this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
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I know this is a dumb question... But i cant really aford a vpn like at all, is it possible to torrent without using a vpn in the USA or will i get in some trouble and go to jail if i torrent without a vpn?

The reason i cant get a vpn is because im just broke and im young enough to live with family so i cant really get a job.

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[–] TachyonTele@piefed.social 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

I've never used a vpn while torrenting in the US. Unless utorrent has one built in. Been doing it for 25 years and never had a problem.

People probably won't like that answer, but whatever. It's true.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Who is your ISP? Or do you just use your neighbor's connection?

[–] TachyonTele@piefed.social 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I've used multiple providers over the years.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I would appreciate any advice you might have on a provider who isn't a scum-sucking sycophant of the copyright industry. I assure you, your experience is the exception, not the rule.

[–] TachyonTele@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

I doubt there are any examples. I'm well aware of your aCkchully reply, if you'd have read my entire comment.

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[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you convert a magnet link to a .torrent file (there are many sites that can do that) and then upload the .torrent file to archive.org, they'll download the files to their servers as part of their archival process, then you can just download the files via standard https, you ISP will only know you downloaded from archive.org.

But archive.org isn't really meant to be used this way, so this is probably unethical. But I think section 230 protect them (for now), so its not like they'll get shutdown or anything (correct me if I'm wrong).

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[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

im young enough to live with family so i cant really get a job.

This doesn't really track, or it's just worded weird. You can start working part-time at age 14 in most states in the US. Now, you could be a student who's too busy with school/sports to get a job, but if you have time to pirate I doubt that's a liting factor.

Now, I don't personally care what your actual case is. I'm just pointing out that your claims don't add up.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is a joke, right?

The US is currently economically collapsing, nearly every company/corp is firing and laying people off, an entry level job requires 3 to 5 years of experience, and something like 60% of companies freely admit to posting ghost jobs, fake online job listings that never actually result in a hire, or are just done to pretend an internal promotion is actually being competetively sourced to the whole job market.

It is extremely difficult for young people to find a job right now, one that ends up paying more than they'd lose in the costs of buying a car and gas and insurance to get to said job.

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[–] msmc101@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 day ago

well with tormenting no but torrenting? yes

[–] Liberal_Ghost@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Just use ProtonVPN. They have a free tier. No credit card required. Its slightly slower speeds, but it will keep you from getting in trouble while sailing the high seas 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️

[–] JakobFel@retrolemmy.com 1 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Proton's free tier doesn't support P2P traffic anymore.

[–] Liberal_Ghost@lemmy.zip 1 points 11 hours ago

Interesting. I did not know that.

depending on what you you plan on downloading you can probably use direct downloads instead, and you won't need a VPN if I'm not mistaken. no idea if and how available things are, though

[–] black0ut@pawb.social 2 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Ask people from your country, or look online to see if torrenting is prosecuted there. If people don't get letters from the ISP, you can just enable encryption in your torrent software and forget about it.

I've been torrenting without VPN for a decade (Spain), and never had any issues, not even traffic slowdowns.

Edit: You're probably gonna see a lot of advice to always use a VPN. Most of this advice is from US users, who are not used to torrenting without VPNs. The truth is, as with everything, it really depends. I'm not a fan of generalized answers to questions, and the same advice isn't as good for every situation. VPNs are a barrier of entry, and they also come with a slowdown. If you're starting to torrent and VPNs are not necessary in your country, don't be afraid to torrent without one. But of course, if you're from the US, you'll have to use one!

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