Designer and hacker Federico Abad, aka Sebastian, has the idea for Popcorn Time while sitting in bed in his hometown of Buenos Aires. He's frustrated by the unavailability of films and later says piracy is a "service problem." He and his friends code the app "in a couple of weeks," with the idea of creating something that lets anyone watch any film in two clicks.

The first beta of Popcorn Time is uploaded to GitHub with support for Windows and Mac. Coders from around the world begin to improve the open-source program.

Abad tells TorrentFreak that he believes Popcorn Time is legal because it doesn't host any content or make any money. BitTorrent technology is used to download and distribute the films, but Popcorn Time's developers don't profit. "It’s an experiment to learn and share," says Abad.

The original developers say goodbye to Popcorn Time, citing "legal threats [and] shady machinery that makes us feel in danger for doing what we love." The code is pulled from GitHub and the site closed down, but third-parties soon start re-hosting the app.

Two main versions of Popcorn Time emerge: get-popcorntime.com and Time4Popcorn.eu. In June, get-popcorntime.com becomes popcorntime.io, while Time4Popcorn later becomes Popcorn-Time.se. Their sites look nearly identical. Good luck keeping them straight!

Time4Popcorn is the first to bring Popcorn Time to Android. Google quickly pulls it from the Play Store — probably something to do with all the piracy — but it remains available for people to download and install on their own. Another Android app would be launched by popcorntime.io later in the year.

Time4Popcorn tells TorrentFreak that it's gained millions of users during its few short months of life. Tens of thousands of people are said to be downloading the app each day. The app also adds support this month for streaming to Chromecast and Apple TV.

Not with Apple's approval, of course. Time4Popcorn launches an iOS app through the Cydia app store for jailbroken iPhones. It now has apps on all major desktop and mobile platforms.

In a letter to its shareholders, Netflix describes Popcorn Time as one of its "biggest competitors." The company points to a Google Trends graph from the Netherlands showing interest in the app outstripping Netflix in the last six months.

Time4Popcorn, now going by Popcorn-Time.se, finds a way to install its iOS app on iPhones that haven't been jailbroken, making it far easier for people to get the app. It rockets to one million installs by June.

Hollywood studios convince the UK government to block several sites hosting the Popcorn Time app. It's the first time the studios have been granted such a block, with the judge noting that "no-one really uses Popcorn Time in order to watch lawfully available content." In the months that follow similar bans are handed out in countries including Israel, Italy, and Denmark.

Some of the original creators of Popcorn Time decide to endorse popcorntime.io as their successor. Popcorn Time's original website is set up to forward to the new project for a time.

11 people who streamed the Adam Sandler comedy The Cobbler are sued for piracy in one of the first US lawsuits to focus on use of Popcorn Time. Several later settle for a figure in the hundreds of dollars.

Three core developers of popcorntime.io leave the project. A day later, TorrentFreak reports that the exodus occurred over a disagreement about the app's inclusion of a VPN, which some developers believed made them a target for lawsuits. Those against the VPN lost and left.

Another developer launches a version of Popcorn Time that works entirely inside of a web browser, making pirating moves and TV shows even easier. It's quickly shut down by the MPAA. Then relaunched. Then shutdown. Then relaunched. Then shutdown.

Despite the efforts of film studios and ISPs, it's still easy to access Popcorn Time or one of its many forks. More importantly, perhaps, the app has shown the way for the next generation of online piracy. It's not enough now to simply make illegal content available, it has to also be easy to consume — offering a user interface on par with, or even better than, the legal alternatives. This user-friendly model is already spreading, with developers launching a Popcorn Time for porn and (briefly) a Popcorn Time for music.