PrivadoVPN Torrenting

PrivadoVPN is a fast, zero-Log VPN provider that is great at securing P2P downloads. Let’s see what this new VPN has to offer. 

You may not have heard of PrivadoVPN. It's a small provider and has been quietly building its architecture completely in-house for a while now. As a result, they’ve established a really stable, secure, and fast network that is especially great for torrenting.

Here’s some of the reasons why we think the new kid on the block, PrivadoVPN, is an excellent choice for torrenting.

Is PrivadoVPN Good for Torrenting?

Is PrivadoVPN Safe for Torrenting?

Here’s a look at some of PrivadoVPN’s top safety and security features, which make it a good solution for torrenting.

P2P Friendly

The first thing we checked was whether PrivadoVPN allows torrenting, and the answer is a resounding “yes.” It’s right there in black and white on their homepage.

Not only do all their servers allow P2P traffic, but they also include a SOCKS5 proxy feature that lets you hide your IP address while maintaining fast speeds.

Built-in Kill Switch

If you’re in the middle of torrenting something and your VPN drops (all of them do occasionally), you’re at the mercy of your P2P “swarm.” Everybody who’s sharing a file with you will now have access to your IP address. Even worse, your ISP will be able to see your activity.

The best way to protect yourself from this is by using a Kill Switch. Should you lose your VPN connection, the Kill Switch will shut down all Internet activity until you’ve reconnected to the virtual private network. That way you’ll never accidentally expose your true IP address.

No Logs

“Logging” is the enemy of torrenting. If your torrenting VPN keeps logs, then they will have a record of who you are and connect all your online activity right back to you.

Top-Level Encryption

Currently, it is impossible to break AES 256-bit encryption, and PrivadoVPN protects all your data with it. Moreover, everything is sent through an encrypted tunnel, preventing any snoops from being able to intercept your data in transit.

Up to Ten Devices

While most VPNs set fairly low limits on the number of devices you can use with a single account at the same time, PrivadoVPN gives you up to ten. This means that you can protect your home computer that you torrent on, but also your phone, your laptop, your tablet, and still have room for things like routers or any Internet of Things devices.

Leak Protection

A good VPN is going to keep your identity safe. That means keeping things like your DNS or IP address from prying eyes.

PrivadoVPN gives its users IPv6 and DNS leak protection, which is critical to torrenting safely. All data is encrypted on your device, sent through an encrypted tunnel, and not decrypted until it reaches the destination device.

Switzerland-Based

PrivadoVPN is based in Switzerland, which has the strongest consumer data protection laws in the world. This is also important because it puts them well outside the “Fourteen Eyes” and similar intelligence-gathering agreements.

Bonus Feature: SOCKS5 Proxy

One of the big features that PrivadoVPN provides for P2P users is their SOCKS5 proxy, which is available with any of their paid accounts. This is an application-level solution that doesn’t encrypt your data but does hide your IP address.

While there is no encryption, if you want the absolute best speeds while masking your IP address, this is the way to go. You can set it up through your torrent client so that only your torrenting runs through the proxy, which still protects your IP from becoming visible to the rest of your swarm.

Is PrivadoVPN Fast for Torrenting?

It’s normal to see a decrease in speeds when you torrent through a VPN, and this sort of trade-off is well worth the peace of mind that you get from a secure connection. That being said, top tier VPNs can minimize this impact significantly.

How does PrivadoVPN fare, then?

Actually, quite good. While using PrivadoVPN, we saw a small dip in speed, but everything was still very fast. Speeds predictably dropped the further away the physical server was from us, but this was still an impressive test result.

With the SOCKS5 proxy running, we saw almost no drop in torrent speeds at all.

While PrivadoVPN’s network isn’t huge, with just a little over 200 servers, they are strategically placed in 45 countries around the world. This includes such torrent-friendly locations as Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore.

PrivadoVPN also owns their own data centers and fiber lines, giving them full control over the speed and security of their VPN network.

Is PrivadoVPN Easy to Use?

Newer VPNs tend to be more difficult to use because they simply haven’t had the development cycles or experience building a user-friendly experience. Fortunately, that isn’t the case with PrivadoVPN, which is very simple to use and connect to.

Here are just a few ways that PrivadoVPN makes cyber security easy.

Great App

Fast, Easy Connection

24/7 Support

Should you have any issues, PrivadoVPN has 24/7 customer support via email. Based on our tests, most responses came within 6 hours and none took longer than 24 hours.

PrivadoVPN Torrenting Tips

Like we said, PrivadoVPN is easy to use for torrenting. But here are a few simple tips to make your P2P activities as smooth as possible.

1. Pick Servers in Countries Outside of Fourteen Eyes Jurisdiction

You can torrent on any PrivadoVPN server. But or the best security, you should pick ones in countries that aren’t part of major international surveillance agreements.

While this is unlikely to be an issue, the small speed sacrifice is worth the additional peace of mind this will provide. It’s unlikely that you’ll notice, anyway.

2. Turn on the Kill Switch, Especially Before Torrenting

Don’t forget to use the Kill Switch feature. Unless there’s a reason why a sudden loss of internet service would be more devastating than letting potentially dozens of people see your real IP address, always keep it on.

If you insist on turning it on and off, don’t torrent without it. You can easily toggle the Kill Switch from the main page of the PrivadoVPN app.

3. Test Different Protocols

PrivadoVPN offers IKEv2, which is faster than OpenVPN but offers a less intense encryption protocol. But for most tasks you can benefit from the added speed while still getting incredibly secure transfers.

Test IKEv2 on your setup and see if it works for your needs.

PrivadoVPN Plans & Prices

Finally, a Truly Free Plan

Unlike most VPNs, PrivadoVPN offers an entirely free account option. This isn’t a trial, it’s a free monthly account that imposes just a few restrictions. Torrenting is completely allowed with the free account!

Users on the Free plan get 10 GB of data that they can use every 30 days. This plan is limited to 12 servers and you can’t use the macOS or iOS app.

Almost all the free servers are in “Fourteen Eyes” countries; only the Mexico and Argentina servers aren’t. And none of them are in Asia. So, you may have to deal with slightly higher ping, depending on where you live. The free plan also doesn't have access to the SOCKS5 proxy feature, and you can only connect one device per account.

That being said, you still get the same unlimited speeds as the paid accounts and all the other benefits, though having only 10 GB of monthly data limits its usefulness for torrenting long term.

But hey, free is free. And since PrivadoVPN doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee, the free plan is the best way to try the service before you buy.

Premium Plans

Fortunately, the paid plans are inexpensive.

Both paid plans offer the exact same features, but the 12-month plan is less expensive because you’re paying for a year up front. The 1-month plan is $7.99 per month and the 12-month plan works out to be $4.99 per month.

PrivadoVPN Apps

PrivadoVPN has apps for:

• Windows
• MacOS
• Android
• iOS

And no matter which one you’re using, installation is quick and easy.

More PrivadoVPN Uses

Even if torrenting is your top priority, a high-quality VPN should provide more than that. Fortunately, PrivadoVPN does.

Bypass Geo-restrictions on Your Favorite Streaming Service

Not every country allows you to access the same content online. We all know this. But with PrivadoVPN you can avoid geo-restrictions and watch what you like, from any location.

Since PrivadoVPN buys IP addresses by the hundreds of thousands directly from ISPs, when streaming services catch on to one being from a VPN, you can quickly find another that will give you access. This includes services that are entirely limited to one country or region, like BBC iPlayer or Hotstar.

As of now, PrivadoVPN currently works with: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max and more.

Stay Safe on Public Wi-fi

Because you have so many device options, it’s easy to keep your data safe no matter where you are.

Public wi-fi connections can be particularly dangerous for your private data, with spotty security and generally non-technical people setting them up. Having a VPN on your mobile device like a phone or laptop will foil attempts by hackers to access your private information when you connect to a hotspot.

By encrypting your data and having the Kill Switch active, you can be sure that you won’t be sharing your banking details or passwords with somebody sitting at the next table!

Prevent Speed Throttling

To control what you’re allowed to access, many internet service providers will purposefully limit speeds for specific kinds of data transfers, particularly P2P.

By using a virtual private network like PrivadoVPN, you can limit their ability to do that by hiding your activity. When you connect to their network, all your ISP will be able to see is that you’re transferring data, but not what sort or how. Technically, you’re just connected to another computer someplace else in the world.

Since they have no idea whether you’re torrenting a large file, streaming a movie from Amazon Prime or downloading the latest Linux installation, they won’t be able to effectively throttle your connection.

PrivadoVPN Torrenting Final Thoughts

So, here’s a summary of why we think you should use PrivadoVPN for your torrenting needs.

Sign up for the free plan today and give PrivadoVPN a spin!