Popcorn Time started in 2014 in its short-lived beta form and provided a different approach to pirating. Long-time internet users will be familiar with pirating and peer-to-peer downloading sites like The Pirate Bay, Limewire, and Napster. A History of Piracy and Streaming Innovation It seemed the pandemic had sparked a resurgence of interest in streaming free content, as many people were stuck at home and spending more time online. At the peak of the 2020 pandemic, the site and app surged in popularity again after a short disappearance.

It had disappeared for years at a time when interest from the online community waned. This isn’t the first time that the site and apps have shut down, either. When you try to access the platform or its countless mirrors, you’ll now see a cartoonish bag of popcorn with X marks for eyes next to a message reading “R.I.P.” Below it is a screenshot of a Google Analytics chart that has seen searches for “Popcorn Time” on a steady decline since its formal launch in 2015. Site developers seemed to point to a lack of online user interest as the reason for taking down the site. Developers behind the app and site emailed media outlets Tuesday, announcing its closure. Often referred to as the “Netflix of piracy,” the free streaming site Popcorn Time shut down this week.

Popcorn time stream online