Showbox is a web-based streaming application akin to Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO. Like its more famous cousins, the app allows you to watch the latest movies, TV shows, and documentaries. It streams mostly HD content and enables users to download said content in a variety of settings for offline viewing. However, this is where the similarity ends. While the other streaming services are subscription-based, the Showbox application is entirely free, meaning you do not have to pay a single dime to enjoy even hot-off-the-press flicks. The freebie nature of its offering has seen the application become a wildly popular one with millions using it worldwide.
If this sounds too good to be true, then you are both right and wrong. The app is well and truly a free one, allowing you to do everything that it claims you can. However, there is no disputing the fact that it is one that operates on the very fringes of legitimacy. This doubt is because Showbox makes its content available by using torrent streams, which is illegal. It is no wonder then that the application’s developers have found themselves in legal hot water now and then. Not much is known about these developers. They remain shrouded in mystery as apart from an official Twitter account, there was no way to reach out to them. At one time, the application had an official website, but that is now defunct.
When it first launched, the app was available to download from both the official website and Google Play Store. Besides, several other websites actively promoted it with downloadable links. That is not the case anymore. Due to the legal quagmire it has been stuck in, Google Play Store and the other websites have disowned the Showbox application. Moreover, as mentioned before, its official website is also non-existent. So, to put it simply, there is no way to download the original Showbox app.
What you do get is a plethora of wannabe, imitation apps online. A simple Google or YouTube search will reveal dozens of websites and online personalities, claiming that they have a legitimate downloadable link. These counterfeit apps all look like the original. While some blatantly plagiarize the Showbox app’s logo, others make a few minute changes to it. Clicking on their links, however, invariably leads to a different looking and functioning application.
What’s worse is that some of these bogus applications require you to sign up and fork over your credit card information (why would a free app need your bank details?). You may also come across sites that promise to send over a Showbox apk link as long as you download two or three other applications. This practice is nothing but affiliate marketing at its worst.
With all its legal run-ins, the shutting down of this free streaming application was perhaps inevitable. Users have reportedly not been able to access the app since late 2019. This recent outage is, however, not the first time it has happened. Back in 2018, users observed a similar interruption in service that lasted several weeks. While the developers chalked it down to security issues, it was rumoured that the real reason was due to copyright issues. The app came back to life soon enough, and all was hunky-dory for a while.
In May 2018, however, a host of Hollywood studios such as Bodyguard Productions, Dallas Buyers Club, Criminal Productions, and Glacier Films sued the app’s developers. They also sued the secondary websites that promoted it for copyright infringement.
The case against the website distributors was settled. While the terms of the settlement are not clear, it is after this that these websites started displaying warning messages and disclaimers.
The words make it abundantly clear that choosing to download the Showbox application is fraught with risk. The studios now have the right to not only your IP address but also your viewing history. In non-legal terms, this means that you could be being sued by the Hollywood corporates. As yet, we do not know if the case against the app’s developers was also settled or not. However, it is soon after this that the Showbox apk completely stopped working. Twitter has suspended the app’s official account too.
While the application has a history of rising from the ashes like a phoenix, the outage feels more permanent this time. It seems unlikely that the developers will continue to operate in the grey area of streaming. Doing that would risk awakening the combative spirit of Hollywood. Even if it does resurrect, the chances are that the streaming app will be promptly hit with a fresh set of lawsuits.
Yes, there are several Showbox movie alternatives. One of the outstanding ones is CineHub. Like Showbox, it allows you to stream HD-quality movies and TV shows. It is also similarly free of cost. The difference here is that while Showbox used torrents for streaming, CineHub does not. Therefore, it is less likely to end up in legal soup, which also means that you can enjoy uninterrupted service.
CineHub boasts of an extensive database, numbering upwards of 350,000, of films and other hit shows. Impressively, the viewing material all comes with Spanish and English subtitles, with more languages reportedly on the way. More importantly, though, there is no need to sign up or give any unnecessary bank details, allowing you to keep your personal information private.
Additionally, this HD movie app allows you to download content for offline viewing pleasure too. What is more, it is entirely advertisement and buffering free. The latter is due to its multi-server approach. CineHub’s UI is user-friendly. It has an intuitive and non-intrusive horizontal menu running along the bottom of the screen. Most people would find it easy to navigate through.
You can check out CineHub here.
The non-performance of the Showbox apk has sent its fans into a frenzy. But, there is light at the end of the tunnel. If you are one of those fans, we hope this article has answered your questions. By introducing you to CineHub, we hope to have shown you a great alternative to the former.