Can’t let a day pass by without watching a good movie or your favorite TV show? While it’s fun to go to the movies, it proves impractical and expensive for most people. These are the same reasons why movie streaming services have emerged in popularity. Paired with the increasing availability of high-speed internet connection, these streaming websites make watching online videos as easy and convenient as turning on the television.
Paid Vs Free
It’s worth noting, however, that not all streaming platforms are created equal. Most of the popular names in the industry require users to pay a monthly subscription fee. What you get in return depends on one provider to the next. Some allow you to watch all the movies you want, while others limit you to a given number of films per day. Still, there are those that offer their services without requiring you to shell out money. This is where things get a bit murky, as the streaming content is frowned upon by content creators and the entertainment industry as a whole.
Given the opportunity to choose between a paid service and a free one, most will go for the latter. But watching copyrighted content without paying for it can get you in trouble with the law. This applies in particular to free moving streaming websites. While there are plenty of legitimate platforms like 123movies, there’s a ton of other platforms that only want to make a quick buck off of online users. The following are the biggest red flags to watch out for when watching movies online.
Poor Design and Usability
Go to any reputable streaming platform and you will find yourself enjoying the user experience afforded by their websites. Meanwhile, illegal websites do not spend as many resources on making their platforms as beautiful and user-friendly as possible. Simply navigating the website can prove to be a pain, especially when it’s not optimized for mobile devices.
Onslaught of Ads
One of the most annoying things about streaming movies online is that you will almost always get bombarded with ads. These ads are not limited to traditional sidebar and banner ads, but there also tons of pop-ups that take up all your screen real estate. What’s worse is that these ads might introduce malicious software in your system. Ads are used by streaming websites to earn money, but overdoing it should be your first to leave and find another provider.
New Movies
No film producer in his right mind will allow his film to be uploaded on any online platform while it’s still raking in good money at the theaters. The same logic applies to DVDs, which take quite sometime after the movie has been released.
Hosted Content
There are still several grey areas in the laws surrounding the practice of streaming copy-protected content. Strictly speaking, streamers aren’t doing anything illegal when they stream content that another person has made available. What’s illegal, though, is getting a copy of the copyrighted content and distributing it for commercial purposes. Any moving streaming website that hosts the content may be held liable for violating the law.
