In this article, I’m arguing that pirated content is actually the best form of media consumption, and I challenge anyone to try to prove me wrong. Before we dive into the meat and potatoes, I have a few footnotes.
Important Notes
First, do not do anything illegal; that isn’t the point here. This is a discussion on how content shared by individuals—who often just leave their computers running to host files for free—actually outperforms massive corporations.
It’s wild that people at home do a better job than Disney, valued at $222 billion (the valuations of the companies are as of this article drafting), Netflix at $454 billion, or Amazon at $2.71 trillion. For the sake of the search engine algorithms, I’ll be using the term “peer-to-peer” for the rest of this piece instead of “pirated content” to avoid any issues. I’m also aware that peer-to-peer is not the only way to obtain pirated content but it’s just a placeholder term.
I also want to make it clear that price is not the focus of this argument. I know the biggest draw of “peer-to-peer” is that it’s free, but we are removing the cost factor entirely. It is baffling that peer-to-peer is a superior experience regardless of the price tag.
When streaming services first launched, they were cheap and offered great value, which nearly killed off pirated content. But as prices have climbed and “enshittification” has set in—with ads and device restrictions becoming the norm—peer-to-peer is back on the rise. After brainstorming points that don’t rely on the “free” argument, the first and most important reason is something that might confuse younger generations: ownership.
Ownership
With content obtained through “peer-to-peer”, you actually own the file. While you don’t own the legal rights, you own the media itself and can do whatever you want with it. You can make copies on external hard drives, put it on a USB stick, give it to a friend, or host it on a home server. Ownership is becoming a dying concept, but with these files, it remains a reality.
Offline Use
This level of control means you can take your media anywhere without needing an internet connection, which is essential for travel or for people in areas with abysmal satellite internet. Unlike streaming services that struggle with connectivity, peer-to-peer software has flawless download resuming functionality if your internet cuts out. Furthermore, while services like Netflix allow temporary downloads, those files eventually self-delete or become inaccessible. With your own files, the content stays on your device forever.
Preserving Art
Piracy also serves as a vital form of art preservation. We’ve all seen songs or movies vanish from Spotify or Netflix because licensing fees got too high or rights expired. Big corporations often decide certain art isn’t worth the cost of keeping available. Peer-to-peer networks ensure that even the rarest, oldest content remains distributed worldwide and accessible to everyone.
No Ruined Updates
Finally, peer-to-peer often provides the only way to access original, unbutchered versions of films. Studios love to go back and retouch classics, like when George Lucas modified the original Star Wars trilogy. The changes to the ending of Return of the Jedi were just odd with Hayden Christensen (no offence to the actor). Through peer-to-peer, you have a much higher likelihood of finding the original versions of art before studios decided to ruin them. Beyond the questionable creative edits, many studios are now ruining the visual integrity of films with bad AI enhancements.
Studios Butchering Content
When studios re-release older content on streaming services, these “upgrades” often strip away the original look and feel of the media. Even worse are the flat-out stupid technical decisions, like Disney Plus forcing The Simpsons into a widescreen aspect ratio. By cutting off the top and bottom of the original 4:3 frame to fit modern TVs, they literally cropped out visual gags—like the famous Duff Beer joke—rendering the humor invisible.
Edit Content How You Want
On the flip side, having your own files allows you to modify content to your personal liking. If you have a live album like Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged session and you’re tired of hearing the band chatter at the end of a track, you can simply chop it off so the music flows perfectly into the next song. You can’t do that on a streaming platform.
You also have the power to edit out awkward scenes. For instance, many people find random nude scenes, like the one in Titanic, to be unnecessary or uncomfortable during a family movie night. In the 90s, these scenes often felt out of place and forced. With your own media, you have the ability to trim those moments and keep the focus on the story without the cringe factor.
Faster Video Game Loading
Video games highlight another major advantage: performance. Many pirated PC games load significantly faster because they bypass the annoying licensing checks required on every boot-up. Modern titles like Call of Duty often force you to wait for server authentication, but cracked versions skip the red tape and jump straight into the game.
PC Games Work Longer
Furthermore, peer-to-peer protects your investment. Companies like Ubisoft are notorious for killing off games by shutting down activation servers, leaving paying customers with nothing. Peer-to-peer versions ensure these games remain playable for years.
No Ads
Then there is the issue of “Enshittification” via advertisements. Even when you pay for streaming services now, you’re often bombarded with ads. With pirated content, there are absolutely no interruptions.
Better Quality
Beyond just avoiding ads, you get significantly better quality. Streaming services compress video and audio like crazy to save bandwidth. A raw 1080p file from a Blu-ray rip will almost always look better than a “4K” stream from Netflix because the bitrate is so much higher. Even high-end productions look washed out once a streaming platform’s compression gets ahold of them.
No Invasion of Privacy
Privacy is another massive factor. The moment you give a service like free Spotify streaming your name and email, they’re tracking your data and selling it. It gets for services like Spoitfy or Netflix when you pay for it because then you’re handing over your your name, email, and credit card, they are tracking your habits and selling your data. This invasion of privacy escalates if you use their mobile apps, which are notorious for data harvesting. Peer-to-peer consumption allows you to remain anonymous (with VPN or other methods) and keep your viewing habits to yourself.
Central Content Access
Finally, piracy offers the convenience of centralized access. By using tools like Plex or Jellyfin, you can organize your entire library in one beautiful interface. If you rely solely on physical media, you’re stuck swapping out Blu-ray discs every time you want to watch something different. With your own digital library, your entire collection is available at the click of a button, tailored exactly to your needs.
Another annoying thing about streaming is how fragmented everything has become. You have to sign up for a dozen different services just because every company wants their own “exclusive” content. It’s a total hassle.
No Geo Restriction
On top of that, these services love to region-lock things, meaning you can’t watch what you paid for depending on where you are. With pirated content, it doesn’t matter where you are in the world; it just works.
No Bloatware Apps
Then you have the clunky, bloated apps. Platforms like Netflix and Prime Video are getting slower and slower, and now Prime is even shoving ads in your face on the home screen of devices like the Nvidia Shield (powered by Android TV). It’s ridiculous. When you go the peer-to-peer route, you can just use something simple like VLC. It’s fast, it’s not bloated, and it doesn’t try to sell you anything. Even if you use something like Plex, it’s still way smoother than the corporate apps.
No False Advertising
This next point really takes the cake, and creators like Louis Rossmann have covered how “pro-consumer” companies are actually tricking you. Take Netflix’s hardware requirements: for a long time, you basically had to use the Edge browser or a specific smart TV to actually get 4K. If you were on a different browser, you’d pay for the 4K plan, but Netflix would just send you a 1080p video and stretch it to fit your screen.
It’s the same story with media players. Your Nvidia Shield might say it’s outputting 4K, so you think you’re watching 4K, but the app is actually just serving you 1080p and upscaling it. It’s borderline false marketing buried in terms and conditions that nobody reads. You’re paying for top-tier quality and getting a stretched-out version of something lower. With a pirated file, if it says it’s 4K, it’s actually 4K. No lies, no stretching, and no corporate games.
Mod Games
Another thing is that peer-to-peer video games are often more modder friendly. Even when a publisher stops selling or supporting a game you paid for, they usually refuse to let the community improve it. With peer-to-peer versions, the community can step in with modifications to make the graphics better, fix the frame rates, or tweak the animations. You get to keep having fun with the game long after the company has abandoned it.
Conclusion
I’m sure I might’ve missed a few points, and I’d love to see what you guys have to say in the comments. Again, do not do anything illegal. This is just a discussion about how regular people doing this for free at home are doing a better job than multi-billion and multi-trillion dollar companies. Try to prove me wrong—you really can’t. Even if you work for Netflix PR and try to leave a snarky comment, the facts are there. The big winners for me are ownership, better quality, and the freedom to do whatever the hell I want with my media.
You can’t even do that with a paid Blu-ray. In many countries, you aren’t even allowed to rip the disc you bought to make a copy. Do you really own that Blu-ray then? It’s a serious question you should ask yourself. It’s a massive gray area.
That’s pretty much it. I hope you found this useful and that you start trying to actually own your stuff. I’m not telling you to do anything illegal, but look for alternatives and stop relying so much on streaming.
