I always like the idea of private messaging apps in principle, though the reality is that the absolute worst people in humanity inevitably end up using them for their depraved and awful ends. So you know, a little from column A, a little from column B.
I would say the only potential issue (and it's a remote one without any irl consequences as far as I know) is this: your IP is logged, and you can't use a VPN to create an account or buy a subscription either, so potentially that information is all there. Plus, there is a download history for every file – I've no idea what they keep on record or how long. So in theory with the right subpoenas, information such as your IP, your bank details (if you didn't choose an anonymous method), and the exact files you pirated are available.
I've no idea how much of that could be realized in practice. And I would like to be wrong about it all.
That said, the likelihood of all this is probably very slim indeed. I would describe this as the only potential catch. It's worth noting that you wouldn't be able to be penalized for an action such as "sharing" copyrighted content though, since you'd only be downloading, not seeding.
Yeah it's incredibly easy and you don't even notice. Can use the activity monitor to check whether it's running natively or through that translation layer, and often you wouldn't even realise. Maybe this Kodi addon would work then, given Rosetta, I don't know. But I'm not the biggest fan of Kodi tbh. Presently I have the service running through Jellyfin and that's great, so would probably not bother with Kodi now.
Yep, that's why I tried it out – because it added Xtream support. What I meant was that it downloads the channel listings fine, but when you go to play anything, nothing loads. I think it might be because it requires a string in the user agent login field (unlike most Xtream login panels).
Yup, works flawlessly, and that's the setup I have at the moment. Just wondered if it was possible on the router though, since my main device is a laptop and I don't have it running all the time.
My life goal isn't to make pirating as easy as possible for myself. There are plenty of reasons to use MacOS over Windows (bracketing Linux distros for the moment), chiefly that it's not a broken and endlessly frustrating experience on a daily basis for everyday tasks.
I don't game on PC, which is the only reason I'd have a machine running Windows in my household.
I use Android and MacOS as my operating systems of choice, and that is more than suitable for piracy setups for most media. E.g. music (soulseek), films and series (real debrid + stremio), adblocking (Adguard, root mode). I don't have a particular need to pirate software or games.
Yeah I've heard this before. I have a friend who got one, word of mouth in his case too. It works well for him and it's tempting to try, but (a) he's one of the least tech savvy people I know, so his recommendation counts for little, and (b) the service plays badly with Nord and he was advised to get SurfShark, which I don't fancy doing. (And in my jurisdiction, VPN usage would be strongly advisable.)
I think to the uninitiated it's a bit of a minefield. Are there guides to the best providers, and ones you can subscribe to using anonymous forms of payment?
Your edit clarification is wrong btw. It should read: only applies when using different external IP addresses.