Over the last 10 years, Netflix and other streaming platforms made it easier to watch our favorite shows and movies online, legally and in good quality, for a reasonable price. Many 2000s kids and teens will remember a distant time when things were not like this, and the most popular options were free downloads and unofficial players shared among fans. Those free services became less popular as the number of accessible, legal services increased, but it looks like things might be going back to how they were a couple of decades ago.

Now, there are countless streaming services around the world, and it is virtually impossible to keep up with all that is available in each of them. Sometimes, the one show you want to watch isn’t even available in your country at all. Asian drama fans go through that situation often, especially the ones who want to watch new episodes as they air, instead of waiting weeks, months, or years for a drama to be officially released. And one of the primary sources for that kind of content is Dramacool, a free service run by fans.

Dramacool’s vast library of Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese, Thai, Hong Kongese, and Chinese dramas and movies is updated daily, with English subtitles provided by fans. But, if you are new to this sort of service, you might be wondering if it is safe to use it.

Is Dramacool safe?

Because it is an unofficial service that is free for all users, Dramacool runs ads on the site. In addition to the usual side banners, there are also small ads on the corners of the videos as you start watching an episode or movie. It is unlikely that you will get a virus just by opening the page, but there might be malicious ads and malware among them, even if it is not the intention of the people behind the site, so you can never be too careful. You may want to avoid it altogether.

Using an adblocker, you can block all, or at least most of the ads, which makes your experience a lot safer. There are some sites and services that do not allow visitors to use adblockers, but Dramacool does, so you can protect yourself from malicious ones. Also, the main risk with some of those ads is clicking them by mistake, which may take you to an unsafe external site.

But that is not the only thing to consider.

Is Dramacool legal?

There are dramas from several countries, networks, and streaming services available for free on Dramacool. Many titles from the site’s library are actually exclusive to a specific platform or region, like Netflix or Disney+ Hotstar, and should not be available elsewhere – at least officially and legally. That is the most obvious indicator that, no, Dramacool is not legal.

While it is a reliable source of content and subtitles for English-speaking Asian drama and movie fans, you might want to be careful if you decide to use the site. Downloading torrents and pirated content is illegal in many countries and an actual crime in others. Things are more uncertain when it comes to illegal streaming sites, because, although users might not be considered offenders, owners definitely are. So keep in mind that there might be risks.

We Got This Covered does not endorse piracy.

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