Popcorn Time’s popularity has taken off this year by bringing BitTorrent streaming into the mainstream with a lineup of apps that let users watch nearly any new blockbuster they want for free with just the tap of a finger.
We published a hack that brings the popular Netflix-alternative to iOS 8 users for the first time ever without a jailbreak, but before diving into an endless buffet of the world’s most popular movies and TV shows, you might be wondering just where this magical software came from, and most importantly: can it be trusted?
After being available to the public for more than seven months, many aspects of Popcorn Time are still a mystery – like who’s actually building it – but, here’s everything you need to know about the hot new torrenting service:
What is Popcorn Time?
Popcorn Time is a multi-platform, open source Bittorrent client that also includes a really slick media player. It’s designed as a pirate’s alternative to Netflix, only instead of actually streaming unauthorized copies of films using Bittorrent, Popcorn Time uses sequential downloading and uploading to play films in its media player.
Where did it come from?
Back in March 2014, a group of Argentinian developers worked on creating software that would make it easy to stream video from torrents, and Popcorn Time was born. Weeks after its controversial debut, the original team shut the project down due to copyright concerns, “not because we ran out of energy, commitment, focus or allies. But because we need to move on with our lives.”
The day after the project was shuttered, the YTS developer team picked up the abandoned open source code and resurrected the service. Other developer teams have also built on the Popcorn Time code, and there are actually a couple different variants out there, but they’re all pretty similar at this point.
How does it work exactly?
On the user end, it works much link Netflix, only it’s got a lot more new movies. Users navigate the app by flipping through thumbnails of movie posters, or you can run a search. Once you find a movie you want to see, you can tap watch and the stream starts almost instantaneously.
On the back end, it is an HTML/CSS/JavaScript application (NodeJS) rendered by a browser (node-webkit). The streaming is done by a torrent client for NodeJS (Peerflix). All the informations (torrent, images, informations) are automatically fetched by the application from different sources and are nicely put together.
What can I watch on Popcorn Time?
The options change daily but the main screen is dominated by the most popular recent blockbusters. You can search for older popular movies too, but if you’re looking for obscure flicks, your best bet is looking on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Popcorn Time is also great for streaming TV shows and pulls from EZTV it’s extensive catalog of TV show torrents.
Is it Legal?
The Popcorn Time website posts this cautious disclaimer at the bottom: “Downloading copyrighted material may be illegal in your country. Use at your own risk,” while the Time 4 Popcorn site boldly states “This PopcornTime service will never be taken down.”
The BitTorrent protocol doesn’t legally (or technically) allow streaming, but the sequential downloading software in Popcorn Time circumvents that. Using torrents isn’t illegal, but viewing copyrighted material without paying for it is, so be careful.
Who are the developers behind it?
The main developers behind Popcorn Time have kept their identities hidden, but the group rallies around its popcorn-faced mascot named Pochoclin, who signs all their blog posts. YTS is behind the popular Popcorntime.io site which was a direct spinoff from the original project.
Another group of anonymous programmers from all around the world who have worked together on several projects head up the Time 4 Popcorn site.
Can Popcorn Time be trusted?
Can any anonymous organization plotting to overthrow one of the world’s most powerful, wealthy, and longest standing industries ever really be trusted? Probably not, but Time 4 Popcorn says they offer torrent traffic encryption, plus a free VPN, so you can use it without worrying about the Feds knocking down your door.
What platforms does it work on?
OS X, PC, Linux, Android, iOS (if you jailbreak, or use a hack) and it supports AirPlay to Apple TV.
Is it safer on a particular platform?
If you’re on a Mac you should definitely use a VPN if you’re playing with torrents. That option isn’t available on iOS, so if you want to be safer, maybe only use public connections, like your local Starbucks WiFi. By tunneling your connection through a safe, anonymous connection, the Feds hopefully won’t be able to see all the bad Liam Neeson movies you’ve binged on.
Is movie industry trying to crush it?
As of September, 1.4 million devices had installed Popcorn Time. That number probably shot up significantly over the last month, too, now that iOS users have access.
It’s safe to say that Hollywood would love to crush it if they could, but instead of using an army of lawyers to try to get Popcorn Time and other torrenting apps shutdown, they could work on striking better content deals to give people what they want on with services like Netflix that bring in revenue.
What other next piracy tools like Popcorn Time are out there?
No one owns the Popcorn Time trademark yet, so there are a number of forks and alternatives that have spun-off from the main Popcorn Time project after it closed. The most popular being PopcornTime.io and Time4Popcorn.eu. Both sites look nearly identical but the software is slightly different.
Movie Box is another iOS app that works just like Popcorn and also requires a jailbreak or time-hack to install, but an OS X version isn’t available yet. XBMCtorrent can replicate some of Popcorn Time’s streaming features on OS X, but there’s no app for iOS.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
20 responses to “Popcorn Time: Everything you need to know about the Netflix of Torrents”
Ha! Look at the URL for this story…
“but instead of using an army of lawyers to try to get Popcorn Time and other torrenting apps shutdown, they could work on striking better content deals to give people what they want on with services like Netflix that bring in revenue.”
Nice rationalization for what is literally teaching people how to steal. Yes, the film industry could do better at monetizing its OWNED property, but that’s not an excuse for you and this site to advocate, and inform others how to steal their work.
It doesn’t matter what YOU think the creation is worth, it matters what the creator thinks it is worth. If the price to watch a film is too high, don’t watch it.
Enjoy your clicks, Buster Hein and cultofmac.
You do realize any time you purchase a movie and invite your friends over to watch it, you are inviting them over to steal from whichever studio produced it. Every vhs and dvd you let a friend borrow, you let them steal from the OWNERS. Sharing over the internet is no different than what we all did for years, its easier yet illegal. Doesn’t make sense.
This is where your common sense needs to kick in. If you can’t see the difference between me buying a dvd and inviting friends over to watch it with me (or lending it out to friends), and an app that allows millions of free views to strangers, then you’re not understanding the issue. The sharing of the SINGLE DVD is fully expected by the creators. The duplication and distribution is not.
The fact that is is easier goes against your case.
actually – inviting your friend over is perfectly legal (that’s a private performance) and letting your friend borrow a vhs or dvd is also perfectly legal (that’s the “first sale” doctrine – there is no copying involved). Copyright is a balance between allowing users to get value for what they pay for and allowing the creator to set a price to access the work.
I’m not advocating that people steal or even rationalizing the use of Popcorn Time. It’s legally gray, but I think most probably feel that it’s morally wrong. However, I do think that Hollywood need to try to fight these services by offering something that’s even better, rather than just trying to kill it by throwing money at lawyers, which obviously hasn’t worked at all over the past 10 years.
I agree with your position stated here. I reread the article, and you never actually say that you advocate the use of it, so point taken.
However, I do think that articles like this (and more specifically, the previous article) DO encourage people to use this technology to do something that you and I feel is morally wrong. I would also disagree that “most” feel the same. Anytime I discuss this issue I am faced with a barrage of excuses and rationalizations.
Which is why I, perhaps reacted too strongly to this article (though I still stand by my post’s points, other than this article specifically approving of the behavior).
Peace.
it’s not legally gray. It’s illegal. Period. AND immoral. Developers of apps like this are condoning illegal copying of works without paying the people who spend their money and their time creating them. You can ask for cheaper and faster works, but the studios are also entitled to a return on their investment – and frequently lose money trying to figure out what people want to see. These guys hide outside the US so they aren’t put in jail.
What a mistake to post this article. Horrendous.
I tried this. I quickly got a notice from my ISP saying they had been notified by Universal that my IP had viewed one of their titles illegally.
The site seems to be down.
I like to record NFL games without their express permission…living life on the edge
“Using torrents isn’t illegal, but viewing copyrighted material without paying for it is, so be careful.”
When the hell did that happen?
Answer: it didn’t.
Downloading IS NOT illegal, even if what you’re downloading is copyrighted. There’s no law anywhere that says you have to pay for something before you use it. The “illegal” part of sharing, via torrents or otherwise, is UPLOADING. You’re making copies available, which is the exclusive right of the copyright holder. All torrent clients, including Popcorn Time, upload and download at the same time. That’s how they work.
Useless middlemen, otherwise known as the entertainment industry, would LOVE downloading to be illegal. It’ll never happen, so the next best thing is to just keep saying it is and having ignorant people parrot their deviously calculated fiction, which they get to spread unhindered because they control the horizontal. They control the vertical. Once everyone is reciting the mantra it becomes de facto decree, challenged by none.
It’s hard enough trying to get people to see The Copyright Monster as the exploitive, greed-driven, outdated grotesquery that it is, in dire need of reform. Saying “downloading is illegal” is simpery at its finest and only adds to the growing mountain of misinformation and outright lies spread by Team RIAA/MPAA as gospel because they have bribed our politicians for the right to do so, all under the auspices of law.
Reading articles propagating that insanity? Well, I’ve got pencils. I’ve got eyes. It makes me want to do the Chocolate/Peanut Butter Collision Test pokey-pokey style.
I think you should read the copyright laws before making idiotic statements like yours. If you did, you’d know that even taking part in the disementation of copyrighted property is illegal. If the product is not sourced from legal means, you are breaking the law. By downloading a torrent of a copyrighted movie is knowingly breaking the law. Before replying, go read the copyright act in your country. They’re pretty much all the same world wide.
I’m sure if someone walked through your home and took whatever they wanted, you wouldn’t feel the same.
Fuck video regulations. I connect my iPhone 6 to my plasma via HDMI and stream movies using popcorn every night. It saves the trouble of saving torrents to my hard drive. And cult f Mac, awesome URL to this story!
Such a rebel.
Um…no VPN on iOS? Try Tunnelbear.
ALLTorrentPlayer is also a good application – and has a lot of sources, so you don’t have to wait and videos do not stutter http://bit.ly/all-torrent-player
Niter.tv i think is better
i have netflix but i also downloaded Popcorn time…its there so i downloaded it i wont concern myself with anything else :)