Every day, new legal streaming movie websites come into the scene. This is much to the delight of movie watchers around the world. But, it’s often difficult to draw the line between legal and illegal websites.

The only thing we know for sure is that it’s super easy to stream content online. This is whether you’re into movies or TV series. You have hundreds of free streaming websites, some legal, some illegal.

If you want to make sure that the streaming website you’re using is legal, there are a few signs you should consider. This is to make sure you’re not breaking any copyright laws.

Signs of Legal Streaming Movie Websites

Although the following guide isn’t necessarily exhaustive, it’ll provide you with some of the most common red flags to look out for. You’ll definitely thank yourself for choosing legal streaming movie websites over illegal ones.

1. They Are Transparent About Where They Get Their Movies

There are only two ways through which legal streaming movie websites can offer free movies. They can either get permission to show the movie through the actual studio. Or they show movies that are available through a public domain.

Some streaming websites are even sponsored by film studios in exchange for showing their movies, while others are affiliate websites. For instance, Sony Crackle is largely sponsored by Sony Pictures, while Popcornflix gets its movies from Screen Media Ventures.

2. They Don't Recommend You to Use a VPN

Illegal movie streaming websites are notorious for advertising different ways to hide your online activities. This includes everything from proxies to VPN services. They hide your IP address and location in order to obscure your online activities. This is usually a red flag that they’re doing illegal stuff.

So, if you notice ads on the website encouraging you to download some VPN service or if they even promote a VPN service, then you should definitely move onto another option. There are plenty of legal alternatives available out there that you can use without getting yourself in trouble.

Attention: Read before you continue

Governments and ISPs across the world monitor their users online activities. If found streaming or browsing content on your Fire TV Stick, mobile or PC, you could get into serious trouble.

Currently, the following information is visible:

Your IP:
Your Country:
Your City:
Your ISP:

If this is your real information, you need to use a VPN to protect your identity.

We strongly recommend you to get a good VPN and hide your identity so that your online experience doesn’t take a bad turn.
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Here are the reasons why you must use a VPN all the time.

3. They Have Ads But There Are No Annoying Pop-Ups

Just because legal streaming movie websites allow people to watch their content for free doesn’t mean that they’re running a charity. They’re still running a business and will most likely recoup their expenses through advertisements since they don’t charge a subscription fee.

Some websites have annoying ads that play before the movie starts and sometimes even during the film. This is obviously annoying but it’s a common occurrence on legitimate sites like SnagFilms and Yidio.

Illegal websites, on the other hand, typically take it the extra mile by placing ads all over the website in the form of pop-ups, “click-me” ads and surveys that bombard you from all angles

4. They Don’t Have the Latest Movies

Most legal streaming movie websites that offer free movies have a lot of older movie titles.

These websites don’t usually have anything new because it’s illegal to show the latest movies for free.

If you see a website that offers you the latest movies and series episodes, this is an indication that they’re infringing on copyright laws. Because it’s generally not allowed to do so. No film studio or company would allow a streaming website to offer recently released movies for free.

5. They Have a Mobile App

Some legal streaming movie websites have apps, but this isn’t exactly common. These apps enable you to watch all of the website’s content on the go from a smartphone or tablet. This is completely legal and doesn’t infringe on copyright laws.

That’s because no app store would allow an illegal movie streaming app onto its platform. You can rest assured that you’re using a completely legitimate platform. If the app was illegal it would immediately be taken down and no-one would be able to even see it on the app store. This goes for all the major, reliable app stores like Google Play.

You should definitely question the website’s legitimacy if the app is only available through some obscure third-party store instead of your platform’s official app store.

Conclusion

If you ever feel suspicious about the legitimacy of a streaming movie website rather look for an alternative instead of sticking with something that could make you break the law.

Also, don’t forget to use a VPN to protect yourself from third-party interference because you never know who’s monitoring your online activity and browsing history.

We recommend IPVanish because it’s great at hiding your location.

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What are your favorite legal streaming movie websites? Let us know in the comments below! We look forward to hearing from you!

5 Signs of Legal Streaming Movie Websites

Signs of Legal Streaming Movie Websites