Abad, a designer by training, wanted to create something that even his mother could use.

Lastly, although torrent websites already existed, using them was not intuitive at all and required at least some technical know-how.

On top of that, internet speed at the time was very slow, making it cumbersome to watch movies via popular streaming services. In Argentina, where he’s from, most movies are only released six months after their initial cinema launch. That person, who was initially known as Sebastián or Pochoclín, is Federico Abad, a designer based out of Buenos Aires, Argentina.Ībad, so the story goes, got the idea for Popcorn Time after going through his own problems of consuming newly released movies. Popcorn Time, which was created by a group of anonymous Argentinian web developers, was initially released in March 2014.Įver since its release, only one person from the original founding team has come out in public to acknowledge their role in the project. Those versions are available on various platforms such as Windows, macOS, Android, and Linux. Various forks (different versions of the software), due to their illegality as well as open-source nature, have therefore been released over the years. Popcorn Time has therefore been shut down on multiple occasions only to resurface under a new domain name. Uploading and downloading copyrighted files, as executed during the seeding process, is illegal in many jurisdictions. This is also where the legal questionability of Popcorn Time originates. That means while you consume the file, it is simultaneously shared with other peers on the network. Normally, when downloading a file through a regular torrenting network, arbitrary bits of a file are downloaded without any specified order.Īnother key characteristic of torrenting is the seeding of a file. The video is then downloaded in sequential order to ensure a smooth playing experience. Instead, it utilizes a peer network that is comprised of multiple participants from which one downloads the video. The platform utilizes torrenting technology to download the content, which is then streamed within its app.īeing built on BitTorrent means that the platform does not host any of the videos itself.

Popcorn Time is an open-source software that allows anyone to download and stream media files such as videos.

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