live, but only a handful of jurisdictions allow copyrighted content to be freely available without payment.

Is Popcorn Time safe to visit?

The official Popcorn Time website is no longer available, but you can download the app from many replica sites. While not all of them are harmful, and Popcorn Time is pretty safe on its own, you may never know when a criminal hacker could decide to exploit your craze for Popcorn Time to infect your device. Therefore, please consider all the risks associated with using Popcorn Time mirrors. Ideally, you should use the safe Popcorn Time alternatives listed above. But if you really need the service, please protect your device with a robust antivirus before downloading the app or accessing the website.

Which is the legit Popcorn Time?

Popcorn Time is offline these days. So, strictly speaking, no legit app for this service remains. However, three forks that claim to continue with the Popcorn Time legacy appeared. So if you want their legit apps, you'll need to get them from their GitHub repositories.

Do I need a VPN to use Popcorn Time, or do I have any alternatives?

No, you don't need a VPN. But using one will enhance your experience significantly whether you're using a legal or an illegal Popcorn Time alternative.

21 Best Popcorn Time Alternatives in 2023 (All Working)

Sneak peek at Popcorn Time and its alternatives

Popcorn Time was a video streaming platform that turned the BitTorrent network into an available streaming system. It was popular enough to give Netflix something of a scare. It’s gone now, but there are many other video streamers (legal and otherwise) that you can use, so you don’t miss Popcorn Time ever again.

Popcorn time is history now. The project shut down in January 2022. But now there must be alternatives to Popcorn Time for you to use, right?

When free video streaming websites are successful, the usual thing is for many mirrors to pop up all around the web so that even when the original website goes offline, the mirrors remain around, using the same source code to stream illegal content.

That hasn’t happened with Popcorn Time. The app’s service is based on an engine that requires much more expertise than cloning a website. However, three clones appeared as an open-source project, but they haven’t gathered the momentum that made the original project famous.

And using Popcorn Time always entailed a risk. Firstly, torrenting copyrighted material is illegal almost everywhere, and some jurisdictions actively pursue this type of cybercrime. Second, some fake apps appeared over time, spreading malware.

The threat to users is real. In 2015 the German authorities managed to extract the IP addresses of the app’s users and had them face a legal process for illegally spreading copyrighted material.

Popcorn time is dead now, but BitTorrent is still around, and there are many other illegal video streaming websites on the internet. Depending on where you live, both activities risk you as a user. So if you want to use BitTorrent or other video streaming websites safely, you must use a VPN for Popcorn Time and similar sites. Even if you’re using legal video streaming services, a VPN is still your friend because it can hide all your activities from the prying eyes of any third parties.

This article will list 21 video streaming platforms that can meet your digital entertainment requirements without landing you in jail or paying a heavy fine.

In every case, using a VPN is still the way to go for two reasons: To hide your video streaming from your ISP so it can’t throttle your bandwidth. The second reason is that almost every legal video streaming service offers a different catalog for each country. A VPN will allow you to pass for a user of a foreign country so you can watch any catalog you want, wherever you are in the world.

Top 10 alternatives to Popcorn Time – Quick list

We will describe our twenty-one picks in detail further in this article. But if you’re in a rush and you only want to know the best ten options as fast as possible, then here they are:

Netflix: The largest and most popular video streaming service is one of the best legal alternatives to Popcorn Time.
Dinsey+: The biggest name in family entertainment now includes Marvel and Star Wars content.
Peacock: A rare free option among our top 10. Peacock gives you access to all the content you can watch on NBC.
Hulu: A legal service with many options, including Live TV.
HBO Max: HBO’s original content is in your hands with this video platform. But also all the Warner Brothers catalogs.
Amazon Prime Video: One of the few video streaming services that can compete directly with Netflix. The fee is reasonable and comes with many perks for Amazon clients.
SonyLiv: A video streaming option that is legal, very cheap, and offers a lot of content. And it’s based in India.
Crunchyroll: The place to go for anime and manga. If any new episode airs in Japan, it’s available on Crunchyroll within 24 hours.
Plex: The best media management suite will make all your content available on any platform with a single click once you set up a personal server.
PopcornFlix: Another legal but free video streaming service. An excellent place to find classic movies and shows.

Legal copyright disclaimer:

Privacysavvy.com is a tech website. We publish guides, news, and reviews of security and privacy-related services and issues. We do not vet any website, app, or other services to ensure they have the legal rights to offer content of any sort. Every user is responsible for the media they use online. We assume that our readers are law-abiding citizens of their jurisdictions who comply with domestic copyright laws. Installing apps that do not come from official sources (Google, Apple, and Amazon apps stores) is risky, and each user needs to be cautious in this regard. Any user that chooses to watch video streamed from free websites or apps must ensure that he’s not breaking any law — they can still see works in the Public Domain using free apps and websites. PrivacySavvy.com doesn’t host, administer or stream any content or software.

The best 21 Popcorn Time alternatives in June 2023 – Detailed list

Popcorn Time came online in 2014. It became an instant user favorite for streaming movies and tv shows because it was free and easy to use. In addition, the press hailed it as a friendly app, and it harnessed a lot of interest all around the internet.

The app was a neat idea; whatever else you could say about it. A BitTorrent client downloaded a video file of the user’s choice sequentially and with enough speed to show the app’s media player. Popcorn Time turned the BitTorrent P2P network into the world’s largest video streaming platform.

Of course, it wasn’t long before it ran into legal problems everywhere because most jurisdictions consider P2P filesharing illegal regarding copyrighted content.

However, the app thrived for years, becoming a bonafide open-source project that gathered a developer community around it. It came in handy because the original programmers left the project relatively quickly.

It wasn’t long before the internal corporate world at Netflix regarded Popcorn Time as a serious (and unfair) competition. Popcorn time got shut down in January 2022, but luckily many quality alternatives remain. Below you go with them:

1. Netflix