Magis TV on your cell phone: the dangers of downloading the pirated app to watch games, movies, and series.

Cheap - or even free - is usually expensive. This well-known saying applies to the popular Magis TV app, that many download to illegally access pay TV, sports, movies and series .

Installing the platform on Android or iPhone phones poses a particularly serious risk to device security and user privacy.

Since Magis TV is not available in official stores like Google Play or the App Store due to a court order , it must be downloaded in APK (Android Package) format from external websites that bypass basic security controls. This is already a warning sign . But there's more.

These types of systems retransmit content officially broadcast by cable, satellite, and IPTV services such as DirecTV and Flow. They are known as IPTV, or "Internet Protocol Television."

Contrary to popular belief, this legitimate technology is used by many operators to distribute TV channels over a broadband connection , rather than via cable or satellite. Companies such as Flow, DirecTV Go, and Claro TV use IPTV to provide their services.

Magis TV is tempting for many users because it opens the doors to a large catalog of matches, series and films , although it hides several dangers (beyond its illegality).

It is presented as an alternative for those consumers who want to enjoy more than 900 live channels, 5,000 movies and 5,000 series in one place , with various levels of subtitles and multiple languages.

The problem arises when this system is used illegally: someone pays a legitimate subscription, copies the signal from those channels, and redistributes it to thousands of users through pirated applications, such as Magis TV. This practice is becoming increasingly common, but completely outside the legal framework.

The community of users who analyze these types of applications on forums like Reddit have long warned about the technical risks of installing Magis TV, whether on an Android phone or iPhone.

“A while back, I analyzed the original Magis TV APK and found a Trojan that attempts to access your home router using default passwords. If it succeeds, it modifies your DNS servers to redirect you to phishing sites . For example, you might try to log into your bank and end up on a fake copy designed to steal your credentials,” one user warned.

Others point out that, like any piracy app, Magis TV can collect data about what is consumed, and in the worst cases, intercept banking information from Home Banking or virtual wallets if connected to a vulnerable home network.

While some downplay these risks (“in two years I haven’t heard of anyone who’s had anything strange happen to them,” wrote another user), the truth is that the threat exists, and it’s based on the way this type of software operates: it asks for unnecessary permissions, accesses sensitive resources on the phone, and can be the gateway for malware or spyware .

In fact, apps like Magis TV often come with infostealers to steal passwords and banking information . For this and other reasons, their use is not recommended.

Beyond the legal debate about piracy, the truth is that Magis TV represents a real risk to the digital security of those who install it on their cell phone, perhaps the most important device in any user's life.

The allure of free access to premium content, even on iPhones that boast of being "tamper-proof," can end up being very expensive if there's data theft or identity theft behind it.