Category: Uncategorized

  • 12 Free Movie Streaming Sites With No Sign Up Requirements

    12 Free Movie Streaming Sites With No Sign Up Requirements

    Streaming services like Netflix, Paramount+, and Disney+ make watching movies and shows wonderfully simple, but you need to sign up and pay a monthly subscription fee. Over time, this can really add up and stretch your wallet, which is why you should check out the best free movie streaming sites with no sign-up required.

    You May Need to Use a VPN: All the streaming services listed below are free and have no sign-up requirements. However, you may need to use a VPN to access the content if it’s unavailable in your region. If the listed sites are region-blocked, a VPN is the only way to enjoy them. Given that there are totally free VPN services and VPNs with free trial periods, that shouldn’t be an issue.

    1 YouTube

    Kendra Gerken/ MakeUseOf

    YouTube needs no introduction. It’s one of the most popular free video hosting sites for watching videos online.

    YouTube not only offers user-uploaded videos, but there are many channels where you can watch legal movies and shows. You can enjoy YouTube on every device you have, including TV, PC, tablet, and smartphone.

    You don’t need to sign up to access YouTube content, but there are a few things you need to know. You will get ads shown while watching and sometimes uploaded movies, and shows can be removed without warning. Nevertheless, it’s still a great free option.

    Of course, YouTube isn’t the only platform you can use. There are many great YouTube alternatives for watching videos online.

    2 Crackle

    Kendra Gerken/ MakeUseOf

    Crackle is one of the best free online movie streaming sites available. It doesn’t ask you to sign up for it, and the fact that Sony Pictures owns it gives the site credibility.

    Crackle doesn’t just offer movies and TV shows but also the latest film information. You can opt in to get notified of any new or upcoming flicks. Alternatively, you can enjoy the latest full-length films and series at no cost, which is quite the bargain.

    3 Tubi

    Kendra Gerken/ MakeUseOf

    Tubi doesn’t ask you to sign up to enjoy its services. The streaming site lets you access an array of content: Tubi originals, movies, shows, and docuseries⁠—all for free. Everything is neatly organized by genre, and there’s even a section for kids’ content.

    You can access Tubi from any device, and it also has an app (iOS and Android) you can download for your smartphone or tablet. A handy feature that the streaming service offers is how it lets you sync your activities and favorite movies or shows across all devices. You can pick up where you left off, regardless of the device you’re using.

    4 Pluto

    Kendra Gerken/ MakeUseOf

    Pluto is a free streaming service with great live content. The streaming site boasts exclusive content that’s unavailable on other streaming sites. You do get commercial breaks, though, just like regular network television.

    The Pluto site works a bit differently than other streaming sites. Instead of only giving you on-demand movies and TV shows, you also get access to hundreds of channels that offer live content. You can browse through the over 250 unique live channels and consume whatever is being broadcast at that moment.

    5 Plex

    NAR by Gavin

    Plex is a versatile platform that offers free streaming without signing up. You can head straight to the Plex home page, hit Start Streaming, and begin watching movies and shows immediately.

    Plex offers a wide selection of ad-supported movies, TV shows, web series, and documentaries. Everything is neatly organized, and the interface is clean and easy to use. Plex works across nearly every device, so you can start watching wherever you are.

    Of course, Plex isn’t just a place to stream free content. If you have a collection of movies, TV shows, or music stored on your computer or external drive, you can turn Plex into your personal media server. Just install the Plex Media Server app on your device and add your media folders. Plex will organize everything with posters, descriptions, and more. From there, you can stream your personal library to any device using the Plex app.


    Here Are My 5 Tips for Setting Up Plex Like a Pro

    Take your Plex server to a whole new level.

    6 Internet Archive

    NAR by Gavin

    The Internet Archive is a treasure trove of free content, including thousands of classic movies, short films, and documentaries, and all available to stream with no sign-up required.

    You can browse the Movies section and start watching immediately. The platform specializes in public domain and older content, so you’ll find a lot of vintage films, educational reels, silent movies, cult classics, and even old commercials. It’s perfect if you’re a fan of film history or want something a little different from today’s mainstream offerings.

    One of the best parts about Internet Archive is that there are no ads, paywalls, or logins. Just click and watch. You can even download most of the content to keep for offline viewing.

    7 XUMO Play

    XUMO Play is a free streaming platform for live and on-demand TV. It doesn’t require you to sign up and gives you access to over 190 channels.

    The free streaming service’s On Demand category neatly divides all of its available channels into categories. You can easily browse through them and select what to view.

    You have Holiday Hub, TV & Movies, Comedy, and more. For example, from TV & Movies, you can select American Classics and see plenty of titles to choose from. At the time of writing, some of these classics include The Lone Ranger and The Immortal.

    XUMO offers an impressive library of movies and shows, and the best part of the viewing experience is that you won’t see any ads.

    8 Fawesome

    no attributions required – screenshot by Simona Tolcheva

    Fawesome, or Fawesome TV, stands for free awesome movies and TV shows. And, as you can imagine, it’s free. It also has no sign-up requirements and needs no subscriptions.

    All you have to do is download the free app for Android or iOS and enjoy all the content it offers. And it’s a lot. Fawesome TV has over 10,000 movies and shows from every genre and over 250 channels to browse, so there’s a lot to choose from when it comes to your next watch.

    9 Tencent Video

    no attributions required – screenshot by Simona Tolcheva

    Tencent Video offers a library full of popular and original features under every genre you can imagine. The catalog is extensive, so if you’re looking for some Asian shows or movies, this is where to find them. Believe it or not, it’s also a great anime streaming service if that’s what you feel like watching.

    You can watch Tencent Video for free without signing in to an account. But as with most other streaming services, the platform offers various perks if you decide to sign in or sign up. For example, you can view content in advance, skip ads, add a second device linked to the same account, and so on.

    You can subscribe to WeTV VIP and pay monthly ($5.99), quarterly ($17.49), or annual ($56.99) fees, or you can enjoy it for free.

    10 WeTV

    no attributions required – screenshot by Simona Tolcheva

    WeTV is the international version of Tencent Video. Where Tencent Video focuses on Eastern content, WeTV very much focuses on Western, with heaps of US and other European content.

    WeTV has a catalog chock-full of reality TV and dramas, perfect for those guilty pleasure viewings. Some content on the platform requires you to sign in so you can view it, but other features do not. You can press play and start watching.

    It’s completely free to enjoy, but like cable TV programming, you have to put up with a lot of ads along the way.

  • The 150 Most Popular Emojis Explained

    The 150 Most Popular Emojis Explained

    Emojis are everywhere. They pop up in social media feeds, text messages, commercials, products, and more. The number of emojis continues to grow each year and our digital language evolves in turn.

    It can sometimes be difficult to determine the meaning of an emoji. While it might seem simple on the surface, emojis can have different meanings depending on context. To help you out, we’ve collected together the 150 most popular emojis and explained their purpose and intent.

    This list was established by the Unicode Consortium. It’s a group that maintains Unicode, an encoding standard for text data across modern technology, and part of its remit is emojis. To help determine which emojis should become standard, it monitors emoji popularity.

    FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time. Download the 150 Most Popular Emojis Explained Cheat Sheet.

    Rank

    Emoji

    Unicode Name

    Meaning

    1

    😂

    Face with Tears of Joy

    Extreme happiness, laughter

    2

    ❤️

    Heavy Black Heart

    Love

    3

    🤣

    Rolling on the Floor Laughing

    Hysterical laughter

    4

    👍

    Thumbs Up Sign

    Well done, good job, approval

    5

    😭

    Loudly Crying Face

    Uncontrollable sadness, joy

    6

    🙏

    Person with Folded Hands

    Prayer, thank you, high five

    7

    😘

    Face Throwing a Kiss

    Kiss, love

    8

    🥰

    Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes and Three Hearts

    Love, affection

    9

    😍

    Smiling Face with Heart-Shaped Eyes

    Love, adoration

    10

    😊

    Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes

    Positive, happy

    11

    🎉

    Party Popper

    Celebration, congratulations

    12

    😁

    Grinning Face with Smiling Eyes

    Glowing, beaming, happy

    13

    💕

    Two Hearts

    Love is in the air

    14

    🥺

    Face with Pleading Eyes

    Adoration, bashful, pleading

    15

    😅

    Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Cold Sweat

    Relief, nerves, excitement

    16

    🔥

    Fire

    Hot, excellent

    17

    ☺️

    White Smiling Face

    Happy, positive

    18

    🤦

    Face Palm

    Frustrated, dumbfounded

    19

    ♥️

    Black Heart Suit

    Love

    20

    🤷

    Shrug

    Indifference, unknowing

    21

    🙄

    Face with Rolling Eyes

    Sarcasm, boredom

    22

    😆

    Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Tightly-Closed Eyes

    Excitement, laughter, joy

    23

    🤗

    Hugging Face

    Hugging (love and support), jazz hands (enthusiasm)

    24

    😉

    Winking Face

    Joking, cheeky

    25

    🎂

    Birthday Cake

    Celebration, birthday

    26

    🤔

    Thinking Face

    Ponder, question

    27

    👏

    Clapping Hands Sign

    Applause

    28

    🙂

    Slightly Smiling Face

    Happy (sometimes ironic)

    29

    😳

    Flushed Face

    Embarrassed, surprise, flattered

    30

    🥳

    Face with Party Horn and Party Hat

    Celebration, joy

    31

    😎

    Smiling Face with Sunglasses

    Cool, confident

    32

    👌

    OK Hand Sign

    Okay, approval, correct

    33

    💜

    Purple Heart

    Love

    34

    😔

    Pensive Face

    Reflective, remorseful

    35

    💪

    Flexed Biceps

    Strength, fitness

    36

    Sparkles

    Positive, happy, celebration

    37

    💖

    Sparkling Heart

    Glowing love

    38

    👀

    Eyes

    Seen, shifty, drama

    39

    😋

    Face Savoring Delicious Food

    Cheeky, poking fun, enjoying food

    40

    😏

    Smirking Face

    Mischief, flirting

    41

    😢

    Crying Face

    Upset, pain

    42

    👉

    White Right Pointing Backhand Index

    Look right

    43

    💗

    Growing Heart

    Love, increasing affection

    44

    😩

    Weary Face

    Distressed, drained, deep enjoyment

    45

    💯

    Hundred Points Symbol

    100 percent approval

    46

    🌹

    Rose

    Romance, a special occasion

    47

    💞

    Revolving Hearts

    A whirlwind of love

    48

    🎈

    Balloon

    Celebration, congratulations

    49

    💙

    Blue Heart

    Love

    50

    😃

    Smiling Face with Open Mouth

    Happy

    51

    😡

    Pouting Face

    Annoyed, angry

    52

    💐

    Bouquet

    Appreciation, happy

    53

    😜

    Face with Stuck-Out Tongue and Winking Eye

    Fun, joking, cheeky

    54

    🙈

    See-No-Evil Monkey

    Hiding, cringing, disbelief

    55

    🤞

    Hand with Index and Middle Fingers Crossed

    Hopeful, good luck

    56

    😄

    Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Smiling Eyes

    Happy, amused

    57

    🤤

    Drooling Face

    Desire, delirious

    58

    🙌

    Person Raising Both Hands in Celebration

    Celebration, success

    59

    🤪

    Grinning Face with One Large and One Small Eye

    Silly, fun, goofy

    60

    ❣️

    Heavy Heart Exclamation Mark Ornament

    Emphasized love

    61

    😀

    Grinning Face

    Happy

    62

    💋

    Kiss Mark

    Seductive kiss

    63

    💀

    Skull

    Death, extreme reaction

    64

    👇

    White Down Pointing Backhand Index

    Look down

    65

    💔

    Broken Heart

    Grief, loss, longing

    66

    😌

    Relieved Face

    Content, calm

    67

    💓

    Beating Heart

    Fluttering love

    68

    🤩

    Grinning Face with Star Eyes

    Amazement, impressed, excitement

    69

    🙃

    Upside-Down Face

    Silly, ironic, sarcasm

    70

    😬

    Grimacing Face

    Tense, nervous, awkward

    71

    😱

    Face Screaming in Fear

    Shock, scared

    72

    😴

    Sleeping Face

    Tired, bored

    73

    🤭

    Smiling Face with Smiling Eyes and Hand Covering Mouth

    Laughter, cheekiness

    74

    😐

    Neutral Face

    Neutral, irritated, unamused

    75

    🌞

    Sun with Face

    Radiant, happy, positive

    76

    😒

    Unamused Face

    Annoyed, skeptic, irritated

    77

    😇

    Smiling Face with Halo

    Angelic, innocent

    78

    🌸

    Cherry Blossom

    Love, a special occasion

    79

    😈

    Smiling Face with Horns

    Cheeky, naughty, mischief

    80

    🎶

    Multiple Musical Notes

    Singing, music

    81

    ✌️

    Victory Hand

    Peace, success

    82

    🎊

    Confetti Ball

    Celebration, congratulations

    83

    🥵

    Overheated Face

    Overheating, flirty

    84

    😞

    Disappointed Face

    Disappointed, upset, remorse

    85

    💚

    Green Heart

    Love

    86

    ☀️

    Black Sun with Rays

    Sunny, warm, hot

    87

    🖤

    Black Heart

    Love, sorrow

    88

    💰

    Money Bag

    Money, wealth

    89

    😚

    Kissing Face with Closed Eyes

    Affection, romance

    90

    👑

    Crown

    Royalty, success, praise

    91

    🎁

    Wrapped Present

    Celebration, surprise

    92

    💥

    Collision Symbol

    Explosion, surprise, excitement

    93

    🙋

    Happy Person Raising One Hand

    Wave, ask a question

    94

    ☹️

    White Frowning Face

    Sad, concern, disappointed

    95

    😑

    Expressionless Face

    Bored, indifference

    96

    🥴

    Face with Uneven Eyes and Wavy Mouth

    Drunk, dazed, confused

    97

    👈

    White Left Pointing Backhand Index

    Look left

    98

    💩

    Pile of Poo

    Poo, bad, silly

    99

    White Heavy Check Mark

    Approval, verification

    100

    👋

    Waving Hand Sign

    Hello, goodbye

    101

    🤮

    Face with Open Mouth Vomiting

    Disgust, ugly, physical illness

    102

    😤

    Face with Look of Triumph

    Success, pride, passion, annoyed

    103

    🤢

    Nauseated Face

    Disgust, nausea

    104

    🌟

    Glowing Star

    Positive, success, admiration

    105

    Heavy Exclamation Mark Symbol

    Emphasis, excitement, shock

    106

    😥

    Disappointed but Relieved Face

    Sad, relief, concern

    107

    🌈

    Rainbow

    Happy, love, pride

    108

    💛

    Yellow Heart

    Love, friendship

    109

    😝

    Face with Stuck-Out Tongue and Tightly-Closed Eyes

    Joking, fun, playful

    110

    😫

    Tired Face

    Tired, overwhelmed, dislike

    111

    😲

    Astonished Face

    Shock, surprise

    112

    🖕

    Reversed Hand with Middle Finger Extended

    Swearing, contempt, disrespect

    113

    ‼️

    Double Exclamation Mark

    Emphasis, excitement, shock

    114

    🔴

    Large Red Circle

    Stop, recording

    115

    🌻

    Sunflower

    Nature, sun, appreciation

    116

    🤯

    Shocked Face with Exploding Head

    Shock, amazed, mind-blown

    117

    💃

    Dancer

    Fun, positive, carefree

    118

    👊

    Fisted Hand Sign

    Punch, fist bump

    119

    🤬

    Serious Face with Symbols Covering Mouth

    Angry, swearing

    120

    🏃

    Runner

    Fitness, rushing

    121

    😕

    Confused Face

    Confused, hesitation, disappointed

    122

    👁️

    Eye

    Watching, seen

    123

    High Voltage Sign

    Danger, energy, lightning

    124

    Hot Beverage

    Coffee, tea, gossip

    125

    🍀

    Four Leaf Clover

    Good luck

    126

    💦

    Splashing Sweat Symbol

    Hard work, sweat, water, fluids

    127

    White Medium Star

    Positive, success, rating

    128

    🦋

    Butterfly

    Beauty, transformation, freedom

    129

    🤨

    Face with One Eyebrow Raised

    Skeptic, suspicious

    130

    🌺

    Hibiscus

    Love, beauty

    131

    😹

    Cat Face with Tears of Joy

    Extreme happiness, laughter

    132

    🤘

    Sign of the Horns

    Rock on

    133

    🌷

    Tulip

    Spring, nature

    134

    💝

    Heart with Ribbon

    Love, gratitude, gift

    135

    💤

    Sleeping Symbol

    Sleep, tired, bored

    136

    🤝

    Handshake

    Agree, respect

    137

    🐰

    Rabbit Face

    Cute, rabbit, Easter

    138

    😓

    Face with Cold Sweat

    Sad, frustrated, disappointed

    139

    💘

    Heart with Arrow

    Love, Valentine’s Day

    140

    🍻

    Clinking Beer Mugs

    Alcohol, beer, toasting

    141

    😟

    Worried Face

    Worry, anxiety, disappointed

    142

    😣

    Persevering Face

    Frustrated, struggling, helpless

    143

    🧐

    Face with Monocle

    Ponder, observe, smug

    144

    😠

    Angry Face

    Anger, upset

    145

    🤠

    Face with Cowboy Hat

    Adventure, confidence, empowered

    146

    😻

    Smiling Cat Face with Heart-Shaped Eyes

    Cute, love

    147

    🌙

    Crescent Moon

    Mystery, night, sleep

    148

    😛

    Face with Stuck-Out Tongue

    Joking, fun, teasing

    149

    🤙

    Call Me Hand

    Call me, shaka sign (friendly greeting)

    150

    🙊

    Speak-No-Evil Monkey

    Mischief, secret, silence

    Turn Yourself Into an Emoji

    Now you know what lots of the standard emojis mean, why not go a step further and turn yourself into an emoji (also known as a Memoji)? It’s fun and easy to do. You can use the native iOS Memoji feature, or download Android apps that replicate the feature.

  • A week with ChatGPT Atlas convinced me to uninstall it

    A week with ChatGPT Atlas convinced me to uninstall it

    There’s been a wave of new “AI-powered” browsers lately, and I’ve tried pretty much all of them. Most of them promise a smarter, faster, more automated browsing experience, and end up feeling like the same browser with a chatbot glued on top.

    I genuinely thought OpenAI would be the one doing something different. So when the new ChatGPT Atlas browser launched, I gave it a full week as my daily browser. But just like Dia, Comet, and the rest, it left me disappointed. After seven days of trying to make it work, I ended up uninstalling it. And my search for a browser that actually feels fresh continues.

    Cool AI features don’t guarantee a better browser

    AI for the sake of AI isn’t enough

    Image by Raghav
    Credit: Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOf

    ChatGPT Atlas is pitched as the next leap in browsing, in the same category as things like Perplexity’s Comet. And on paper, sure, it sounds impressive. The browser pipes every search through ChatGPT, it has a sidebar that follows you from site to site, and it can even “act” on your behalf using its Agent mode. It is the same checklist of AI browser features we have seen a dozen times already. But once you use it for more than a week, the excitement wears off surprisingly fast. Because here is the thing: AI alone is not enough to make a browser better.

    Right now, every new browser (Dia, Comet, etc.) is doing the exact same trick. They take Chromium and layer a chatbot on top of it. That does not make the core experience any smarter, any faster, or any more enjoyable. It just adds another UI element to something that was already fine. After a while, it starts to feel repetitive. I am not switching browsers just to have another place to ask an LLM questions. I can already do that anywhere.

    Arc understood this. Before it added AI, it came up with genuinely useful improvements to how you work in a browser. Vertical tabs that made navigation feel cleaner, or Spaces that helped separate your work and personal browsing. Even when Arc added AI, the focus wasn’t on having conversations with an LLM. It was about making the browser itself smarter, such as automatically organizing your tabs for you.

    With Atlas, there is none of that. It feels like the whole browser exists just to say, “Hey, look, AI is everywhere now.” And that is where I check out. If a browser wants me to switch, it has to rethink the fundamentals. I am tired of having AI shoved down my throat. Everyone has that. I want to see something genuinely new again.

    Agent mode feels slow and underwhelming

    I ended up fixing its work anyway

    Credit: Amir Bohlooli / MakeUseOf

    The idea behind Agent mode is simple: instead of just answering your questions, the browser can actually do things for you. It can open sites, click through pages, fill forms, search for products, and supposedly complete tasks inside the browser without your input. On paper, that sounds like exactly where AI should be heading. A browser that does the boring steps for you.

    But in practice, Agent Mode feels slow and clumsy. It constantly trips over incredibly basic things. It sometimes fails to recognize that a page has a scroll bar, so it just sits there staring at the top of a page forever. Other times, it starts doing something and then gets stuck midway, like it forgot what the task even was. And when it does manage to complete something, it has this habit of drifting way off instructions, like it is improvising instead of following what you actually asked for.

    That is a huge problem, especially because Agent Mode is positioned as something that can help with everyday workflows, like adding items to your cart while shopping or filling data into forms. But if you eventually need to redo everything yourself anyway, what is the point of the agent being there at all?

    My breaking point was a simple task. I asked Agent Mode to take some data from a Google Sheets file and paste it into a table in Google Docs. A task that would have taken me ten seconds, maybe less. After over three minutes of watching it slowly move through menus, it finally “completed” the task. Except it didn’t paste the data. It created a summary of the sheet and generated a report explaining what it thought the sheet was about.

    And that is what makes Agent Mode frustrating. I could forgive it being slow if it were accurate. But in its current state, it’s wasting my time instead of saving it.

    There are some pretty major security risks

    OpenAI even admits there could be problems

    Credit: Amir Bohlooli / MakeUseOf

    The issue isn’t just that Agent Mode is unpredictable. When a browser is allowed to click, fill forms, and interact with websites on your behalf, the door opens to real security concerns. Because the agent reads the page to understand what to do, the page itself can influence the agent’s behavior.

    This is what’s known as prompt injection. A website can hide text that tells the agent to take a different action than what you asked for. So you might say something simple like, “Compare these two phones, and add the better one to my cart.” However, if the site has hidden instructions directing the agent to add the more expensive item to your cart or navigate elsewhere, the agent might actually follow those instructions instead.

    And because this whole concept of agentic browsing is still new, there isn’t a reliable, guaranteed way to prevent this yet. Even OpenAI openly notes on Atlas’ download page that using Agent Mode comes with risks and that you should be cautious.

    These are the last kinds of worries I want to have when I’m just trying to browse the web. If a feature isn’t consistent, and it might put my data or accounts at risk, the trade-off just doesn’t feel worth it.

    ChatGPT Atlas still hasn’t nailed the basics

    It’s Chromium with extra steps

    And this is where everything comes full circle. For all the talk about AI-first browsing, ChatGPT Atlas still struggles with the fundamentals. Strip away the ChatGPT sidebar and the agent features, and what you’re left with feels like a very plain Chromium browser. There’s no proper multi-profile support, no thoughtful tab management features, and not even something as simple as vertical tabs. That’s the part that makes the whole thing frustrating. In trying so hard to integrate LLMs into every corner of the browser, the basics have been ignored. Browsers are tools we spend hours on every day. The core experience has to be solid before you start layering on futuristic ideas. But Atlas feels like an AI layer sitting on top of something that could just as easily have been a Chrome extension. There’s almost no meaningful customization either. You can change your accent color, sure, that’s about it. Everything else feels unfinished, like the browser shipped before the foundation was actually ready. It needed more time, more polish, and more thought put into how people actually browse.

    Looking for something new again

    Safe to say I’ve stopped using Atlas entirely. My browser of choice used to be Arc, until it was replaced with Dia, which just never lived up to what made Arc special. So for now, I’ve taken temporary refuge in Chrome.

    It’s not exciting, but it doesn’t get in my way. I’m still hoping a browser comes along that actually rethinks how we browse instead of just adding an LLM everywhere. But until then, I’ll be waiting.

  • Hello world!

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