The two largest torrent websites Kickass Torrents (KAT) and Torrentz.eu shut down in the wake of an anti-piracy crackdown. However, piracy is far from dead as downloaders continue to look for torrenting alternatives. Here are the seven torrenting websites alternatives downloaders are relying on.
In its recent report, Torrent Freak reported a massive migration and the changing trends among the downloaders after Torrentz and Kickass Torrents shut down. According to the website, search for other "torrents sites" or torrenting alternatives were very high as reported by Google Trends.
Meanwhile, other torrenting websites such as The Pirate Bay (TPB) and ExtraTorrent (ET) saw a surge in traffic. Also, these two torrent sites replaced Kickass Torrents (KAT) and Torrentz as the largest torrent sites of 2016.
With the help of data from Similarweb, TF was able to determine the surge in traffic on the top five torrenting alternatives after Kickass Torrents (KAT) and Torrentz shut down. According to the website, the data is based on 200 million devices. However, it happens to count desktop visits only.
Kickass Torrents (KAT) was taken down in July. This led to a rise in the traffic flow on Torrentz until it was taken down in early August. Following which, The Pirate Bay (TPB) has become the top most reliable torrenting alternative downloaders are visiting for the daily doze of movies, music, games and more. The torrent website reportedly saw "relative increase of 67 percent" traffic.
As for ExtraTorrent (ET), it is not far behind. With 101 percent increase in traffic, the website is the second most reliable torrenting alternative after Kickass Torrent (KAT) and Torrentz met its end.
"We always think and dream of growing and we indeed plan to keep growing," ExtraTorrent's SaM told TorrentFreak.
The other three websites in the top five reportedly are RARBG, 1337x.to, and YTS.ag. These torrent websites saw an increase by 45 percent, 53 percent, and 44 percent respectively.
Some other torrenting alternatives that have reportedly witnessed an increase in the traffic are Torrentz2 and Torlock after Kickass Torrents (KAT) and Torrentz shut down. Meanwhile, several mirror websites have also surfaced.
Note: The websites mentioned above may contain pirated content and Yibada does not promote piracy in any form.
The Pirate Bay (TPB) and ExtraTorrent (ET) may have become the largest torrent search websites among the former Torrentz and Kickass Torrents (KAT) visitors, but they continue to face the threat of shutting down. Rumours suggest that the future of two torrenting alternatives remain uncertain.