Tirexo has become PapaFlix, and the download area remains closed

A few weeks after its sudden closure, Tirexo, one of the largest French-speaking illegal download and streaming sites, is back under the name PapaFlix. Zone Telechargement, the other reference service, remains closed…for now.

Fans of films, series, programs and other “free” content will be able to rejoice: three weeks after its sudden closure at the end of April, Tirexo is back under a new name. PapaFlix – undoubtedly in reference to Netflix… – this popular French-language download has been renamed and flow Illegal with a new look, in beta mode, in a version that is still under construction, but fully functional, and even with recent new features in the catalog. It was platform administrators who announced this on a Telegram group associated with Tirexo, warning that there were some bugs. We imagine that once the news spreads, the site will take on new colors. On the other hand, nothing new for Zone Telechargement, another large online “catalog” of pirated content, which served as a reference in the field, which was suddenly closed two days after Tirexo, for the same reasons. But given the enthusiasm of users for this type of service, we imagine that the platform will also make a comeback soon, possibly under a new name. The void caused by the sudden disappearance of these two popular platforms has resulted in users visiting similar websites and a rather successful cloning. With inflation hitting all sectors of the economy right now, it’s safe to assume that some will opt out of paid services like Netflix and resort to illegal solutions…

Tirexo and Zone Telechargement: Sudden Disappearance

We know more about the sudden shutdown of Tirexo and the Zone-Téléchargement. At the end of April 2022, the two popular French-speaking download and streaming sites were suddenly closed, after two days, without warning, much to the chagrin of fans of “free” content. Instead of the traditional catalog on the Zone Telechargement homepage (Zone-Téléchargement or ZT for short), one can read a message from the officials announcing the news. Without giving an exact explanation of the reason for this sudden decision, and without leaving the slightest hope of returning to the regulars. “In these few lines we announce the closure of the ZT website. Yes, this is the end, no joke, everything is not eternal. […] The database will be completely destroyed, the CMS will not be distributed, and there will be no recovery or follow-up”May we read in this surprising announcement on Monday, April 25th. Two days ago, on Saturday, April 23, Tirexo officials issued a similar message: “The Tirexo adventure ends there. Thank you for everything.” It doesn’t take anything we’ve done for you and us yet. See you soon. ” Unlike Zone Telechargement, the Tirexo catalog is still available, but no download or streaming link is available in the files.

Closure of download area and Tirexo: Action by ACE

A week after the announcement, we know a little more about the reason for this sudden shutdown. In fact, it isAlliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE or Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment) that will be behind this decision. Created in 2019, this organization includes more than 30 global entertainment and film content and copyright companies (including Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros, Universal, Sky, BBC, Amazon and Hulu) in order to protect their interests, in particular about The way to combat all forms of illegal downloading. It was she who would have contacted the administrators of the two sites – which still total more than 30 million visits per month… – to urge them to stop their activities immediately. We must believe that ACE’s arguments were particularly convincing because the owners of these sites located respectively in Tunisia (Zome-Téléchargement) and Morocco (Tirexo) immediately lowered the curtain, no doubt out of fear of legal action and (very) heavy fines …

As you can imagine, these sudden and simultaneous decisions had the effect of real bombs in a small world of fans of “free” downloading and illegal streaming, the two “services” offered by these famous platforms and which, without hosting the smallest file, gave all the links that were able to restore the content with all Genres (movies, series, programs) TVmusic, software, games, magazines, books, etc.). In a very simple way and without any real risks, unlike torrents that are heavily monitored, thanks in particular to the “Direct Download” technology. Even in the absence of an “official” explanation, one can easily imagine that they are the result of legal proceedings initiated against the administrators of these sites,Arcom (The new authority that succeeded both CSA and Hadopy) Since the beginning of the year a fierce and highly effective hunt has been conducted against all platforms involved in piracy of protected content (see our post).

Tirexo and Zone Telechargement: clones are still active

Is this the end of “pirate” sites? Not sure. Because in the middle of illegal downloading and streaming, specialized sites usually change their URL (the address on the Internet) to pass under the radar. The most popular are imitated, not to mention cloned, by “pirate pirates” who want to lure visitors by usurping a notoriety. Not to mention, it’s very easy to share “good headlines” on blogs and social networks (see our post). Additionally, if Tirexo and Zone Telechargement “fall”, other platforms remain active, such as Extreme Download, Wawacity, Annuaire-Telechargement, LibertyVF, Cpasmal, or Zone Annuaire to name a few of the more popular. Not to mention the multiple copies of these two reference sites, which continue their activities, taking advantage of the confusion of previous users. However, if Arcom and the beneficiaries keep up the pressure, it’s not certain that everyone will survive. The hunt for piracy continues: it should be more and more difficult to recover copyrighted content without paying anything…