BitTorrent is a peer-to-peer file sharing protocol and is used for sharing and downloading files over the Internet. A torrent can be downloaded using the torrent file which stores the metadata about the torrent or a magnetic link which provides information about it. Although torrents can be downloaded using a client such as BitTorrent or Vuze, sometimes the use of this software or the P2P protocol itself can be blocked by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) or institution. This is because many people use this technology to share pirated content, which by the way is illegal. But there are many legitimate users who also use the BitTorrent protocol to share data. While there are no restrictions set by your ISP or institution, you can use this method to download torrent files without using a client. So a simple method is to use a cloud service that caches the torrent needed for download and stores it on your server. There are many benefits to using this method.
- You obviously don't need a torrent client.
- You can download files using a web browser.
- You can download files even if there are no seeders once the file has been cached on the server.
- Most of these services offer fast download speeds.
Below are some websites that provide this service for FREE but with a file size limit.
Seedr is a new provider of this service and the features they offer are promising even at the free tier. You get 2GB of space when you sign up, which you can increase up to 6GB by inviting your friends. To add a torrent to Seedr, log in to your account first. Then add torrents using a torrent file or magnetic link. Once the torrent has been cached on your server, you can click the download button to download the torrent.
Bitport is also a new torrent cloud storage service and offers a 2GB file size limit in its free tier. The interface is simple and easy for a regular user to use, just like the service mentioned above. You can add a torrent using a torrent file or a magnetic link in the “Add new torrent” module. Then, after downloading the files to your server, you can select the torrent folder you want to insert and click “Download this folder as a ZIP file” to download it to your computer. While the service is good, the download traffic only recharges at 100MB / hour which is a huge downside, especially if you have multiple torrents to download.
ZBIGZ is another website that offers this type of service with a free tier option. You can add torrents using torrent files or magnetic links. After adding the torrent, you can download it by clicking the “Download as ZIP” button. They allow you to download torrents under 1GB in the free plan. They also limit the download speed on the free account. So only use it if the others don't work as it has these drawbacks.
FileStream is another website for cloud storage, and its free account has a 1GB storage limit. To add a torrent to your account, you can upload the torrent file and then click the "Download" button. After the file has been copied to your server, you can download it by clicking the Download File button. While their service is usable, the website has a clunky user interface and is a bit dated.
DO NOT use these methods to download pirated content to avoid legal problems. Hope this article helped you download torrents without using a BitTorrent client.
