If you’re tired of paying for cable, this person might just have a solution for you. It’s called a vSeeBox. But what is it—and is it legal?
What’s a vSeeBox?
In a recent video, @blind_momofboys shares about how their family recently cut cable costs.
“A vSeeBox, have u heard of one of those?” she begins. “We got rid of cable, we got rid of all monthly subscriptions and everything and we got one of those.”
She shares how these boxes are available for purchase at Walmart and Amazon.
“Now we’re not paying for cable, we’re not paying Netflix, for anything, but we have it all,” she says. “We have Hulu, we have Disney, we have everything, everything all because of a little box.”
The video has over 8,000 likes and 436,000 views as of Saturday.
The vSeeBox @blind_momofboys is referring to is easily accessible at many stores as mentioned. In simple terms, it’s a device that “connects to a TV and streams content from the internet,” as their website states.
It comes preloaded with apps and you can download more, just like a Roku or Apple TV device. However, a major difference is that vSeeBoxes also allows you to watch airway channels like the news, not just content streamed from apps.
Is it legal?
The answer is kind of. While it’s not a illegal to own a vSeeBox and the website does say that you need to sign on to the apps with your account to stream it, but there are ways around it. It’s not exactly clear how the box does this. Some forums have people giving their techy input on the device about the apps the device comes with, the “Heat Apps”.
“Using [the Heat Apps] to access live TV besides over-the-air channels is a grey area because you’re accessing illegally streamed content. While technically it may not be illegal to stream this content, it is illegal to download the content and from the sounds of it, the Vsee boxes are actually downloading the programming to allow for DVR-type playback,” one person wrote.
The Daily Dot has previously covered the legality of other streaming devices like Amazon Fire Stick and how it could result in jail time if not used properly.
Viewers in the comments weigh in on their experience with the box.
“We have one! Love it! No subscriptions needed. Also called the Superbox. Same thing,” one comment read.
“I have a superbox, love it, it’s like having 1700 channels, HBO, but it doesn’t have Netflix oe hulu…just need wifi,” someone else says.
“It’s amazing but sometimes it freezes. Some movies or shows don’t load as well. You can watch movies that are still in theaters!!! We have had ours for a year! Love it,” another mentioned.
@blind_momofboys #amazon #walmart #cable #netflix #hulu ♬ original sound – Blindmomofboys
It is difficult to find reliable sources about how the vSeeBox functions since a lot of its features people boast about (like streaming live cable without paying for it) are illegal. The Daily Dot has reached out to vSeeBox for comment via email and to the creator for comment via TikTok message and comment.
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