Editing BitTorrent (section)

=== Anonymity ===
BitTorrent does not, on its own, offer its users anonymity. One can usually see the [[IP address]]es of all peers in a swarm in one's own client or firewall program. This may expose users with insecure systems to attacks.<ref name="Tamilmanistudy" /> In some countries, copyright organizations scrape lists of peers, and send takedown notices to the [[internet service provider]] of users participating in the swarms of files that are under copyright. In some jurisdictions, copyright holders may launch lawsuits against uploaders or downloaders for infringement, and police may arrest suspects in such cases.

Various means have been used to promote anonymity. For example, the BitTorrent client [[Tribler]] makes available a [[Tor (anonymity network)|Tor]]-like [[onion routing|onion network]], optionally routing transfers through other peers to obscure which client has requested the data. The exit node would be visible to peers in a swarm, but the Tribler organization provides exit nodes. One advantage of Tribler is that [[Clearnet (networking)|clearnet]] torrents can be downloaded with only a small decrease in download speed from one "hop" of routing.

[[i2p]] provides a similar anonymity layer although in that case, one can only download torrents that have been uploaded to the i2p network.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://geti2p.net/en/comparison/tor|title=I2P Compared to Tor - I2P|access-date=16 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222000747/https://geti2p.net/en/comparison/tor|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The bittorrent client [[Vuze]] allows users who are not concerned about anonymity to take [[Clearnet (networking)|clearnet]] torrents, and make them available on the i2p network.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiki.vuze.com/w/I2PHelper_HowTo#Network_Mixing|title=I2PHelper HowTo - VuzeWiki|access-date=16 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020084042/https://wiki.vuze.com/w/I2PHelper_HowTo#Network_Mixing|archive-date=20 October 2017|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Most BitTorrent clients are not designed to provide anonymity when used over Tor,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.torproject.org/blog/bittorrent-over-tor-isnt-good-idea|title=Bittorrent over Tor isn't a good idea - The Tor Blog|access-date=2 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013120154/https://blog.torproject.org/blog/bittorrent-over-tor-isnt-good-idea|archive-date=13 October 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and there is some debate as to whether torrenting over Tor acts as a drag on the network.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq.html.en#FileSharing|title=Tor Project: FAQ|publisher=[[The Tor Project]]|access-date=2 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022004822/https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq.html.en#FileSharing|archive-date=22 October 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
 
Private torrent trackers are usually invitation only, and require members to participate in uploading, but have the downside of a single centralized point of failure. [[Oink's Pink Palace]] and [[What.cd]] are examples of private trackers which have been shut down.

[[Seedbox]] services download the torrent files first to the company's servers, allowing the user to direct download the file from there.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/this-website-could-be-the-ultimate-all-in-one-torrent-m-1677265492|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408154942/http://gizmodo.com/this-website-could-be-the-ultimate-all-in-one-torrent-m-1677265492|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 April 2016|title=This Website Could Be The Ultimate All-In-One Torrent Machine|date=8 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://torrentfreak.com/torrent-from-the-cloud-with-seedr-160117/|title=Torrent From the Cloud With Seedr - TorrentFreak|date=17 January 2016|access-date=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419231351/https://torrentfreak.com/torrent-from-the-cloud-with-seedr-160117/|archive-date=19 April 2016|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref> One's IP address would be visible to the Seedbox provider, but not to third parties.

[[Virtual private network]]s encrypt transfers, and substitute a different IP address for the user's, so that anyone monitoring a torrent swarm will only see that address.