Upload a torrent and see if it's safe to download

Jun 22, 2015 07:30 GMT  ·  By

With more and more companies going after torrent users, downloading a torrent file is becoming more and more dangerous if you're not behind a VPN.

The TorrentTags database aims to provide a reliable website where users can go and check for "dangerous" torrents, files that are being watched by copyright holders and might lead to legal troubles further down the road.

Established back in 2014, the website was built by an Australian team and has grown in both size and prestige.

The database itself is made up of "risky" torrents acquired via two methods: imported from the Chilling Effects database and directly from the copyright holders.

Now you'll be probably asking yourself why not use the Chilling Effects database in the first place, if all TorrentTags does is to import its content.

The reason is that TorrentTags also includes a utility which lets you upload your torrent file, or copy&paste the torrent's hash string, and then tells you if that specific torrent has a DMCA takedown associated to it.

TorrentTags is walking a thin line between useful and useless

The second method is a little bit controversial because it lets movie companies and music studios submit their own claims to torrent files, and have them marked as "risky" in the TorrentTags database.

In theory, there's nothing stopping copyright holders in abusing the database by claiming a bunch of torrents and scaring away downloaders, but that should not be seen as a bad thing.

This way users can stay away from both "known risky" torrents accurately claimed via Chilling Effects, and "semi risky" torrents that have been claimed in bulk by the copyright holders themselves and have the potential of breaking out into a lawsuit or ISP strike at any given moment.

Regardless of which side of the pro/anti torrent barricade you're on, this service lets users avoid detection by legal authorities, and also allows copyright holders to limit the impact of online piracy over their work.

How users view TorrentTags is currently an undecided matter, a stalemate between those considering it useful and those who see it useless because copyright holders have access to its blacklisting features. Just take a look at the comments on TorrentFreak's blog post and see if any of their arguments manage to sway your opinion from one camp to the other.

TorrentTags is a database of "risky" torrents (3 Images)

TorrentTags lets you search for risky torrents
Users can see DMCA takedowns for their uploaded torrent files... or they can see if it's OK to download
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