How to wisely choose the best VPN for torrenting from the dozens available
Torrenting? You better use a VPN! In this post, we look at the best VPNs for torrenting.
With almost 200 VPNs on the market and all of them clamoring for your attention, it can be tough to find the right VPN for torrenting.
Which VPN you choose for your torrent file-sharing is probably the most important decision you will make for safe and anonymous torrenting. Let's cut through the clutter and help you with your decision.
In this post, we take you through the process of whittling down all the available choices and deciding on the best torrent VPN for your needs.
[+] Best VPN for Torrenting
Why Use a VPN for Torrenting?
Torrents can be an awesome way to download and share files, whether it’s movies, games, or apps. But those rewards come with plenty of risk as well.
For starters, many torrents are controversial. Whether seeding (uploading) or just leeching (downloading) you can land yourself in trouble.
So, let's review why you need a VPN for torrenting and the benefits it brings. It's a myth to think that you can torrent without a VPN. In fact, there are three reasons that a VPN is an absolute must-have for anyone who loves torrenting.
Whenever you download a file via BitTorrent, you become part of what’s called a torrent “swarm”, which includes all the users that are leeching or seeding a particular file. This is what makes p2p file-sharing possible in the first place – but it also makes you very vulnerable.
That’s because each member of the swarm can “see”, find and connect with the IP address of every other member in the swarm.
Your IP address is easily visible when you download torrents.
Why does this matter? Because your IP address is then associated with what you download, in many cases being added to and stored in various databases around the Internet.
And since your IP address is easily connected to your identity through your Internet service provider’s records or in other ways via online “fingerprinting”, everyone from your ISP to snoops to the government are able to go after you for what you do and download online.
This could be as simple as a letter warning you to stop torrenting. Or informing you that your account has been suspended or terminated. Or even worse, a notice that you're being sued for huge sums of money!
Fortunately, when you use a VPN, not only is your IP hidden from the prying eyes of others on the internet, there are other benefits, like encrypted data and connections. This is invaluable for protecting you from all the risks, whether from your ISP, copyright trolls or even hackers.
Best Free VPN for Torrenting?
Which free torrent VPN is best, you ask? None of them.
Seriously.
A free VPN is OK(ish) for using Wi-Fi hotspots in a jam, but for activities as risky as torrenting you would be crazy to rely on a free VPN.
Heck, even the US federal consumer watchdog FTC warns against using free VPN services:
Torrent users love getting things for free, so why not their VPN?
Many VPN apps are free because they sell advertising within the app, or because they share your information with (or redirect your traffic through) third parties. If you are using the VPN app to keep your traffic private, make sure you review the VPN app’s terms and conditions and its privacy policy to determine if it shares information with third parties such as advertisers, and if so, what information it shares.
If you need any more convincing, read more about why it is a BIG mistake to use a free VPN for torrenting and what you should do instead to stay safe while torrenting.
When you consider how substandard a free torrent VPN service is and how many high-quality but low-cost premium VPNs there are, the decision is easy.
If you want to torrent safely and securely while hiding your IP address all the while, you’re going to need a solid VPN – and that means one with a small monthly (or yearly) fee.
This means the VPN provider has an incentive to keep your activities as anonymous as possible and to fight to keep your data safeguarded.
And because a premium VPN’s reputation can be destroyed overnight, they take the responsibility of protecting our privacy very seriously. A free torrent VPN has no such incentive and will likely do and disclose anything to avoid, for example, potentially expensive litigation.
In other words, when the chips are down, you cannot count on a free torrent VPN to have your back when you most need them.
Ultimately, the choice is yours, but for less cost per month than the price of a coffee you can have all the protections offered by the best VPN for torrent file-sharing. How many more reasons do you need?
But if you absolutely must use a free VPN for torrenting...
Now, we just went into painstaking detail on why you should not use a free VPN for torrenting. But we're realists.
We understand that some of you are still going to be drawn to free VPNs, whether it's because you can't afford a paid VPN, can't sign up, or some other reason. Heck, maybe you're just a rebel who does the opposite of what anyone tells them.
So, if you absolutely insist on using a free VPN, despite the risks, then PrivadoVPN is the only choice. It's definitely not as trustworthy and safe for torrenting as PIA VPN, but it's as good as you're going to get without paying.
How to Choose the Best VPN for Torrenting
Now that you know why you absolutely must use a good VPN for torrenting, here's a summary of what you should look for when trying to choose a VPN to protect your torrent downloading.
Of course, many of the general criteria for choosing a good VPN service still apply. But there are several other factors you need to consider when searching for a VPN specifically for torrenting or other p2p activities:
- Does the VPN protect the privacy of its customers? Does it keep no logs or records of your activities?
- How much does it cost? Are discounts, free trials or money-back guarantees available?
- How many servers does the VPN have and in how many countries?
- How reliable & fast is the VPN for torrenting?
- How do current and former customers rate their experiences with the VPN?
- What advanced features does the torrent VPN have to protect your IP address from leaks?
Making Sure the VPN Actually Supports Torrenting
This may sound obvious, but plenty of VPN providers (and especially free VPNs and free proxies) do not support P2P file-sharing and so won’t protect your privacy or identity if you want to download torrents anonymously.
Make sure the torrent VPN you are considering explicitly allows torrent file-sharing (sometimes called p2p or peer-to-peer). They should say so in black & white.
Some VPNs are very open and welcoming about being a VPN for torrenting
Look for specific statements on the VPN provider’s website and documentation (like the screenshot above). These are not always obvious or easy to find, as many VPN providers keep quiet about this and don’t loudly advertise that they support torrent file-sharing.
Avoiding VPNs That Do NOT Allow Torrenting
The VPN providers listed below do NOT permit torrenting. So, if you are in the market for a VPN to protect your p2p torrent file-sharing, you do NOT want to choose one of these VPNs!
Also remember that The Onion Router, or Tor for short (a free, open source anonymizing tool), is not suitable for torrent file-sharing. If you try torrenting using Tor, your true IP address will leak and expose you in the process. Your downloads will also be slow as heck.
- Read more: The Onion Router (Tor) For Torrenting? No!
Instead, stick with our tried and true torrent VPN recommendations above.
Make Sure the VPN Keeps No Logs
One of the most, if not the most, important things to confirm when shopping around for the best VPN for torrenting is that it does not keep any logs.
The reason? If a VPN allows torrent file-sharing on its servers but also keeps logs of your activities, you're taking a huge risk. Because these logs can too easily destroy your privacy and open your torrenting activities to the kind of snoops who monitor torrent downloads.
That's why it's extremely important to choose a no-log VPN service for torrenting. This way, even if they are compelled to disclose information, there's nothing meaningful for them to disclose, as they don’t keep any logs of your activities in the first place.
As boring as it sounds, read the legalese on their website, whether it is called a Privacy Policy, Terms of Service or Legal Information. Look for elements about logging and privacy protections extended for customers.
For example:
- Do they keep logs?
- What kind of logs (connection, activity, others)?
- Do they disclose customer information?
- If so, under what circumstances?
If you cannot find the answers to these questions, do some more homework.
- Read more about Zero-Log VPN Services
Also Look for these Torrent VPN Advanced Features
Advanced features that are great for torrenting include a kill switch. This feature will disable your Internet connection like a tripwire if your connection to the VPN unexpectedly drops.
Why does this matter? Because if your VPN connection drops but you keep torrenting, you're no longer protected. The kill switch will stop this from happening, by cutting your internet (and thus stopping the torrent transfer) until the VPN is back on.
Another key feature is DNS leak protection, which ensures some special connections your computer and other devices make at a very technical level are always routed through the torrent VPN. Again, this is to make sure that your true IP address is never disclosed to would-be snoops.
More 'VPN for Torrenting' FAQs
Price is important but not as straightforward as you may think. There are a couple of different ways to look at price.
You could compare VPNs based on their absolute price or you could compare their price per device as many VPN services allow you to use a single account on multiple devices at the same time.
If you plan to use your VPN account simultaneously on multiple devices, this can be a big attraction and have an enormous impact on your price calculation and the overall value of the VPN service you are thinking about.
For example, you could use a single VPN account to protect your Windows laptop and Android tablet as well as your girlfriend’s Mac laptop and iPad. 🙂 Even if you were using all 4 of these devices at the same time, it’s no problem as a single account from any of our recommended torrent VPNs allow multiple devices to be simultaneously connected.
Our Recommendation for the Best VPN for Torrenting
While the above criteria will give you the tools you need to evaluate and compare VPNs for yourself, not everyone wants to (or has the time) to dig through all that info just to decide on a torrenting VPN.
So, we'll also fill you in on our favorite torrenting VPN, which checks all of the boxes we discussed above. And it is...
Private Internet Access VPN!
PIA VPN allows torrenting, doesn't keep logs, includes a built-in kill switch, and has lots of other nice features, like Wireguard servers for faster downloads. Plus, with their current deal, it's really affordable.
You can sign up with confidence, and it only takes a few minutes to set up.
Wrap-Up
Okay, so we’ve looked at why and how a free torrent VPN simply doesn’t cut it when it comes to torrenting (and pretty much everything else).
When torrent file-sharing, you need the full protections offered by the best VPN for torrenting you can afford so that your torrent file-sharing activities are safe.
There's a time when it's worth spending a few bucks to protect your online privacy, and torrent file-sharing is definitely one of them!
Whether you choose one of our recommendations or reach your own conclusions, take heart knowing that you are protected in your torrent downloading activities. 🙂
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