: By 2013, the brand rebranded to YTS and launched its own dedicated website to host its library directly. Distinguishing Characteristics
: Since the original shutdown, numerous "clone" or "imposter" sites (such as yts.mx or yts.ag) have emerged. While these sites use the YIFY/YTS branding and design, they are not operated by the original team.
YIFY, later rebranded as YTS, was one of the most prominent peer-to-peer release groups in the history of digital piracy, specializing in high-definition movie distributions with exceptionally small file sizes. It YIFY
: The group was founded in 2010 by Yiftach Swery, a 23-year-old computer science student from Auckland, New Zealand, using the pseudonym "YIFY".
: While their releases were praised for visual clarity relative to file size, they were often criticized by audiophiles for having low-bitrate audio and fewer audio channels. : By 2013, the brand rebranded to YTS
: The goal was to re-encode and compress high-quality movies so they could be easily downloaded by users with slow internet connections or limited hard drive space.
: On October 30, 2015, the official YIFY/YTS website was permanently shut down following a multi-million-dollar lawsuit filed by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). YIFY, later rebranded as YTS, was one of
: Unlike "The Scene" groups, YIFY prioritized user-friendly interfaces, consistent metadata, and high-quality cover art. The 2015 Shutdown