Popcorn Time, a popular app that was once very popular for making pirated movies very easy for viewers to watch as they would Netflix, has finally shut down. The original developers took down the service and abandoned the project just a few days after originally launching back in 2014.
Popcorn Time Left as an Open Sourced Project
According to the story by Engadget, since the project was left open sourced, however, other developers have easily picked up where Popcorn Time was initially left off. Besides, it has been killed and revived a few more times since its conception.
It remains to be seen whether Popcorn Time will disappear for good. As of the moment, however, it seems like the biggest contributor to its own most recent demise is actually the dwindling interest in the app itself.
Decline in 'Popcorn Time' Searches
On the app's website, the developers posted a graph that showed "popcorn time" searches over the course of the past seven years. Although the app enjoyed many searches in the month after its original launch in 2015, the graph showed quite a sharp decline in interest by the year 2016.
At some point, its popularity continued to wane and has never really been able to recover after that. This was at least based on Engadget's observation regarding Popcorn Time's performance on Google Trends.
Announcement of Its Closure
As per Bloomberg, the group behind Popcorn Time has announced its closure in an actual email. Although they didn't mention whether law enforcement action was a factor in their ultimate decision to shut down the app this time, the site has previously had some brushes with the law.
The original version could have been closed after the authorities finally got involved. Moreover, Hollywood studios even sued individual users that had allegedly downloaded and shared copies of movies illegally.
Popcorn Time Developers Say They Aren't Responsible
Developers that were associated with Popcorn Time had previously talked about how they are not responsible for the piracy going on themselves. This is due to the service not actually hosting any content.
Instead, Popcorn Time relies on a particular peer-to-peer sharing system. It only provides a way for certain users to be able to access content that is hosted on other people's own computers.
Netflix Warned Its Investors Regarding Popcorn Time
As per the article by Bloomberg, back in 2015, Netflix warned its investors regarding the rise of Popcorn Time during its financial report. In that report, Reed Hastings, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, noted that piracy continues to be one of Netflix's "biggest competitors."
With Popcorn Time gone, other sites offer ways for users to download or stream pirated movies online. However, it is still unclear whether users will see Popcorn Time again in the future.
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Written by Urian B.
