How to Download Torrents Safely in the Philippines in 2025

Millions of people in the Philippines are torrenting files using Bittorrent tech regularly. In fact, it’s been ranked 10th in the world for using torrents to download music and MP3 files. However, many may not be aware of some of the legal issues that come with torrenting in the Philippines.

If you download torrents, there could be some issues when you download copyrighted material. Additionally, there are some privacy and security risks that come with downloading files, including your activity being tracked as well as your IP address.

The solution to these issues is to use a virtual private network, also known as a VPN service. A quality VPN can help spoof your IP address and provide added security so you can torrent without any worries. I’ll break down how a VPN can help you torrent safely and my recommendations for the best ones to use.

Key takeaways

1. Millions of people torrent files in the Philippines
2. While torrenting is technically legal in the Philippines, there are some legal issues that can arise from copyright content.
3. There are some privacy and security concerns when torrenting.
4. A premium VPN will help protect your privacy while torrenting and safely torrent.

The legal framework for torrenting in the Philippines

The big question many have is, is torrenting illegal in the Philippines? The technical answer is that Bittorrent technology, a peer-to-peer file-sharing tech that allows it to be efficiently shared by a peer network, is totally legal in the Philippines.

The potential legal issues come up when it’s copyrighted material being shared without a license to distribute that material. This might include music, big movie releases, books, and more, all of which fall under international intellectual property laws. These laws protect certain content from being shared, downloaded, or distributed without express permission from the copyright owner.

While some torrents don’t fit this category, many torrents include illegal content. However, this also depends on the laws of the country where you are downloading, so be sure to look up local laws before deciding if you want to continue with torrent downloads.

Additionally, several years ago, the Philippines enacted the Cybercrime Prevention Act. The law covers many cyber crimes, including a catch-all clause that could apply to digital piracy. Law enforcement could charge individuals in the Philippines for downloading copyrighted material, and they could face a large fine or even jail time.

The right of privacy of communications 

As part of the Philippines Bill of Rights, all citizens are guaranteed the right to privacy and communication, which is supposed to cover digital communication. It states:

Section 3:

(1) The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law.

(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.

What this means is that residents in the Philippines have the constitutional right to protect the privacy of their digital communications, which includes torrent activity. You could use a VPN service to hide your online activity from third parties, law enforcement agencies, or internet providers.

How the Philippines tracks and monitors torrent activity

There are a couple of common methods that government agencies, internet providers, and other third parties use to track and monitor torrent activity.

Tracking IP address. This is the easiest and most common method for tracking torrent activity. Each time you download/upload a torrent in a torrent program, your IP address is shared with all other computers in that group.

Monitoring Internet connection. Your Internet service provider, and possibly government institutions, can access your data stream to monitor your Internet usage. This means they can see your torrent downloads through the internet connection and potentially block or slow down accounts that frequently download torrents.

How to hide your torrent activity in the Philippines 

The solution to hiding your torrent activity is by using a VPN service.

A VPN can help hide your true IP address by changing it to one that is anonymous. This way, your IP address will only be known to the VPN provider, and no one in your torrent program will be able to see it.

A VPN will also prevent your internet providers from being able to monitor your activity. All of your internet traffic will get routed through an encrypted VPN server. Your internet provider will not be able to see your internet traffic or what torrent files you download because of the encryption. All they’ll see is your 100% legal VPN server.

Additionally, a quality VPN also comes with a no-logs policy. What this means is that your VPN provider will not keep logs of your online activities while you use the VPN, so nothing will get traced back to you even if someone got into the VPN server.

How to unblock torrent sites in the Philippines 

Reportedly, internet providers in the Philippines will sometimes block access to popular torrent sites. So, it’s important to know how to get around these blocks.

The trick is to use a VPN provider. Because the VPN encrypts your traffic, it prevents internet providers from being able to see your data or know what websites you might be visiting. If your internet providers don’t know which sites you’re visiting, they won’t be able to block you or see your torrent traffic. a range of pricing and features so you can find the one that matches your needs best.

3 best VPNs for torrenting in the Philippines 

Here are the best VPNs for torrenting in the Philippines:

1. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is my number one pick and what I consider one of the best VPNs for torrenting. It has excellent performance, is user-friendly, and has strong privacy features. It comes with over 3,000 servers in 105 countries, including in the Philippines.

Features: ExpressVPN comes with unlimited bandwidth, as well as 8 simultaneous device connections. It includes a split tunneling feature, a password manager, private DNS, and an option for dedicated IP.

Speed: This VPN has lightning-fast speeds thanks to its Lightway tunneling protocol, so you won’t have to worry about your torrent downloads slowing down.

Security: ExpressVPN has all of the best privacy and security features, including AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, an ad-blocker, RAM-only servers, obfuscated servers, DNS leak protection, Private DNS, and a strict no-logs policy.

Streaming: ExpressVPN is great at bypassing blocks on torrenting sites and streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, YouTube, HBO Max, Hulu, Vudu, BBC iPlayer, and more.

Compatibility: This VPN is compatible with most devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Smart TVs, gaming consoles, and routers.

Pricing: This is a more expensive product, with prices starting at $6.67 per month, but it does come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. ExpressVPN does offer a 7-day free trial, but it is only available for mobile devices.

2. NordVPN

NordVPN is a well-rounded and reliable VPN that is a great choice for torrenting and file sharing. It has over 7,000 servers in 118 countries, including the Philippines.

Features: NordVPN lets its users have up to 10 simultaneous connections for their devices, as well as unlimited bandwidth. It also comes with split tunneling, obfuscated servers, double VPN, dedicated IP, and a SmartPlay feature.

Speed: This VPN has incredibly-fast speeds using the NordLynx protocol, but be aware the obfuscated servers only work with the OpenVPN protocol.

Security: NordVPN has excellent privacy and security features, which include military-grade encryption, a Dark Web monitor, DNS leak protection, malware protection, a kill switch, and a strict no-logs policy.

Streaming: NordVPN is great when it comes to bypassing restrictions on torrenting sites and streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Hulu, Disney+, and more.

Compatibility: This VPN is compatible with most devices, including Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, Smart TVs, gaming consoles, and routers.

Pricing: Prices for NordVPN start at $3.39 per month and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It also offers a 7-day free trial on all devices.

3. Surfshark

If you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck without sacrificing on premium features, then Surfshark is the one I recommend as the best budget VPN. It comes with over 3,200 servers in 100 countries, including in the Philippines.

Features: Surfshark stands out by offering unlimited simultaneous device connections, as well as unlimited bandwidth. It also offers split tunneling, a double VPN feature, obfuscated servers, and a dedicated IP address.

Speed: While it might not be as fast as Express or NordVPN, Surfshark still has very fast speeds using the WireGuard protocol for downloading files without slowdowns.

Security: Surfshark comes with many of the top security and privacy features, including AES-256 encryption, an ad-blocker, a cookie pop-up blocker, obfuscated servers, a kill switch, and a strict no-logs policy.

Streaming: Surfshark works well at unblocking torrenting sites and streaming sites, including Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, HBO Max, and Disney+.

Compatibility: Surfshark is compatible with many devices, including Mac, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, Smart TVs, gaming consoles, and routers.

Pricing: Prices for Surfshark start at the low price of just $1.99 per month and come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It also has a 7-day free trial available.

FAQ

Is torrenting safe in the Philippines?

There are some significant risks and security issues that could come from torrenting in the Philippines due to cyber laws, particularly if you download copyrighted content. There are also risks that the government, internet providers, or other third parties might be monitoring your activity online.

However, if you use a quality, premium VPN service, you can encrypt your traffic, hide your IP address, and safely torrent in the Philippines without any worry about potential issues.

Conclusion

If you’re someone who downloads torrents regularly in the Philippines, you should be aware that you may be facing some potential problems, particularly with online piracy laws and your internet activity being monitored.

However, with a virtual private network, also known as VPN, you can solve these issues. A VPN will help encrypt your traffic, hide your IP address, and help make sure you can torrent and continue file sharing safely, downloading all the content that you’d like.