Torrent-Streaming Popcorn Time Android App gets Chromecast Support

Popcorntime_screenshot_2014marTorrent-streaming platform Popcorn Time has received Chromecast support for its popular Android app, leading to further concerns in the movie industry about the growing legitimacy of a service many see as piracy.

Popcorn Time acts as a cross-platform service that streams video contents via torrents in real-time. Peer-to-peer sharing of video files has been occurring for many years and has a very questionable legal status, with sites and services often being ruled illegal, but Popcorn Times user interface makes it stand apart. Resembling popular streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, the platform has a larger library of content and often offers newer titles, all for free.

The addition of Chromecast functionality to the Android app means users can stream the content easily on their television screens. The Windows phone version of the app gained Chromecast support last week, and support for the iOS version is supposedly in the works.

Last week the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) served developer platform GitHub with a legal notice over the Popcorn Time applications it held in its repositories, leading to them being removed. The MPAAs notices said that Popcorn Times applications involved “extensive copyright infringement of motion pictures and television shows”.