Popcorn Time, more popularly known as Netflix for pirates, is making a return. The team behind it released a new fork of its movie and TV shows streaming app this movie. The announcement comes five months after Popcorn Time's website was shut down by Motion Picture Association of America on the grounds of copyright violation.
An update dubbed Hail Hydra was released to Popcorn Time this week which makes the app functional again. Things are a bit different now, however, the team noted. It says that the MPAA incident has "diminished" them a little, and many of its old teammates have left to work on Butter, a fork of Popcorn Time. For these reasons, they are shifting from an "active development" cycle for the Popcorn Time to a "less resilience-driven development."
What does this mean? You may ask. The team will now offer fewer updates. It insists that it will keep an eye on the bug tracker and fix "the most urgent ones." However, "you have to understand, once more, that we are a community offering an application for those without access to a real Streaming platform and a real catalogue, for free, without ads."
For those who aren't aware, Popcorn Time is an app that allows users to watch movies by streaming torrents. It is able to do so because it infringes copyright content and for this reason, it is absolutely illegal. The app offers a user interface that is very similar to Netflix's. Since it is illegal, the app has been among the target of Hollywood institutions such as MPAA.
It is worth pointing out that Gadgets 360 doesn't suggest usage of an app or service such as Popcorn Time. Not only doing otherwise could land you in jail, it also has some security and privacy implications.
Gadgets 360 does not condone piracy and using Popcorn Time will almost certainly be against your local laws.
Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2026 hub.