Run out of Riau, Indonesia, AnimePlay is one of the largest illicit anime streaming applications operating in the Asia-Pacific region.
AnimePlay had amassed more than 5 million registered users, primarily in Indonesia, and was hosting over 60 terabytes of infringing content. The operator admitted to being both the developer and sole administrator of the piracy service since its launch in 2020. He surrendered the complete backend ecosystem powering the operation to ACE, including 29 GitHub repositories containing full source code, backend servers, associated databases, and integrated advertising tools.
ACE secured control of not just the application, but also its underlying infrastructure, including 15 associated domains, source code, hosting environment, and related digital assets, all of which have now been taken offline. In so doing, ACE effectively dismantled the operation and restricted the operator’s ability to rebuild or relaunch the service.
As of the date of the ACE announcement (March 26, 2026), the AnimePlay app was still available on the Google Play store and remained listed on several APK Web sites.
Why it matters
“By securing both the AnimePlay application and the infrastructure that supported it, this action removed a sophisticated piracy network that siphoned value from creators and legitimate businesses across the region,” said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer for the Motion Picture Association (MPA). “We will continue working with our partners across the Asia Pacific region and globally to dismantle criminal operations like this and safeguard the integrity of the creative economy.”
Further reading
ACE dismantles major illicit anime application “Animeplay” in Indonesia. Press release. March 26, 2026. Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)
