Does qBittorrent Hide Your IP? How to Use It Anonymously?

Does qBitTorrent hide your IP? Torrenting is a way lots of people share and download stuff online. But it’s important to think about the dangers, especially for keeping your online privacy and safety.

If your IP is exposed, hackers could target your computer or access your data. Additionally, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) might monitor your online actions, potentially leading to throttling or legal repercussions for torrenting.

To use this torrent client anonymously, you should combine it with additional privacy tools.

Does qBittorrent hide your IP?

No, qBitTorrent doesn’t hide your IP. When you download or share files your IP address is visible to everyone else sharing those files.

This means peers would know about your general location.

In fairness, the app offers Anonymous Mode to help prevent your file-sharing traffic from being associated with you.

Still, this feature doesn’t guarantee strong privacy protection. We’ll show you below how to hide your IP and other tricks to keep qBittorrent sessions safe.

Is it safe to use qBittorrent?

qBittorrent itself is a safe tool, but since it exposes your IP address, there’s a risk to your privacy. If you’re downloading files, especially those you’re not supposed to, there’s a chance someone could track it back to you. In some places, this could lead to legal issues.

Also, qBittorrent is open-source, so ethical hackers could examine its code and raise awareness of any vulnerabilities.

In other words, the global community of cybersecurity experts helps keep qBittorrent a safe program. As a result, it contains no malware. Plus, it’s not bundled with bloatware and adware.

However, this software can’t stop anyone from sharing malicious files. Which is why you should use it at your own risk.

Without a VPN, your ISP can monitor your qBittorrent traffic and use this information against you.

Your internet provider may also throttle your internet connection to discourage you from P2P file-sharing or report your torrenting activity to the authorities.

How to safely use qBittorrent

To use qBittorrent safely and protect your privacy, there are several steps you can take:

Let’s see how to hide your IP address when sharing and downloading files:

1. Use a VPN 

A VPN reroutes your P2P traffic through its own servers, hiding your activity from ISPs and other parties that may spy on you.

In turn, only the IP of your chosen VPN server will be visible to peers.

Here’s how to set up one:

1. Sign up for a P2P-friendly VPN service like ProtonVPN.
2. Download the right desktop app for your system.

3. Initiate installation.
4. Launch the VPN.

5. Connect to any VPN server.

6. Run an IP leak test on a site like ipleak.net.
7. Now, the test result will reflect your VPN server’s IP address instead of your own.

8. Start downloading anonymously.

Apart from location spoofing, a VPN encrypts your file-sharing traffic so all your activity stays hidden.

In addition, some VPNs come with built-in malware protection, which will come in handy when you inadvertently download a file that can infect your computer.

The biggest trade-off is that you can experience some speed loss due to latency and encryption. But getting a premium high-performance VPN would minimize this issue.

2. Subscribe to a premium proxy service

Like VPNs, proxies can hide your real IP from peers by rerouting your traffic before reaching qBittorrent.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Create an account with a proxy service provider that offers paid plans and keeps zero logs.
2. Set up the service using your chosen provider’s instructions.
3. Connect to a proxy to get a new IP address.
4. Run an IP leak test.
5. Begin torrenting when the test result reflects your proxy server’s IP address.

Free proxies can also do the job, but premium ones are faster, more reliable, and safer as their developers spend good money to improve their infrastructure.

Moreover, a proxy service provider that doesn’t keep tabs on your online activity can help protect you from potential lawsuits.

Without logs, there would be no evidence that could link your torrenting activity to you.

The problem with proxies, however, is that they don’t encrypt traffic, so they’re not as secure as VPNs.

3. Enable encryption mode on qBittorrent

To enable anonymous mode and encrypt your torrenting:

1. Open qBittorrent.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Select BitTorrent.
4. Go to Privacy.
5. Select Encryption Mode and set it to Allow Encryption.

5 best VPNs for qBittorrent

Now, let’s break down our top picks for protecting your identity while using this torrenting client.

ExpressVPN – best overall performance

ExpressVPN provides IPs from 94 countries and territories, giving you a wealth of options when spoofing your location on qBittorrent. 

Likewise, this VPN vendor uses private, encrypted DNS and security expert-approved RAM-only servers that can keep snoopers guessing.

What’s more, it keeps no logs of your activity and connection info.

It ensures IPv6 leak protection and prevents accidental broadcasting of torrenting data with its native kill switch too.

Getting started with ExpressVPN costs between $8.32 and $12.95/month. All of its plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Pros:

• 94-country coverage
• Windows, macOS, and Linux support
• Threat Manager malware and tracker blocker for macOS and Linux

Cons:

• Incomplete 10Gbps server upgrade
• Five simultaneous device connections only
• No free trial for desktop users

ExpressVPN

Boost your privacy and enjoy high torrenting speeds with this world-class VPN service.

Try Now Visit Website

ProtonVPN – best freemium service

ProtonVPN has P2P and Tor servers, which are excellent for torrenting. Its network allows you to obscure your location using IPs from 60+ jurisdictions.

What’s more, it supports port forwarding and can route your qBittorrent traffic to the safest servers housed in privacy-friendly countries.

This company offers DNS and IPv6 leak protection and collects no connection logs, IP addresses, and session lengths. It has a kill switch too.

If you’re a Mac user, you can leverage its Stealth protocol to hide your traffic from censors through obfuscation, which can help fix qBittorrent when it’s not working with a VPN.

To minimize speed loss, this vendor can route your data up to five times more efficiently through its VPN Accelerator feature.

Also, the servers in most of its locations are capable of 10Gbps connectivity.

You can also take advantage of its split tunneling capability to avoid experiencing slower internet connections when not torrenting.

To enjoy ProtonVPN in its full glory, you can buy a subscription for $4.99 to $9.99/month and get a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Or you can download its free version to see if you like it.

Pros:

• 1,700+ servers in 60+ countries
• Windows, macOS, and Linux support
• P2P and Tor servers
• NetShield malware, ad, and tracker blocker

Cons:

• Incomplete 10Gbps server upgrade
• Limited customer service

ProtonVPN

Enjoy anonymous torrenting and high speeds with ProtonVPN’s P2P-optimized servers.

Try Now Visit Website

Surfshark VPN – unlimited device connections

Surfshark VPN uses many tricks to hide your IP on qBittorrent.

It lets you use 3,200+ servers, many of which are capable of 10Gbps connectivity, to spoof your location with IPs from 100+ countries.

When enabled, its IP rotator can change your IP address on the torrent client regularly on autopilot.

With MultiHop, Surfshark VPN encrypts your traffic twice and buries your real IP across its own from servers housed in different locations.

Its RAM-only servers and strict no-logs policy ensure you won’t be monitored whatever you do online.

To avoid accidentally leaking your IP, turn on Surfshark VPN’s kill switch.

If you don’t want to encrypt your data and conceal your IP outside of qBittorrent, benefit from this VPN’s Bypasser split tunneling capabilities.

The cost of Surfshark VPN subscriptions ranges from $3.99 to $12.95/month.

But your order will come with a 30-day refund guarantee and you can slash the price by 15% if you’re a student.

Pros:

• 3,200+ servers in 100+ countries and territories
• Windows, macOS, and Linux support
• CleanWeb malware, ad, and tracker blocker
• Unlimited simultaneous device connections

Cons:

• Incomplete 10Gbps server upgrade
• No IPv6 support

Surfshark

Protect all your devices while keeping your torrenting activity hidden with this top VPN provider.

Try Now Visit Website

NordVPN – torrenting-optimized servers

NordVPN has more than 5,600 10Gbps servers in 59 countries. So, you have dozens of options to trick qBittorrent peers into thinking you’re in a different location.

To help make your torrenting smooth sailing, this VPN provides P2P-optimized hardware. In addition, it has specialty servers for double VPN, Onion Over VPN, and obfuscation.

To prevent your cover from getting blown, this Panama-based VPN service runs private DNS, uses RAM-only storage, promises IPv6 leak protection, and keeps zero logs. 

In addition, it has two kill switches. One is designed for system-level unprotected data leakage while the other is for individual apps.

Backed by a 30-day refund guarantee, NordVPN subscriptions will set you back $5.61 to $14.29/month. But you can get a 15% discount if you’re a student.

Pros:

• 5,600+ servers in 59 countries
• Windows, macOS, and Linux support
• Threat Protection malware, ad, and tracker blocker

Cons:

• Six simultaneous device connections only
• No free trial

NordVPN

Pick from a wealth of P2P-optimized servers with NordVPN’s robust and secure network.

Try Now Visit Website

IPVanish – large pool of shared IPs

IPVanish’s network is big enough to access 40,000 shared IPs distributed among 2,000+ servers spread across 75+ locations.

This P2P-friendly VPN vendor’s privacy arsenal includes a kill switch, DNS and IPv6 leak protection, SOCKS5 proxy servers, and Scramble obfuscation tech for OpenVPN.

IPVanish doesn’t collect IPs, connection timestamps, and DNS queries and has a firm no-log policy.

Its subscriptions cost $7.50 to $10.99/month. If you have a change of heart, you can cancel within 30 days and get a refund.

Pros:

• 2,000+ servers in 75+ locations
• Windows, macOS, and Linux support
• Malware and ransomware protection
• Unlimited simultaneous connections

Cons:

• Lacks torrenting-optimized servers
• No free trial

IPVanish

Access countless shared IPs and protect all your devices with this VPN’s advanced obfuscation features.

Try Now Visit Website

Wrap up

Downloading and sharing files through qBittorrent can be a risky proposition.

Thankfully, you can neutralize the potential privacy and security problems associated with it by using any of the above VPNs.

FAQ

Does qBittorrent show your IP?

Yes, it does.

You may be able to limit the amount of information this torrent client broadcasts to the public if you activate Anonymous Mode.

But does qBittorrent fully hide your IP when this feature is enabled?

The answer is: to some extent, and only if configured properly.

So, unless you use a trusted torrenting VPN or a premium proxy service with a no-logs policy, you can’t share files via qBittorrent completely incognito.

Is qBittorrent safe without a VPN?

qBittorrent is open-source and malware-, adware-, and bloatware-free.

However, this torrent client can’t stop users from sharing and downloading malicious files. Plus, without connecting to a VPN, your qBittorrent activity is visible to your ISP and other third parties.