123Chill is a free streaming website that allows users to watch premium content from around the web at no cost. Like many other free streaming sites we’ve reviewed, 123Chill, while appearing to host content locally, is what we call a “file-referring” site. Examples of similar services include SpaceMov, 123MoviesGo, and AllMovie. These types of sites don’t host content on their own servers but refer users to the offsite locations for the actual video file.
Most sites do this because file-sharing unlicensed content is a copyright violation in the United States and the tech debt associated with hosting local files is enormous. But by referring users to offsite locations, free streaming services like 123Chill can operate without technically violating copyright law.
Confusing? Unfortunately, streaming unlicensed content on your end isn’t straightforward from a legal perspective either.
But is 123Chill legal to use and safe? We review the free streamer.
Table of Contents
Accessing unlicensed content
As we’ve established with our favorite legal writer Adam Michaels, streaming unlicensed content, while undoubtedly illegal from a sharing perspective, may not equate to a clear-cut violation of copyright restrictions for the viewer.
According to Michaels’ piece with Jim Gibson, if you watch something on a free streaming site, you may not be breaking the law – at least not currently.
“Whether it’s wrong or not, in a moral sense, is something that you can ask your friends or your minister. But whether it’s illegal from a copyright viewpoint, the best answer is, probably not on an individual basis,” says Jim Gibson, law professor and founder of the Intellectual Property Institute.
“This is because you are neither sharing copywritten content nor copying it. Downloading copywritten content is illegal because you are making a copy,” added Michaels, “however, streaming media is not because a new copy is not created.”
In this case, 123Chill may argue that they are not violating copyright law either, as technically, they are not making copies of the content themselves but linking to other sites where the files are hosted.
Of course, we could argue that a copy is made during the streaming process, even if it is just a local copy in the RAM, but we digress.
In any case, this article should not be used as legal advice.
Let’s dive into our review of this website.
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Content Library
This movie streaming site offers thousands of movies for free. For example, as of this writing, the following titles were available to view in either standard or HD format.
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Amsterdam
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- The Adam Project
- The Batman
Of course, none of these films are in theaters now, but they are undoubtedly limited release on their parent studio’s preferred streaming platform and unavailable elsewhere. In any case, we’d bet on these copies being unlicensed.
But the selection is solid. It isn’t as strong as other free streaming sites we’ve reviewed with more than six million users per year, but 123Chill holds its own with 70 thousand visitors a month and an adequate collection of some of the most popular and relevant movies in the US.
Wide range of categories
When it comes to the categories of content available at 123Chill, we can see that there is a lot of variety. But what’s most interesting about 123Chill is how it filters content. Most do this by genre or director, but 123Chill steps it up by adding the year and country of release. So if you’re looking for a Hindi film from 2013 but can’t remember the title, 123Chill may be able to help (and tell you where you can watch it).
Easy navigation
The developers of 123Chill have done a great job designing this website. The design is simple and underwhelming (in a good way). You will not get lost on this website trying to find your favorite movie and then struggle to play it. The web pages integrate superbly.
And importantly, the search feature actually works, rather than linking you to another website when you click it.
Note: that said, in some instances we found the search button itself to be hardcoded (or preloaded) with search term information that had nothing to do with our search criteria. From time to time, you may hit the search button and are linked to a new tab with search results that have nothing to do with what you’re looking for or typed in the search field.
Smooth playback
The most important thing in a free movie streaming website is its ability to play movies. If your experience is annoying, or nonexistent due to ads, then nothing else matters. However, at 123Chill, we get a very pleasing and smooth experience. Video plays without unnecessary loading and with minimal website response delay.
Editor’s note: while video playback is smooth, it’s hit or miss on actual playback. If you are redirected to a preloaded ad in the anchor link, try a different version of the file (they are often available in SD, HD, and 4K). We did not find the ads to be malicious, just annoying.
Free content
Everything on 123Chill is free. Users do not have to pay at all to enjoy the movies. There are no one-time fees or charges either.
The website does not require registration.
Ad annoyance
The ads on 123Chill are annoying. Users have to bear with these ads to watch a movie. Some people might find these ads too annoying, really. But all free streaming sites come with this irritation.
Summary
123Chill has a diverse movie collection. Users can enjoy these movies for free without any registration or sign-up costs. However, ads on 123Chill are very repetitive and annoying. At the end of the day, whether or not you are comfortable streaming unlicensed content is a personal decision, but the bill is still due; you can’t escape advertisements on a site like this.
Pros
- Variety in content
- Free
- Smooth
Cons
- Ads
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