What’s the best location to set my VPN when torrenting?

A VPN encrypts data in transit, including P2P traffic, shielding it from third parties, including your ISP, hackers, and snoopers. This makes some VPN users think it doesn’t matter which server location they connect to. Yet different countries have varying laws about copyright and torrenting. Furthermore, some torrenting sites are blocked in specific countries. Another consideration is that servers closer to your location often result in better speeds.

In this post, we’ll explore what makes a good VPN server location for torrenting. We’ll cover the best locations available and explain the various benefits each offers, be it privacy-friendly laws or the availability of P2P-optimized servers. You’ll also find recommendations for the best torrenting VPNs and a few extra tips to ensure you’re torrenting as safely as possible.

Key factors when choosing a VPN server location for torrenting

There are several factors to consider when choosing where to torrent from. We’ve outlined some of the main ones below.

Privacy laws and torrenting policies

It’s worth having an idea of a country’s privacy and copyright laws and its stance on torrenting if you plan on connecting to a VPN server in that location. After all, privacy laws can potentially impact how safe and anonymous your torrenting activity is. As for a country’s torrenting policies, they can indicate the likelihood of facing legal consequences.

Data retention laws require ISPs to log and store user data, including browsing history, connection timestamps, and metadata from downloaded files. If authorities requested logs, this would see your torrenting exposed. This makes countries with no mandatory data retention laws preferable for torrenting. Such countries include the British Virgin Islands and Panama. It’s no coincidence that some VPNs operate out of these countries.

Also important to consider is whether a country is part of an international surveillance agreement, such as the Five Eyes (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand), 9 Eyes, or 14 Eyes alliances. Such countries engage in extensive data collection on behalf of each other to circumvent their own privacy laws. Choosing a VPN headquartered outside of Five Eyes jurisdiction, such as Switzerland, means your privacy is more likely to be respected.

Speed and performance

The distance between your physical location and the VPN server can impact your connection speed. The further traffic has to travel, the longer it takes to reach the VPN server. As such, the best location for one torrenter may not be the same for you.

Choosing a VPN server location closer to your actual location can result in better torrenting speeds, which are essential for downloading and uploading large files. However, you may still want to balance this with privacy.

For example, if you’re in the US, the fastest available VPN servers will likely be those in your own country. Yet, the US is not the best location for torrenting in terms of privacy. This may make Mexico a better bet if you want to strike a balance.

Risk of copyright enforcement

Countries also differ in how they treat torrenting, particularly copyrighted material. Some countries have very strict anti-piracy laws, while others adopt a more relaxed approach. More lenient countries with low to moderate enforcement include the Netherlands, Mexico, and Spain. Some countries, like Australia, Germany, and the US, have some of the strictest copyright laws, with an increased risk of copyright notices, fines, and legal action.

Server availability and VPN features

The best VPN server location for you may depend on where your preferred VPN provider has servers. For example, the vast majority of VPNs have servers in the US, but relatively few offer servers in Panama. Some VPN services have P2P-optimized servers, providing improved performance. Others may not support torrenting on all servers.

Best countries for torrenting

The following countries either have strong privacy laws, a more relaxed stance regarding torrenting, or a mix of the two. None provide absolute guarantees but are generally considered safer VPN locations for torrenting than countries such as the US.

1. Switzerland

Switzerland is known for having some of the strictest privacy laws in the world, which ensure robust data protection. In Switzerland, ISPs are not required to log user data, and a lack of data retention laws means that any VPN headquartered in the country, such as Proton VPN, isn’t obliged to keep users’ logs. Switzerland is generally tolerant of P2P sharing for personal use, provided no copyrighted material is involved.

2. The Netherlands

The Netherlands remains a good option for torrenting thanks to its privacy-friendly policies and high internet freedom. ISPs are not obligated to store user data, and ISPs throttling or blocking P2P traffic is relatively unheard of. Providing you’re torrenting for personal use and using a VPN to connect to a server in the Netherlands, you’re unlikely to be targeted by authorities. Plenty of VPNs offer dedicated P2P servers in the Netherlands, too.

3. Spain

Although Spain has copyright laws, enforcement is generally aimed at distributors of copyrighted material instead of individual torrenters. There is still some risk, particularly when it comes to downloading or sharing copyrighted content, but there’s a more relaxed approach to torrenting in Spain than in countries such as Germany. Some torrent sites have been blocked in Spain but are easily bypassed with a quality VPN.

4. Mexico

Mexico has a reputation for being very relaxed when pursuing individual torrenters. You’ll still want to use a VPN, but enforcement focuses on large-scale piracy. Further good news is that ISPs in Mexico aren’t required to store user data long-term, which adds to VPN user privacy. Mexico is ideal if you’re in North America and want to avoid some privacy risks from the US and Canada, such as their 5 Eyes involvement.

5. Romania

Romania doesn’t require ISPs to store user data, and the country has a history of protecting internet freedom. There’s little copyright enforcement when it comes to individual torrenters. Instead, authorities focus more on large-scale distributors likely to profit from it. Numerous popular VPNs provide servers in Romania. These include CyberGhost, which is headquartered in the country.

Countries to avoid when torrenting

Provided you use a VPN that encrypts your data and doesn’t keep any identifying logs, you should be able to torrent from almost anywhere. However, that still requires users to trust that a VPN is telling the truth regarding its logging policies. Some people prefer connecting to specific countries for peace of mind.

Below are some of the countries we recommend you avoid if you want to reduce the risk of fines or facing legal repercussions for torrenting:

The United States

The US is widely considered one of the worst countries for torrenting due to its strict copyright laws, aggressive enforcement, and extensive surveillance. Under the DMCA, copyright holders can monitor torrenting networks and issue DMCA notices via ISPs, potentially resulting in connection throttling, fines, or legal action.

ISPs may monitor and log torrenting activity, which could be shared with the US government. This data may also be shared with other countries as part of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance. If you’re in the US, your best bet is connecting to a server in a more torrent-friendly country. Avoiding US-based VPN providers can potentially avoid data retention and subpoenas.

Read more in our guide to torrenting safety in the USA.

Germany

Germany is one of the most aggressive countries when it comes to pursuing torrenters and often targets average users. Although Germany is part of the EU, whose GDPR provides privacy rights, ISPs are still required to store metadata. They generally comply with requests from copyright holders, and even the smallest infractions can lead to significant fines. Failure to pay fines can escalate cases to court, which can lead to even higher costs.

Read more in our guide to torrenting in Germany.

Australia

Australia’s copyright laws make it easy for copyright holders to take legal action against torrenters. Furthermore, ISPs are required to retain data such as IP addresses, connection logs, and connection timestamps for at least two years. Australia is also a member of 5 Eyes. As a result of all this, individuals torrenting in Australia can face fines and lawsuits.

United Kingdom

Even individual torrenters are targeted in the UK, which has a history of aggressive copyright enforcement. Mandatory data retention laws allow torrenting activity to be logged and shared with authorities. Indeed, ISPs must retain internet connection records for up to 12 months and provide them to authorities upon request. The UK is a member of Five Eyes, which means it can share surveillance data with other countries, raising the risk of legal repercussions.

Related: How safe is torrenting in the UK?

Best VPNs for torrenting (and recommended server locations)

Here’s our list of the best VPNs for torrenting, which provide a blend of privacy-friendly server locations, impressive performance, and ease of use.

1. NordVPN: The best VPN for torrenting. Servers in all of the best countries for torrenting. Excellent speed, torrent-optimized servers, and plenty of extra features.
2. Surfshark is the best value VPN for torrenting. It has the fastest speeds of any VPN tested. It also lets you connect an unlimited number of devices simultaneously. It has a built-in ad blocker and antivirus.
3. IPVanish: Servers in torrent-friendly countries like Switzerland and the Netherlands. It ranks among the fastest VPNs and lets you order servers by load and ping.
4. ExpressVPN: A beginner-friendly option for torrenting. It is fast, with servers in 105 countries. Offers custom firmware for straightforward setup with routers. Excellent 24/7 support.
5. PrivateVPN: Smaller server network covers but numerous torrent-friendly countries such as Mexico and Romania. Includes port forwarding and has a strict no-logs policy.

Tips for torrenting safely with a VPN

Torrenting may be a convenient way of sharing and downloading files, but it also has some potential privacy and legal-related consequences. The good news is that you can significantly reduce these risks. One of the best ways to do this is with a VPN, but it’s essential to configure your VPN correctly if you want to torrent safely:

Connect to servers in torrent-friendly countries

As we’ve covered, some countries are far more torrent-friendly than others. By connecting to a server in a country like Switzerland, the Netherlands, or Mexico, there’s less chance your logs (if the VPN even keeps any) will be requested or that authorities will act upon them. Some countries are more relaxed about torrenting and are less likely to enforce copyright laws. In contrast, countries like the US are to be avoided due to their strict copyright laws and enforcement.

Enable the VPN kill switch

If the VPN connection drops, the VPN kill switch blocks your internet traffic to prevent your real IP address from being exposed. As such, it’s important to verify that the VPN kill switch is enabled. Regardless of the VPN app for torrenting you choose, you’ll likely find this feature via the settings or preference page.

Test for DNS and IP leaks

Before you start torrenting, visit a website such as dnsleaktest.com or our very own DNS leak test. This ensures that your DNS requests are going through the VPN tunnel and that they are not leaking your real IP address. It may be that you’ll have to navigate to the VPN’s settings page to activate DNS leak protection.

Bind your torrent client to the VPN

Binding your torrent client to your VPN ensures that the torrent client only works when connected to the VPN. If the VPN drops, the client stops downloading immediately. Likewise, it’s a useful feature if you forget to activate your VPN before you start torrenting. Not all torrent clients support binding but qBittorrent is a popular client that does. You can find binding by going to Tools>Options>Advanced. It’s under the Network interface setting.

Best location for torrenting: FAQ