But success bred attention. As the thread grew, it began appearing as the top Google result for "free movies reddit." Entertainment lawyers stopped chasing individual torrent swarms and started looking at the index. The crackdown began in 2022. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)—a Hollywood-backed anti-piracy juggernaut—started a scorched-earth campaign against "linking" sites.
First, Reddit admins quietly removed the Megathread for "violating content policy." The mods reposted it. It was removed again. Then came the ban waves. Entire subreddits like r/Piracy were temporarily nuked. The mods were forced to play whack-a-mole, moving the Megathread to external sites like GitHub and Rentry, only to have those links flagged as spam. reddit piracy mega thread
For nearly a decade, if you wanted to find a reliable streaming site for a niche 1970s horror film, a safe link to download an expensive piece of scientific software, or a workaround for a paywalled news article, there was one golden address in the chaos of the internet: Reddit’s r/Piracy Megathread. But success bred attention
It serves as a reminder that on the modern web, nothing is permanent—not even a wiki page with a million upvotes. And if you really want to know where to find that 1970s horror film now? You’ll have to ask a friend. Or join a Discord. But whatever you do, don't ask Google. Disclaimer: This article is for informational and historical purposes only. Piracy involves legal risks, including potential fines and exposure to malware. Always support creators when you are able to do so legally. Then came the ban waves