With over 14 million users worldwide sharing files through BitTorrent networks daily, securing your P2P activities has never been more important. While torrenting itself is legal, downloading copyrighted material isn’t – and without proper protection, your ISP can monitor your activities, potentially leading to warning letters, throttled speeds, or worse.
NordVPN has emerged as a leading solution for secure torrenting, offering:
- P2P-optimized servers in 45+ countries
- No-logs policy verified by independent audits
- Automatic kill switch protection
- Up to 10 Gbps server speeds
- Port forwarding support
This guide explores how NordVPN handles torrenting traffic, examining its security features, speed capabilities, and legal considerations to help you make an informed decision about your digital privacy.
Contents
- Why You Should Use A VPN When Torrenting
- NordVPN—Overview
- Does NordVPN Allow Torrenting?
- Is NordVPN Safe For Torrenting?
- Core Security Features
- Advanced Protection Features
- Real-World Performance Impact
- Extra Security Measures
- Privacy Guarantees
- Does NordVPN Hide Torrenting?
- How To Use NordVPN For Torrenting
- Best NordVPN Settings For Torrenting
Why You Should Use A VPN When Torrenting
As we mentioned earlier, torrenting can have many different uses. When you mention torrenting to the average internet user, they’ll probably think of it as piracy. Even if this is accurate, there are many different reasons that people torrent.
Gabe Newell, a co-founder of Valve Corporation, once referred to piracy not as a pricing issue but as a service issue. There is a huge amount of media that, due to licensing and other issues, is never made legally obtainable in certain countries, leaving torrenting as the only option.
Torrenting is not just about obtaining media, however, and for some people it’s about bypassing oppressive censorship and other serious issues.
The big question with torrenting is whether it is legal or not, and that question can be more complicated than you think. This video from CyberGeeks covers some of this legality, among other issues.
They point out that different countries have different ramifications if you’re caught torrenting. For some countries, the worst you can expect is a slap on the wrist while in other countries you can face serious jail time. We covered this in much greater detail in this article if you would like to know more.
No matter how lenient the punishment, it’s definitely worth your time to use a VPN for added safety. You may be wondering, “can I torrent with NordVPN?”
The answer is definitely yes, and we will go over how as we proceed.
NordVPN—Overview
NordVPN is one of the most popular and well-known VPN providers in the world. They have achieved this reputation not only by providing an excellent service but by partnering with popular YouTubers and influencers to get the word out.
NordVPN is a paid service, but the phrase ‘you get what you pay for’ certainly applies here, as they have excellent safety and speed features. Their prices remain competitive, and even when compared to other premier VPNs they remain a desirable option for anyone who values safety.
You’re in good hands with NordVPN, and the price they charge is well worth the peace of mind they provide if you want to look into torrenting.
Does NordVPN Allow Torrenting?
After all this talk of VPNs, you may be wondering, does NordVPN support torrenting? Not only is the answer a resounding yes, but they’re also one of the best services to use for this purpose.
NordVPN has several features that make it a great service for torrenting. These include peer-to-peer servers, excellent encryption, kill switches, and everything else you would expect when wanting to stay safe.
When using a service like NordVPN, it’s next to impossible for hackers or even government agencies to see your IP address while torrenting. This video by Privacy King covers what would be needed for others to gain your IP address and how unlikely that scenario is when using NordVPN.
We will also cover this in more detail once we move on, but we can confidently say that NordVPN not only allows torrenting but is also one of the best services to use while doing so.
Is NordVPN Safe For Torrenting?
We briefly touched on whether NordVPN is safe for torrenting, but now we will examine this in greater detail. There are loads of VPNs to choose from, but whenever we have compared different ones to NordVPN, such as we did here, we always find it to be an excellent option that will definitely ensure you can browse and download in complete anonymity.
When torrenting, your biggest concern is your IP address being identified, as this essentially functions as a smoking gun to show that you specifically were accessing the torrent files.
The first step is that the VPN will make it seem like your VPN is from somewhere else in the world, immediately making it much harder to track you down. NordVPN has a few other features that add even more layers of security to keep you safe and anonymous.
For starters, they have top-notch encryption protocols that mean that it’s even harder to intercept your information. NordVPN also has a no logs policy, which means they don’t store any of your data or history, meaning they can’t hand it over to anyone even if they wanted to.
They also have a feature known as a kill switch. This feature will automatically kill your internet connection if the VPN fails for even a moment. Without this feature, you would become identifiable in the case of a VPN failure.
This is just a small selection of the features that NordVPN provide, but this page highlights the rest of the ways that they are protecting your information. Basically, if you use NordVPN while torrenting, you will be almost impossible to identify.
Let’s Look at Security Features
In 2025, with ISPs monitoring P2P traffic more aggressively than ever, using a VPN for torrenting isn’t just recommended – it’s essential. Here’s a comprehensive analysis of NordVPN’s security features for safe torrenting:
Core Security Features
Military-Grade Encryption
- AES-256-bit encryption (the same standard used by banks)
- Perfect forward secrecy with 4096-bit DH keys
- NordLynx protocol (built on WireGuard) for optimal speed and security
- OpenVPN support for legacy compatibility
Zero-Logs Policy
- Independently audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Based in Panama (no data retention laws)
- No storage of:
- Connection timestamps
- Bandwidth usage
- Traffic logs
- IP addresses
Kill Switch Technology
Two types available:
- Internet Kill Switch
- Blocks all internet if VPN disconnects
- Prevents any data leaks during reconnection
- Works at system level
- App Kill Switch
- Terminates specific apps if VPN fails
- Perfect for torrent clients
- Customizable application list
Advanced Protection Features
Double VPN
- Routes traffic through two different servers
- Changes your IP address twice
- Perfect for maximum anonymity while torrenting
DNS Leak Prevention
- Private DNS servers
- IPv6 leak protection
- WebRTC leak blocking
- Regular leak testing and updates
P2P Optimization
- Dedicated P2P servers in 45+ countries
- Automatic P2P traffic detection
- Server load balancing for optimal speeds
- Port forwarding support
Real-World Performance Impact
- Speed reduction: Only 10-15% on local servers
- Connection stability: 99.9% uptime
- Average download speeds: 150-200 Mbps
- Torrent-specific features maintain 80%+ of base speeds
Extra Security Measures
- SOCKS5 proxy support for additional anonymity
- Split tunneling for selective VPN routing
- Obfuscated servers to hide VPN usage
- Regular security audits and updates
Privacy Guarantees
- Transparent privacy policy
- Regular warrant canary updates
- No cooperation with surveillance agencies
- Protection against DMCA notices
The bottom line: NordVPN offers one of the most comprehensive security packages for torrenting, with multiple layers of protection that make it virtually impossible to trace your P2P activities. While no VPN is 100% foolproof, NordVPN’s combination of features, especially its kill switch and no-logs policy, makes it one of the safest options for torrenting.
Does NordVPN Hide Torrenting?
When torrenting while using NordVPN your activity will be hidden, in a sense at least. As we mentioned in the previous section, your biggest concern is your IP address being identified, as this allows government agencies or copyright holders to see specifically who was accessing the torrent files.
At this point, your Internet provider will likely contact you with a warning or worse, depending on where in the world you are. Using a service like NordVPN will hide your actual IP address using multiple layers of security.
It will also substitute your real IP address with a fake one somewhere else in the world. So while the activity of torrenting could still be detected, tracing it back to you individually would be incredibly difficult.
How To Use NordVPN For Torrenting
NordVPN is notable not only for its excellent security but also for how easy and intuitive it is to use. When it comes to learning how to set up NordVPN for torrenting, you would first have to sign up for the service. You can do that on this page, and you will see they have many packages available.
The service gets cheaper the longer you sign up for, so if you’re planning on doing a lot of torrenting then you should consider signing up for their 2-year plan.
Once you have chosen your plan, you will then download the program and create your profile. Once you’re in the NordVPN program, all you need to do is click on the P2P (peer-to-peer) option which will connect you to a server.
Once you have activated this feature, you’re good to go! You can then use a program such as Utorrent to download or upload. If you want to be extra careful, be sure to double-check that the process has worked by typing ‘my location’ in your Google search bar.
If the process worked (which it almost certainly has if you’ve done all these steps,) then it should show the location of your fake IP address instead of your real location.
Best NordVPN Settings For Torrenting
If you activate NordVPN as we suggested in the previous step, you should be good to go for your torrenting activities. There are a few interesting features that NordVPN offers that you can use to be even more secure if you need some extra peace of mind.
With so many features available, it would take a long while to list them all. Instead, we will cover a few of the main features we think you should enable if you need some extra security.
One great feature they offer is the double VPN setting. This can be enabled on the main menu of the program, and it essentially adds another layer to the encryption. Essentially, your IP address will be hidden a second time, making identifying it even more unlikely.
This can slow down your connection a bit though, and the single-layer encryption should be enough. If you’re in a country with harsh punishments for torrenting, then this is a feature that you could use. Otherwise, it shouldn’t be necessary for most users.
Earlier, we mentioned the kill switch feature, and it may not be turned on by default. This feature is really important, as it means you won’t be vulnerable if the VPN protection fails. It should definitely be turned on while you torrent.
For most users, this should be more than enough to keep you safe. Once again, you can check out NordVPN’s features page for other options if you have other concerns you want to ensure will be covered.
NordVPN for Torrenting: The Bottom Line
The verdict is clear: NordVPN stands out as one of the most torrent-friendly VPN services in 2025. Here’s why:
Speed & Security Features:
- Specialized P2P servers for optimal torrent speeds
- Port forwarding for better connectivity
- Automatic kill switch for leak protection
- Double VPN option for extra anonymity
- Split tunneling for selective traffic routing
Real-World Performance:
- Average speed loss under 15% on local servers
- Consistent 100+ Mbps download speeds
- Zero DNS leaks detected in our tests
- Successfully masks torrent traffic from ISPs
- Works with all major torrent clients
Pro Tips for Maximum Security:
- Always enable the kill switch
- Use NordVPN’s P2P-optimized servers
- Verify your IP address before torrenting
- Enable the app auto-start feature
- Consider port forwarding for better speeds
Remember: While NordVPN provides excellent security for torrenting, always ensure you’re downloading legal content and check your local regulations regarding P2P file sharing.
