The best things in life are (not always) free
Okay, we get it… why would you pay for something when you could get it for free, right?
Streaming illegal or ‘grey area’ content is on the rise in the UK.
Over 6 million people in the UK have consumed some form of illegal content in the last three months via one of the many illegal ‘free IPTV’ services.
The most common type of illegal streaming is for TV shows and sports fixtures. Over 47% of football fans admit to illegally streaming a match in the past.
But, have you ever heard of the saying ‘nothing good comes for free’?
While it seems like it would be a good idea to stream content for free, it comes with a set of risks that could be a lot more costly than the price of a subscription to a legal and licensed IPTV provider.
In this article we are going to uncover what the free IPTV providers don’t tell you, to keep you safe while you’re streaming your favorite content.
What’s the motive behind free IPTV services?
Free IPTV providers lure viewers in with sayings like ‘full access to unlimited channels’, ‘Full HD every time’, and ‘Hundreds of live sports channels for free’.Sometimes these claims turn out to be true and sometimes they are completely false.
Even when they are true and you gain access to HD sports channels, it’s important to ask the question, what are the providers getting out of this?
Unfortunately, viruses, malware, fraud, connection hijacks, and personal details theft are very common in the free IPTV world.
Finder.com reported that 1 in 10 people who download illegal free content have been a victim of fraud.
Fraudsters successfully harvest personal data from thousands of people who willingly exchange their details for free television content.
Once they have your details, they can impersonate you online, try and access your bank accounts and much more.
While it is true that not all free IPTV services will be run by fraudsters, it is also true that they don’t invest the same amount of time and money into protecting your data.
So, even if the providers have the best intentions to distribute free content from the kindness of their heart, they are not taking data protection as seriously as legal providers.
This makes them an easy target for online criminals to harvest your data.
Free IPTV could offer a bad viewing experience
One of the biggest downsides to consuming content from a free IPTV provider is there is no guarantee to streaming quality.
While the site may promise ‘HD every time’ often the reality is standard definition (SD) or 480hp at best. What good is that on your 4K TV?!
In addition to grainy screen quality, often free IPTV providers try and earn money through running ads that pop up around your screen while you stream.
As well as being distracting they can slow your devices response time down to a point where the content freezes and lags (not to mention they are sometimes a trap that hides vicious malware and viruses).
Imagine watching your favourite team charging towards the opponent’s goal, the captain winds up for a shot on goal, and then… enters the buffer icon… 5 minutes later gameplay resumes but you’ve missed the goal of the season.
This happens all too often with free content.
Paying for a subscription to a quality IPTV provider, like YourIPTVHost, will grant you access to unlimited HD content, free from spammy advertisements and with no distractions or interruptions.
Support & troubleshooting – Why should you care?
Free IPTV providers that operate Illegally or in ‘legally grey areas’ often get shut down by the authorities or taken over by hackers, sometimes without any warning.
This could be in the middle of the night or in the middle of an important match or movie.
Whatever time of day, this will leave you, the viewer, with a blank screen with no one to speak to for a solution.
The best-case scenario is that you are going to have to find somewhere else to watch the content you were streaming (quickly if it was a live stream).
The worst-case scenario is the hackers are riding off into the sunset with your personal details.
Most if not all free IPTV providers won’t offer support and troubleshooting, if things go wrong, you’ll be on your own.
You will have no chance of compensation if you have been inconvenienced or worse if your device has been infected with a harmful virus or phishing software.
Access to support and troubleshooting is a huge benefit that you will receive when paying a subscription fee to a quality online television provider.
For example, with any YourIPTVHost subscription, you will receive 24/7 support to solve any issues you might experience while streaming from our platform.
We offer support through the chat box on our website, via email and we even give you a WhatsApp number for speedy responses.
This means that we will quickly hear about any issues, which enables us to start fixing any problems immediately.
Unlike with a free service, we will be able to offer you support to get a live sports match back up and running or tell you why your favourite TV show won’t start streaming.
Final thoughts on free IPTV
Free IPTV is more often than not, too good to be true. Many free content providers make big promises they can’t keep.
Free IPTV users find themselves watching content on a small screen, surrounded by ads, while constantly being interrupted by the buffering symbol.
Finding an IPTV subscription service that suits you will have huge benefits.
You’ll gain access to unlimited HD content, there will be no spammy adverts and there will be around the clock support if anything goes wrong.
And best of all you won’t have to worry about your data getting stolen.
I hope this article has made you think twice about signing up for a free service and informed you about some of the dangers involved.
If you would like to know more about YourIPTVHost and our content packages, head over to our home page to find out more.
