How to Download from The Pirate Bay (in 3 Steps) - TechNadu

How to Download from The Pirate Bay

By Novak Bozovic / April 25, 2021

As you’ve probably heard, The Pirate Bay is perhaps the most famous as well as one of the most popular torrent repositories. However, it managed to build a somewhat bad reputation in terms of illegal use of torrents. Still, you can use this repository to download perfectly legal files, from the public domain. For example, numerous classic movies are today free to download and distribute. So, let’s take a look at how to download from the Pirate Bay.

We understand that not all of our readers are experts when it comes to torrents. That's why we'll include a detailed step-by-step tutorial, found below. However, if you'd like to learn other aspects of finding and downloading torrents in a fast and safe manner, we've prepared our ultimate guide to torrenting. And now, let's return to our topic and see how to easily download torrents files from The Pirate Bay.

TechNadu does not condone illegal file-sharing or copyright infringement. Even though P2P file-sharing technology is legal, many of the files exchanged via P2P are indeed copyrighted. Uploading these copyrighted files can put you at risk of a civil lawsuit. While these lawsuits are often class-action cases, some have been targeted at individual users in an attempt to make an example of them.
Disclaimer

Worried About Getting Caught Torrenting? You Need a VPN – And Here’s Why!

The world of torrenting is full of obstacles. You’ll often find torrent websites to be blocked in your country, and receiving a cease-and-desist letter from your ISP is always a threat. Getting caught torrenting can also force your ISP to cut off your connection to the Web.

That’s why, due to the following reasons, we strongly recommend you connect to a VPN in order to be safe while torrenting.

  • A VPN will prevent your Internet provider from tracking your online activity. This means that you won’t have to worry about receiving a cease-and-desist letter or any similar legal consequences of downloading torrents.
  • A VPN will unblock any website, including torrent repositories. This is especially important in countries where torrent sites are taken down regularly. Using a VPN, you can connect to a server in a different country and unblock what was previously inaccessible.
  • A VPN will unleash the full power of your Web connection. It’s no secret that ISPs apply selective throttling based on what kind of online activity they detect. Since VPNs hide your Web traffic, you’ll get to make your Web connection faster and more reliable.
  • A VPN is an all-in-one solution! There’s no need to spend hours trying to configure torrent clients or trying to build a solution to protect your torrenting. A VPN is the best and the most effective way to protect your torrenting.

Finally, don’t make a mistake thinking that all VPNs are the same. Based on our years-long experience of reviewing VPNs, the best VPN right now is NordVPN. This especially goes for fans of torrenting, who’ll find that NordVPN meets practically ALL their needs.

This torrent repository has had a very turbulent past. It was often attacked by different groups fighting against piracy websites. This forced The Pirate Bay to change its domain several times and to go through offline periods. However, it always managed to resurface. So, here’s a quick guide to downloading torrents from The Pirate Bay.

Step 1: Find & Download a Torrent (P2P) File

First, we’ll teach you how to find and identify healthy torrents. There are several ways this can be done, so we’ll focus on the easiest method. Keep on reading.

  • Visit The Pirate Bay using your Web browser. Wait a few moments until the website fully loads and then proceed to the next step.
The Pirate Bay Home Page
  • The homepage consists of a prominent logo and a search field beneath. You can use the search field if you know what you’re looking for. For the sake of this article, we will look for one of Charlie Chaplin’s movies (public domain files). More precisely, we'll download a movie called 'The Gold Rush' - now available via public domain.
The Pirate Bay Torrent Search
  • Next, you can see a list of search results. The Pirate Bay is doing a good job of showcasing healthy torrents. These torrents have a large number of seeders and a small number of leechers. Let’s go ahead and click on the first torrent file.
  • Now, you can preview a bunch of important data. For example, take a look at how large is that torrent. This will give you a clear idea of how much time it takes to download it, depending on the speed of your connection. Then, you see the number of seeders and leechers. As said before, the number of seeders needs to be much greater than the number of leechers. Finally, you can check the torrent’s description and see if there’s anything important. It’s also wise to take a look at the comments, in case other users find malware or a bad-quality movie file.
The Pirate Bay Individual Torrent Overview
  • Once you ready to download the torrent, click on the ‘Get this torrent’ link. After a few seconds, the torrent file will download to your computer.

Step 2: Launch Your Torrent Client & Download the File

So far, you’ve downloaded a torrent file. This is a very small file that doesn’t contain any data (the movie we want to download). To download the actual movie, we need to utilize a torrent client. For more info, check out our selection of recommended torrent clients for all devices. In case, If you are a Mac user, then this guide will help you.

  • Open your torrent client.
  • No matter which one you use, you can drag and drop the torrent file onto the torrent client’s UI. Alternatively, you can double-click on the torrent file you’ve downloaded;
P2P Download in Progress Transmission MacOS
  • You might be asked where you’d like to save the torrent. By default, it will be placed into the Downloads folder or on your Desktop, if not specified otherwise. However, this will happen only after the torrent is fully downloaded.
Transmission for Mac P2P Client
  • All there’s left now is to wait. Your torrent client will connect to seeders and download bits of data to your computer. Hopefully, you will download the torrent in no time.

Step 3: Seed the Torrent File

After you download the torrent, it’s only fair to seed it for a while. Seeding is a process where you share the downloaded files with other users. Their torrent clients will be able to take bits of data, just like you did previously.

Torrent Seeding Example

In general, seeding is done automatically. You don’t have to do anything – just leave the torrent file in your torrent client. In addition, do not move or delete the downloaded files. For more information about this process, read our article on how to seed torrent files.

Additional Resources - What’s Next?

We sincerely hope that now you know how to download from The Pirate Bay. However, why not expand your knowledge? Here are a few useful resources.

  • In case you’re using uTorrent, you might want to know a few tips and tricks. Here’s how to use uTorrent which includes plenty of useful information;
  • Next, it’s also wise to know how to create and upload torrent files. This way, you can join the vibrant community of torrent users;
  • Finally, it’s imperative to safely download torrents. Use the provided link to read TechNadu’s guide to torrenting safeguards.

So, how to download from The Pirate Bay? Easy – thanks to our quick guide. We hope that you've found this article to be useful, as well as that now you know how to safely download P2P files. Happy torrenting!



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