u/merseyV__

So, I didn't imagine it before ... it appears TPBay responses can change by the day/week. Managed to catch it on a good day (particularly for 0.44.5). Working today on both x64/arm64 Mac versions (with or without VPN). The .jpeg is just to confirm my sanity? :)

Obviously something going on at the piratebay's end? Some kind of check/block by their site .. or maybe (its partner) 'Cloudflare', under pressure EU-wide to block access via their DNS.

https://torrentfreak.com/google-cloudflare-cisco-lose-pirate-site-dns-blocking-appeal-in-france/

"take what you can ..."

This is the qBittorrent search feature, in action. Needs a bit of setting up .. but worth it, when it works? Don't worry .. no need for a mod "panic-attack!!" The search result is (obviously) for a perfectly legal torrent :)

So, why bother .. just download the torrent where it is? Well, that's what I normally do. Probably 95% of my downloads go through qBittorrent (for watching at a later date). However, Popcorntime app still has its uses (for me). Even after its API's fade and die, it'll have a productive retirement. And that's not just nostalgia .. but, that also plays its part?

• It's my "back-up" torrent client: I've used it before with torrents that wouldn't start (or were struggling to download) in qBittorrent.
• I've mentioned it before, but the DNLA option is something I use often - to stream "something to watch" directly to my LG/Panasonic TV's. Still hoping (in vain) for an Airplay 2 patch ... Oh! well.
• Some users might find 0.44.5 still useful - for watching local content (with its extra codecs and subtitles in the PT media player). Maybe for Chromecast, too (via VLC player)

So while torrents exist, so will torrent clients: And Popcorntime will still be (at its heart) a sequential torrent client/streaming/media player ... till it dies?

(Taken from seranking.com) Found this while hunting down something else. "A picture is worth a thousand words" .. I do love a graph!!

This is UK only, but every country had a similar profile (just the traffic numbers change). i.e USA traffic (2nd graphic) is almost double this.

Some chronological context:

1. 'popcorntime.sh take-down and popcorntime.app introduced. (still v0.3.10)
2. 'VPN.ht' linked itself to popcorntime app (yet again!). Wicked Tech (incredulously) hosting both together on US servers: Despite a ("certain") copyright lawyer having already taken an interest in this (symbiosis) prior to the PT.sh domain going dark!
3. A lawsuit/injunction is served: Wicked Tech and Popcorntime end up in a US court. Popcorntime.app take-down. (now @ v0.4.4)
4. Not sure here ... popcorntime.app is parked at GoDaddy. Might be the Time4Popcorn group's shutdown (Jan 22) causing a ripple effect? (0.4.5 launched by the 2 remaining Devs)
5. Popcorntime.app webpage activates with a "coming soon" splash-page (no app, yet). 0.5.1, GitHub, popcorn-time.site still running on autopilot since the last release (April 2024).
6. August 2025 (Doomsday!) The Wicked Devs "take-down": "Official" popcorntime version is purged from the GitHub and replaced with their legit [sic] version.
7. Takeover extends to the subreddit, dissenting voices are silenced, remnants of the "official" popcorntime withdraw to this subreddit and the RU GitHub. Probably the last resting place for a once-proud battle standard?
8. And 8 months later, how are the "new owner's" prospects holding up ... looks like the market place has decided?

So, dear reader ... was the whole thing a pointless debacle! An act of pure hubris, of desperation, or just a lack of nous? I'll leave it for you to judge!