If you use Kodi, chances are that you have heard about Exodus. This popular kodi add-on offers the possibility to watch a vast collection of content, including blockbuster movies and highly rated TV shows. However, the fact that Exodus is not an official add-on and that it enables access to premium content for free, raises concerns among many users, regarding the legality of this solution. After all, most of the content that you can find through Exodus is not licensed by the copyright holders. While Exodus works as a search engine that manually scans the web to find streaming websites that offer the movie or TV show that you want to watch, the add-on doesn’t host the streams itself and doesn’t have control over the quality or the legality of the source from which the content is obtained. To help you decide if Exodus is worth installing, here we’ll discuss the legal status of this Kodi add-on.
Is Exodus Legal?
One thing to keep in mind when discussing whether Exodus is legal or not, is that the rules change from one country to another. In some places, using Exodus is not against the law, and you wouldn’t face penalties for streaming media that you found through this add-on. However, in countries like Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, France and Australia, streaming content from pirated websites is illegal. Since Exodus facilitates this activity, you can expect repercussions if you use it to access streams from websites that are involved in copyright infringement in any of these countries.
Staying away from Exodus will help you to avoid getting warning letters and copyright infringement notices, but if you decide to use this add-on, there is a solution that will also help you to avoid these issues. A VPN is a technology that encrypts your online traffic, which prevents your ISP and copyright reinforcement organizations from seeing what you do online. With encryption, your internet traffic is becomes unreadable so others won’t be able to figure out what you are up to. When you use a VPN, the privacy and security of your online activities are protected.
It should be noted that in 2017, the European Court of Justice declared that streaming falls within the scope of online piracy. If a website allows users to stream content subject to copyright, without the authorization of the copyright holder, it would be considered illegal, just like other forms of distribution of copyrighted content that don’t comply with the relevant policies. This means that in Europe, you can face legal issues, not only if you download copyrighted material, but also if you stream it. This is a very important aspect to consider if you decide to use Exodus or other similar third-party Kodi add-ons.
What about safety?
Possible legal prosecution is not the only risk that you may face if you stream copyrighted content using a source that is not authorized by the copyright holder. There are Kodi add-ons that have been compromised and that contain malicious code. It is important to make sure that you get Kodi add-ons from a reliable source. An add-on infected with spyware or malware can be used to access your system and steal your personal data. The good news is that Exodus is mainly safe to use, although it should be noted that there were previous reports of malicious code tat was added with the purpose of turning Exodus users into Botnets in order to target The Ares Blog with DDoS attacks. However, this was promptly fixed and currently, Exodus is safe to use again.
Advantages of using a VPN with Exodus
We mentioned before that a VPN encrypts your internet traffic, preventing third-parties from seeing what websites you visit, what applications you use, what content you access, etc. The encryption that is applied to your internet traffic can also protect you from man-in-the-middle attacks. It is also worth noting that when you connect to a VPN server, your real IP address is disguised, which adds a layer of anonymity as well. Since your IP address and location can be changed with a VPN, anyone who tries to trace you will have a really difficult time doing so. Another thing to keep in mind is that ISPs can throttle video streaming once they identify it.
However, since a VPN ensures that they can’t see what you are doing online, it is a practical tool to prevent throttling so you will be able to enjoy a more efficient streaming experience. Keep in mind that in the end, if you decide to use Kodi, you are doing so at your own risk. In order to enhance your privacy, anonymity and security, make sure that you use a VPN. You just need to get a subscription from a reliable provider that doesn’t keep logs and that offers good speeds. Once you download and install the VPN software, you can connect to a secure server that allows you to use Exodus without compromising your personal information. We recommend the below options:
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN has servers in over 90 countries and it enjoys a solid reputation as one of the best services in the VPN industry. They are also one of the fastest options available so you will be able to stream content without issues. In addition, ExpressVPN uses top-grade encryption and it doesn’t keep logs of your activities.
IPVanish
IPVanish is another leading VPN that offers great speeds for streaming. Thanks to the fact that the provider is in charge of its own network of servers, it can offer fast performance and consistency. You can connect to servers in over 60 countries and enjoy high standards of protection for your internet traffic while using Exodus and other Kodi add-ons.
NordVPN
NordVPN is a reliable solution that strives to offer high security and good performance across its network. They have over 3000 servers in 60 countries and offer features like Double VPN and Tor over VPN, which increase the security of your connection significantly. NordVPN is a zero logs provider and it also allows you to enjoy good speeds for streaming.
VyprVPN
VyprVPN is another provider that manages its own network of servers, giving you great speeds to stream the content that you want without delays. VyprVPN also uses strong encryption to keep your online traffic secure. No logs of your online activities are kept.
