What Does Leech Mean in Torrenting: A Complete Guide 

Are you new to torrenting and want to know the important terminologies related to it? Leech is an important part of torrenting, and you should know about it to make your torrenting experience seamless.

Leechers are users who disconnect the torrent as soon as they have the full copy of the desired file.

They are not a part of a healthy filefile-sharingsystem as they only download from torrents and do not upload anything in return. A leech has a higher download percentage than their uploads.

It is recommended to be a seeder and not a leecher for as long as possible to keep the torrent alive and provide the best download speeds for peers.

If the leeches downloading a file are more than seeds to upload, it can take much longer for the user to complete a download. In contrast, files with more seeds can be downloaded quickly.

All that You Need to Know About Leeching in Torrenting

Let’s take a look at what leech means in torrenting, how it works, and how many leechers are good. 

Who is Considered Leechers?

Sharing keeps the torrent world alive. But there are a few people who only download files for free and do not upload anything in return. They are known as leechers.

Leechers are users downloading files from the torrent network. They may avoid sharing files altogether or limit their upload speed, which can affect the download speeds.

Leechers use uploaded links to download torrent files. After downloading, some leechers leave the link open to allow others to download the file, while others don’t leave the link open.

Some leechers even change or take down the torrent link, making it impossible to upload the files. This type of behavior is not encouraged as it disrupts the healthy file-sharing system. If there are more leechers than seeders, it can have a bad impact on the torrent file speed.

The ratio between seeders and leechers should be 1:1 to maintain the upload and download speed of the files. If there are more leechers, the uploading speed will increase, and the downloading speed will decrease. 

How Can a Leecher Become a Seeder?

Everyone is a leecher in the torrent world at some point in time. But they can become seeders by sharing files to the torrent system. To become a seeder, you have to give something in return for the file you have downloaded from the torrent network. You can do this by downloading a file or leaving the link open for others to download the content.

Once a leecher downloads the torrent content successfully and decides to stay in the torrent swarm to share the content with the rest of the people in the network, they become a seeder.

But if this user doesn’t leave the link open for download or shuts down the torrent after downloading it into their drive, they remain a leecher.

A good torrent manner is to keep the torrent active after you finish downloading it in the swarm. At least keep the torrent alive until you have uploaded the file more than you have downloaded. 

How Does Leeching Work?

You start out as a leecher when you start downloading a file on the torrent network. There are a few people who only intend to leech and don’t give anything in return for downloading the file. Such people even change the link to prevent others from receiving the file.

They may even disable uploads on their BitTorrent client, moving the files they have downloaded on their computer from the torrent location once the download is complete.

In worst scenarios, leechers even close the BitTorrent client when they are not using it for downloads. Leeches closes their BitTorrent client to prevent others from seeding the file after downloading the file.

They may even be on asymmetric Internet connections to perform this malicious act and ensure that nobody can catch them.

Difference Between Leecher and Seeder

Seeders are users who share a file within the Torrent network after downloading it. Once they have downloaded a file and have it 100% on their computer, they start sharing it and become seeders. Other users connect to them to continue downloading the files.

The Leechers download files from the torrent network and disconnect the torrent as soon as they have the full copy of the desired file. Leechers decrease the download speed of the files, but seeds increase the download speed.

A seed can’t become a leecher, but leechers can become seeders by leaving the link open for others to download it once they have downloaded their desired file. Seeds have the downloaded files, but leechers download the files from the links provided by the seeds. 

Conclusion

Leeching is an important part of the torrenting world. After downloading a file, you should allow others to download it by using your computer as a source.

An easy way to do this is by not closing your BitTorrent client. But many times, the users download their desired files from others but do not share the files back and are known as leechers.

Leeching can be a threat to peer-to-peer sharing, and it can even kill a torrent. So, you should always leave the link open after downloading the desired file.

This way, leechers become seeders and do not negatively impact the download speed of the files. Whether you’re leeching or seeding, you should use a secure VPN when torrenting.

This will make your torrenting experience safe and secure and help you avoid any potential torrenting risks. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What Happens When The Leechers Are More than Seeds? 

When the leechers are more than seeds, they negatively impact the download speed of the files. Leechers decrease the download speed as they download much more content than they upload. The fastest torrents have a large percentage of seeders and a number of leechers within the swarm.

Can Leechers Become Seeders?

Leechers can become seeders by participating in the file-sharing process. Once leechers have downloaded their desired files completely and have left the link open for others to download, they become seeders. You can do this by not closing your BitTorrent client after downloading your desired file