Updated for 2026

Side Hustle Apps That Shut Down — and What To Use Instead

A current, honest record of bandwidth-sharing apps, survey sites, and earning platforms that no longer work — plus the legitimate alternatives still paying in 2026.

Last verified · May 2026

If you're searching for an app you used to earn with — and finding the website is gone, the payouts have stopped, or the app store listing is dead — this page tells you what actually happened and where to move your time. None of the alternatives below pay me a referral kickback to be listed first. They're ranked by what's actually paying in 2026, based on personal accounts and real cashouts.

If you're looking for a complete platform directory, see the main reviews. If you want to skip directly to the bandwidth-sharing alternatives, see the passive income guide.

Discontinued / no longer paying

Apps where existing balances are stuck, payouts have stopped, or the service has fully shut down.

Peer2Profit
Discontinued

What it was: A bandwidth-sharing app similar to Honeygain and Pawns.app. Users installed a desktop or mobile client, and the company paid them for routing a portion of their unused internet through its commercial network.

What happened: Service ceased accepting new users and stopped processing payouts. Existing users with balances reported being unable to withdraw. The official website is no longer functional as an active product.

If you used Peer2Profit: The closest functional replacements are Pawns.app (typically the highest-paying in most regions) and Honeygain (longest established). Both are personally tested and currently paying.

Gomining (passive earning model)
Model Changed

What it was: Marketed as a passive bitcoin-mining-as-a-service app where users earned crypto without investment. The original "free passive earning" model is no longer how the platform operates.

What happened: Gomining shifted toward a paid NFT-based mining model that requires upfront investment in mining-NFTs. The free passive earning model that originally drew users is no longer the core product.

What to use instead: If you want genuinely free passive crypto earnings, Pawns.app and Earn App both offer crypto cashout options. They pay in fiat-equivalent for bandwidth sharing rather than mining, but the result is the same: free crypto without buying anything.

Free passive alternatives Pawns.app → Honeygain →
Mysterium Network (consumer node program)
Discontinued

What it was: A decentralized VPN network that paid node operators in MYST tokens for sharing bandwidth.

What happened: The consumer-side payout model for casual users effectively wound down — the network shifted toward enterprise and infrastructure use cases that aren't accessible to the average passive earner.

What to use instead: Standard bandwidth-sharing apps cover the same use case more reliably and pay out in cash or crypto without requiring node maintenance.

Working alternatives Pawns.app → Honeygain →

Renamed / rebranded — still paying

Apps people search for by their old names. They didn't shut down — they changed names.

IPRoyal Pawns → Pawns.app
Rebrand · Still active

What changed: IPRoyal Pawns was rebranded to Pawns.app. The product, payout system, and underlying bandwidth-sharing model are the same. Existing users were migrated automatically.

Status: Active and paying as of 2026. Pawns.app is consistently one of the highest-paying bandwidth-sharing apps in most regions.

Active site Pawns.app review →
EarnApp → Earn App (PIA)
Rebrand · Still active

What changed: EarnApp is now branded simply as Earn App and is part of the BrightData (formerly Luminati) ecosystem. The paid passive-earning model continues.

Status: Active. Pays via PayPal, with country-dependent rates.

Active site Earn App review →

The legitimate alternatives — ranked

If you came here looking for a working bandwidth-sharing or passive income app, these are the four that are personally tested and reliably paying in 2026, ranked by overall payout and reliability.

Pawns.app
#1 · Bandwidth

Highest payout per GB in most countries. Pays via PayPal, crypto, or gift cards. Cashout from $5. The successor to IPRoyal Pawns.

Honeygain
#2 · Bandwidth

Longest payout track record in the space. Slightly lower per-GB than Pawns but rock-solid history. Cashout from $20 (PayPal/crypto).

Earn App
#3 · Bandwidth

BrightData's passive client. Per-GB rate varies by country. PayPal cashout from $2.50 (where supported).

PacketStream & others
Backups

Smaller-scale alternatives worth running alongside the top three for incremental earnings. Full breakdown on the passive income page.

Common questions

Is Peer2Profit really gone, or is it still operating in some countries?
As of verification in 2026, Peer2Profit is no longer a functional consumer product. Existing balances are reportedly stuck and payouts are not processing. If you have unwithdrawn earnings, treat them as effectively lost. New users should not invest time installing or accumulating balances on Peer2Profit.
Are Honeygain and Pawns.app paying in my country?
Both are available in most countries, but per-GB rates vary significantly by region. Tier 1 countries (US, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia) see the highest rates. Tier 2/3 countries earn less per GB, but the apps still pay. The Country Tier List breaks down what to expect by region.
Can I run multiple bandwidth apps at the same time?
Yes — most users run two or three concurrently (e.g. Pawns + Honeygain + Earn App). They share your unused bandwidth without conflict. The total earnings stack. The only practical limit is total bandwidth your ISP is okay with.
What about new bandwidth-sharing apps I'm seeing advertised?
A new bandwidth app appears every few months. Most don't survive their first year. Wait until an app has a documented payout history of at least 12 months before installing — install + run for 6 months to hit cashout, only to have the app shut down before withdrawing, is the most common way users lose time in this space.

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