Whenever we think of watching a movie online for absolutely free of cost, the name comes to our mind is Putlocker. In January 2012, this site was launched from the UK.
So, what is Putlocker? It’s a movie site where you can search for your favorite films and TV shows and can watch movies online . It does not host the content it shows, instead, it has embedded links of the content hosted in other third-party sites. It was a clever idea to avoid issues, though a court in the UK already banned the primary domain of Putloker. Since then, Putlocked moved to another domain, and then another, and it still keeps on moving to other domains from time to time to dodge the law of the land. When it was first launched, it started getting more with eight hundred thousand viewers on average for a daily basis. And after the Megaupload was taken off from the internet, Putlocker’s visitor count jumped to 1.6 million almost instantly.
Is Putlocker legal?
Now, Putlocker is definitely heaven for the movie fans who love to stream movies and TV shows. But then comes the obvious question – is Putlocker safe for people like you and me? Are we going to be in any legal trouble if we access Putlocker from our computer? The answer is not very straightforward, I afraid. Let me explain why and then you decide if it’s safe or not.
First of all, any site, like Putlocker, which provides a way to view copyrighted materials like movies and TV programs to people, can’t be legal no matter what. But there’s a small loophole. Which is, Putlocker doesn’t keep any file in its own site, instead, it links to other pages that host those materials. So, technically they are not actively hosting anything illegal, and just providing the links to the same. Further, it is not legal for you as well to download or watch such content from a website, as that means you’re stepping in the copyright violation zone.
That being said, digital copyright laws are not the same in all countries. So, unless you’re in a country where copyright laws are very strictly followed, you’re probably not in immediate legal danger. Most importantly, in the majority of countries, downloading and distributing such content is a legal offense, but for streaming, the laws are not very clear. That means as long as you’re just streaming those movies and TV programs online, you’re in a relatively safe zone.
Now, for the people who are paranoid and don’t want to leave any stone unturned to be safe – they can use a VPN instead of their own home IP. It’s crucial as your ISP can successfully detect you and send you a DMCA notice on behalf of the copyright owner. A VPN is an essential tool in such cases where you need ultimate anonymity while streaming digital content online.
Putlocker is a haven for fans of online streaming, but is it safe to use? The answer is yes, but only if you use a high-quality VPN to protect yourself.
So, invest in a good VPN service that provides you with the security and anonymity you need. VPNs are not expensive, and on top of that, some of the top VPNs offer discounts almost always. Just search in Google, and you’ll find plenty of great VPN deals where you can buy a long term subscription really cheap.