There are so many free streaming sites out there for you to choose from. Many of them, though, have a reputation for being sketchy and unsafe to use. Are free streaming sites and free streaming apps safe? Are they legal? Will you get into trouble for using them? Arrested? Sued by movie and TV production companies?
Chances are, movie production companies probably have much bigger fish to fry than taking on a single person streaming or torrenting their content for free on the internet. If they were to sue or press charges against anyone, it would be the website or person responsible for providing the content, to begin with. That being said, it is not entirely unprecedented, even if rare. In most places around the world, though, streaming content for free is perfectly legal. The person hosting the stream, however, is the one who is breaking copyright laws.
Still, though, I generally recommend to anyone who is considering getting into the world of free movie and TV streaming apps: find yourself a decent VPN. This is the first line of defense you will want to protect yourself with, not only when streaming or downloading movies and shows for free online, but really just for doing anything at all on the internet. No matter what, you are never 100% safe online if your IP address and activity is visible. A VPN takes care of this issue for you.
With a good VPN software, you will essentially become a ghost. Nobody will be able to track your online activity … nobody can see where you are or what you are doing online. Not a hacker, not your internet service provider, not even the government. VPNs can also be a brilliant way to get around firewalls, including those instituted by even the most despotic governments. Crack open a freed and liberated internet without the worry of getting in trouble with a VPN. You can do your homework on VPN programs and apps in the VPN section of StreamingSites.
Pair your VPN of choice with a good ad-block extension and solid antivirus software, and, like magic, you are ready to trek into the territories of free online streaming with nearly no worries whatsoever! I say nearly, mind you, because, well, the truth is, nobody is ever 100% safe from malicious entities on the internet. If somebody wants to track you down or give you a virus badly enough, they will probably be able to figure out a way to do so.
But let’s not let that get in the way of our fun, right? Life is too short to not stream movies and TV shows for free. The only problem is that there is a relatively low number of apps that allow you to do this conveniently from your smartphone or tablet. What should you do, then, if you want to take your free streaming with you on the go?
Well, you have come to exactly the right place if that is what you are looking for. Free streaming apps may be few and far between, but they exist. And, for the most part, they tend to be a little less sketchy than a lot of the free streaming sites that I have seen in my day. But, hey, that is why I do these reviews in the first place … to help you figure out which free streaming apps are worth your time and which ones you can feel free to just pass right over.
All that being said, where does the free streaming app by the name of Show Box fall on the spectrum? Well, there are a few factors to take into account when evaluating a free streaming app such as this one. I like to look at how the app is designed, its ease of use first. Then I dive into the content, how many movies and shows the app offers, the quality in which they can be viewed. And today, although I don’t normally discuss it, Show Box requires a special category dedicated to its downloading process, seeing as it has a particularly unique one.
So, without further ado, why don’t we just dive right in and see whether Show Box is worth your time and energy, shall we?
Design
Show Box, at one point, was one of the most popular apps on the Google Play store. This is probably why it is no longer available on the Google Play store. You also will not find it on the Apple App Store either. That being said, for an app that shouldn’t even exist, it is designed quite well. I spend a lot of time looking at different free streaming apps and, I must say, they are not often well-designed.
This is far from the case for Show Box, though. It is sleek, professional looking. It looks as if it could be a premium streaming app. The only difference is the fact that you can find just about anything on Show Box, whereas a premium streaming app would be much more limited. The app has a very smooth and familiar interface, making it one of the most intuitive apps available. It’s a shame that this app is not available on any of the official stores … don’t worry, though, in a bit I will tell you exactly how to get the app, nonetheless … it is very much still available.
Content
If you can dream it, you can do it, as they say. In other words, if you can think of a movie title, chances are you will be able to find it on Show Box. As is the case with many free streaming sites, this app draws from a robust list of media host sites and torrents, meaning that if somebody has uploaded a file containing a movie or TV show, Show Box will give you access to it.
One gripe that I do have with Show Box, though, on a content level, is that you have to play all files through a 3rd party media player app. Something like VLC Media Player will suffice. VLC is not a bad app to have (it is also free) anyway, but, still, I would prefer it if Show Box made things a little bit easier by embedding a halfway decent media player into the app itself. But that is sort of the name of the game when it comes to Show Box … nothing about this free streaming app is easy.
Devices and Download
Here is where things get tricky. And where, for me, this app starts to lose major points. Although it is not necessarily Show Box’s fault that Google and Apple took the app off of their app stores, it is still extremely annoying that you now have to go through quite a bit of trouble in order to download Show Box onto your phone.
First, you’ll need to go to Showbox-apk.mobi. From there, you will follow the 6-step process to get Show box from your computer to your phone. And, depending on your device, it may require you to download additional download manager apps. It is not impossible to do, but it is far from convenient. Considering the fact that many of the free streaming sites on my list are optimized pretty well for mobile viewing and offer just about the same content, it may make you wonder if downloading Show Box is truly worth all the unnecessary effort.
That being said, once you see Show Box’s sleek and intuitive interface, you may decide that it is. Besides, it is just a one-time thing, and then you have the convenience of easy free streaming from a beautiful looking app on your mobile device forever.
Suggestions that I have for Show Box
Well, my most notable suggestion would be to devise an easier way for people to download the app onto their phones. But, hey, if neither major app store is willing to carry your app, what can you do really?
Secondly, I would love to see a day when the app is updated to include a media player of its own. That would really push this app over the edge toward becoming possibly the best free streaming app out there. If Show Box had an awesome in-app media player, it would be game over. It would definitely be worth the lengthy and annoying download process.
