Many of us know of Kodi, a very popular open-source media player used to pirate TV shows and movies. This software has been added to set-top boxes worldwide to give the impression that Kodi is a haven for pirates, but such is not the case.
Is Kodi safe and legal?
The creators of Kodi have never claimed that the software was designed for such uses, but nevertheless, many have made the mistake of saying such is the case. For example, the folks who are behind the many Kodi boxes make it seem as if the media player comes packed with all the illegal third-party add-ons.
Bear in mind that the Kodi developers have not sanctioned these add-ons, but seeing as the software is open source, we see no way for the developers to stop it from happening.
Not too long ago, the BBC released an article about Kodi that viewed the software as a piracy epidemic. From what we can tell, the mainstream media is attempting to paint Kodi as a Popcorn Time replacement without realizing the software’s true nature.
Is Kodi a Piracy App?
If we look at the state of web browsers today, they can do almost everything on the internet. Want to watch a movie illegally? Simply fire up Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome and visit one of the many websites supporting illegal content streaming.
Web browsers also allow users to download illegal content whenever they want. Users downloading illegal content was not the intention of the creators of Edge, Firefox and Chrome. They cannot stop it either because the Internet is open. It’s a similar situation to Kodi, but some folks have decided to look at it from a different perspective.
The add-ons are the real reason Kodi is making headlines
If we go deeper into the beehive, it’s clear that without the add-ons, the Kodi Media Player would just be a regular media player. But hey, Google Chrome and other web browsers support add-ons that allow for doing many things.
For example, if you’re looking to watch media from a website but you’re not in the United States, no problem, for there’s an extension available through the Chrome store fix that problem. Do we hear media outlets making a fuss about that? Of course not
Here’s what the developers had to say about the allegations in a recent blog post:
“Team Kodi is officially tired of this. We are tired of new users coming into the forum, asking why the box that ‘we’ sold them was broken. We are tired of this endless campaign by dishonest salesmen to push a single use of Kodi that nobody on the team actually recommends. We are tired of these salesmen lying to users, claiming that pirate streams and pirate boxes are ‘legal’ when they are absolutely not at some level or other.”
Kodi is free, legal and safe to use
Kodi is simply a media player with advanced features, and it is free, legal, and safe to use. It is always available in the Microsoft Store. Kodi publicly displays your IP address, so we recommend using a VPN when streaming on Kodi. It also allows unverified third-party add-ons, and so caution should be exercised when using third-party repositories as they may host malicious add-ons containing malware or unauthorized data collection. It is best to stick to the official Kodi repository that offers safe and legitimate add-ons to ensure security.
KODI is for poor students who cannot afford to pay for much. They are going to stream media for free any way they can so KODI is not the problem just a tool for clever programmers.
KODI is just a tool that some Microsoft developers created for the xbox then let the program out into the wild to try and thrive because the top Microsoft management did not have any good ideas on how to use the application. The main advantage with the program is the easy of use and development of add-on features onto the program without so much costs that can kill most projects. The main reason KODI has been a problem is not directly the concept of piracy in terms of illegal use but that the program is not proprietary and restricted in terms of usage as a product in general. What is the monetization process for the program and how can it thrive should the use of it become more difficult in the future? I don’t see the program not existing for a very long time because there are far too many people that use the product to get access to information throughout the web and internet that they could not get otherwise and it doesn’t matter if the data is legal or illegal. Sad but true fact is that KODI is probably one of the killer applications in the last decade that can be used in multiple tasks but the top industry titans don’t recognize the situation and the benefits.
As for content issues, I find that there are many competing data providers both authorized and not authorized to provide specialized content throughout the web. You don’t need any particular program to access those sources but using tools to make the transactions easier seems to be the issue. The problem I see is what degree of hindrance to hide information from the general public is justified and reasonable and what is a valid denial of the individual and general public’s rights to view information? Because the matter is subject to the thinking of each controlling interest for each nation and region of the world, you won’t get a valid general consensus as to a framework to solve the general dilemma at hand. Or do you really want a solution in the first place?
is google chrome part of the piracy epidemic, because people use it to download illegal software
Kodi is for me a way to replace Microsoft’s Missing Windows-Media-Center. I do no ‘pirating’ with it. My cable feeds into KODI, like it used to feed into WMC.
The BLACKBOX Rules !!!
Is it considered piracy if it’s just streaming of files? I mean, yes, you can watch literally anything on KODI -but you don’t download movies… in a sense it’s not exactly piracy.
KODI is good. OK ? The problem is the rampant piracy epidemic. KODI (and it’s community) innocently just makes everything easily accessible.
I’m not in the business (neither media nor computer business). I’m just a consumer. I don’t have an answer, but something has got to give. I hate being raped by the Cable industry but I can not condone raping the entertainment industry (and it’s artists) of their due. I just wish I could pay a reasonable fee to some central organization and get access to all of the varied and eclectic materials I enjoy. KODI comes close but it’s free and people aren’t getting paid ! The “powers that be” WILL PUT A STOP TO THIS. And when they do, we will all be very sorry, indeed.