The cost of television is an issue that concerns many people. It is for many reasons that people are always trying to find ways to pay less for TV. No matter how many ways there are to cut costs, people are always looking for ways to do so. Another tantalizing platform is Terrarium TV, which offers access to almost anything you can imagine for free. The best offers are generally implausible.

Here’s a quick overview of Terrarium TV

Popcorn Time was all the rage a few years ago. Popcorn Time was powered by BitTorrent and let users watch movies and TV shows for absolutely nothing. In no time, it was shut down by ISPs (internet service providers) and Hollywood because it was essentially a service that allowed users to pirate content.

Terrarium TV offered on-demand content through the internet, alongside a sleek user interface that was available only on Android devices, similar to Popcorn Time. Terrarium TV had a similar premise but in a more attractive package, but just like Popcorn Time, its days were numbered.

Is it even still around?

Until recently, Terrarium could be downloaded by going to the official website and following the instructions. Next, the Terrarium TV project on GitHub disappeared, followed by the disappearance of the website. The creator of the project did not give any explanation – he just gave up.

Terrarium TV’s existence has always been plagued by issues, and though its users persevered despite its developer appearing to abandon the app, the saga has finally come to an end. NitroXenon, the app’s developer, announced Terrarium TV’s closure on September 11, 2018. Also, he said the app will not be open-sourced, so no other developers can take over. Terrarium TV users aren’t out of the woods yet, either.

Taking a look at legality

Terrarium TV can be described as operating in a legal gray area at the moment, as discussed above. Terrarium collected links to videos on the internet, like torrent sites, but it did not actually serve pirated content. Legally, Terrarium TV is legal, but your ISP might not like it, which is why VPN ads pop up whenever you search for Terrarium TV.

Like Popcorn Time, Terrarium scraped the internet for video links instead of linking users to torrents. To start streaming, the app collects links and uses them to determine what to watch.

Terrarium TV used to read, “Terrarium only provides links to other websites.”. The message has now changed to “Terrarium TV does not host any videos, films, or media files.” No media streaming links are stored on Terrarium TV’s servers. Terrarium TV aggregates links into a convenient, user-friendly interface.”

By itself, this is fine. Terrarium failed to verify whether these sources are legal or not. Watching a rip uploaded to an unknown video service or on the website of a TV network could be the case.  

Terrarium was technically legal, but it was not welcomed by content providers and authorities alike. It’s easy to imagine that NitroXenon shut down the app as a result of mounting pressure from authorities, although he didn’t mention it when he announced it was shutting down. Oddly, those who kept the app installed began receiving notifications that their location and IP address were being tracked and that they should uninstall it immediately.

TorrentFreak contacted NitroXenon and he confirmed Terrarium tracks users’ IP addresses and that if authorities ask, he will hand over the data.

Other options (Alternatives) to Terrarium TV

Despite many similarities to Terrarium TV, Pluto TV has one important difference: It is 100% legitimate. Pluto aggregates content from across the web and presents it as live TV channels with an easy-to-use interface. The on-demand content is also available, but it rotates fairly often. Pluto is simpler, more accessible, and 100 percent free, but its content is not the same as Terrarium TV. For more information, see our Pluto TV guide.

You can also use Crackle or Tubi. Netflix-like views are available on both of these sites. The movies and shows these services offer are actually legal, unlike Terrarium TV. Viruses aren’t a concern, but there isn’t as much content. With the services above, we can meet all your entertainment needs – we know this from experience.  

You have a wide range of options. You can use Kodi (formerly XBMC) to access many of the same features as Terrarium TV with the right plugins. However, XBMC now has an official website, which allows you to download it directly.

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