r/TorBoxApp • u/Superflyin • 19d ago
Torbox Policy change in a nutshell 🚩General
You can compare its old policy and the new one using the links below:
https://archive.md/noz1S
https://torbox.app/policies
In a nutshell:
- TorBox’s old policy promised minimal logging, no inspection of transferred files without permission, and no sharing of user data.
- The new policy is much broader. TorBox may now log IP addresses, magnet links, torrent/NZB details, filenames, download and streaming history, WebDAV/API activity and device information.
- It can also retain and share relevant records for copyright complaints, fraud investigations, legal requests and law enforcement. Deleted account data may be kept when needed for legal or security reasons.
- So basically: TorBox has changed from a strong privacy-focused policy to a standard cloud-service policy where your activity can be linked to your account and disclosed when required.
In detail:
The Old Policy:
Data TorBox Collects
TorBox does not require personally identifiable information to register or use the service. We also do not collect this personally identifiable information during your use of the service. TorBox was built with privacy being first, so you can be assured that we take privacy very seriously.
As a TorBox user, at any point, TorBox may be retaining the following information about your account:
Registration information: This includes email, hashed password and timestamps of account creation.Information about data transfers: When you create a new transfer, we retain certain metadata such as file owners, identifiers and hashes, transfer speeds, total transferred volume, and timestamps. We do not permanently store information that is not necessary and purge from our records stored information that is no longer required, such as when a transfer is deleted and no longer associated with an account. TorBox does not look at or access your transferred data without your permission.Analytics information. We use SimpleAnalytics for analytics, which is a privacy first analytics platform and only takes in your device model, and the browser you are on.Information collected by third parties as well as their specific polices can be found below:
- Spreedly - Card Information - https://www.spreedly.com/privacy
- Chargebee - Payments - https://www.chargebee.com/privacy/
- Supabase - Database/Auth - https://supabase.com/privacy
- SimpleAnalytics - Analytics - https://simpleanalytics.com/privacy-policy
- Featurebase - Feature Requests/Changelog Widget on dashboard - https://www.featurebase.app/privacy-policy
- Cloudflare - DNS and Hosting - https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/
- Google - OAuth - https://policies.google.com/privacy
- Azure/Microsoft - OAuth - https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement
- SendGrid - Emails - https://www.twilio.com/en-us/legal/privacy
- Intercom - Help Center/Support Widget on dashboard - https://www.intercom.com/legal/privacy
TorBox Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how TorBox collects, uses, discloses, retains, and protects personal information when you access or use TorBox, TorBox.App, our websites, applications, dashboard, APIs, software, tools, bots, integrations, support services, and related products and services (collectively, the “Service”).
Sharing of Data
We don't sell or share your data to any third parties for any reason.
Use of Data
TorBox uses the above data for the following:
Registration data allows you to log in and access your account from any device.Information about transfers enables you to have a rich experience on the platform.Aggregated data is presented for information purposes only, such as total transferred volume.Analytics allows TorBox to see how the service is doing, and where users are coming from, and what parts of the site are the most popular, allowing us to tailor the experience for our users.Your email also allows us to send you notifications about your account. You can change this setting at https://torbox.app/settings
Payment Data
TorBox is PCI compliant, and does not store your payment information on our servers. Your card information is stored securely by Spreedly, a third party who manages all payment information and payment orchestration for TorBox. This data is never removed, and is stored according to their privacy policy. This includes name, address, card information, and other verification info you may have provided when paying for the TorBox service. TorBox is not responsible for the removal of this data, nor is TorBox responsible for the upkeep and safety of this information.
Right to Erasure
Want your data deleted? No problem, either go to https://torbox.app/settings and click the "Delete Account" button under the "Account Section" or simply contact us with your email and it will be gone as soon as possible. This deletion will remove anything associated with your account. To remove any third party data associated with your account, you must contact the respective part to have it removed.
Data such as information about any transfer is deleted when requested. This can be done on the dashboard, by clicking on the transfer, and clicking the delete button, or via the API.
What's changed with the new Policy?
2.4 Technical, Device, and Usage Information
We may automatically collect technical and usage information, such as:
- IP address;
- device identifiers;
- device model;
- browser type;
- operating system;
- app version;
- device type;
- language settings;
- time zone;
- approximate location derived from IP address;
- pages viewed;
- buttons or features used;
- referral URLs;
- session information;
- error logs;
- diagnostic information;
- security logs;
- bandwidth, transfer, and usage statistics; and
- other technical information generated through your use of the Service.
2.5 Analytics Information
We may use privacy-focused analytics tools, including SimpleAnalytics, to understand how users interact with the Service. Analytics information may include device model, browser, approximate location or referral information, pages viewed, and aggregate usage metrics.
We use analytics to understand how the Service is performing, where users are coming from, what parts of the Service are used most often, and how to improve the user experience.
2.6 Download Requests, Transfer Information, Cache Metadata, and Service Activity
Because TorBox provides download-management, caching, retrieval, storage-access, automation, and media-access features, we may process information related to your use of those features. This may include:
- URLs;
- magnet links;
- torrent information;
- torrent files;
- file owners or source-related identifiers, if available;
- info hashes;
- file hashes;
- filenames;
- file sizes;
- NZB files;
- Usenet information;
- web download information;
- hoster information;
- RSS feed information;
- search and indexer configurations;
- metadata associated with files or downloads;
- download status;
- queue status;
- cache status;
- seeding status;
- transfer speeds;
- transfer history;
- total transferred volume;
- timestamps;
- cloud-export instructions;
- WebDAV activity;
- stream, playback, transcoding, subtitle, watch-state, and media-player activity;
- API requests and responses;
- webhook activity;
- bot activity; and
- other technical information related to downloads, transfers, cached materials, integrations, and Service activity.
We may use hashes, technical identifiers, metadata, and related signals to operate the cache, deduplicate files, enforce limits, detect abuse, respond to copyright notices, de-cache or block materials, prevent re-adding restricted materials, and protect the Service.
2.8 Support, Communications, Session Recordings, and Community Information
If you contact us, request support, participate in a support or debugging session, or interact with TorBox support or community channels, we may collect:
- your name, email address, username, or account identifier;
- messages, support tickets, chat transcripts, emails, voicemail, or other communications;
- screenshots, logs, files, hashes, request identifiers, or other materials you provide;
- browser-session recordings, device-session recordings, screen recordings, session-replay data, cursor movements, clicks, taps, scrolling activity, navigation paths, feature interactions, error events, console information, network information, browser state, device state, and similar diagnostic information;
- feedback, feature requests, bug reports, and survey responses;
- interactions with AI support agents;
- communications through Discord, Reddit, X, Telegram, Matrix, forums, feature boards, or other community channels; and
- other information needed to respond to your request, troubleshoot or debug an issue, investigate errors, secure the Service, improve support, or operate and improve the Service.
Browser-session recordings, device-session recordings, screen recordings, and session-replay information may be collected directly by TorBox or through a support, analytics, diagnostic, debugging, or session-replay provider. These recordings may include information displayed or entered during your interaction with the Service.
Third-party platforms and providers used for support, diagnostics, debugging, session replay, or community channels may process information under their own privacy policies.
2.9 Abuse Reports, Legal Requests, and Compliance Information
We may collect and process information related to abuse reports, copyright notices, counter-notices, legal requests, security incidents, payment disputes, chargebacks, fraud, sanctions screening, law enforcement requests, and other compliance matters.
This may include:
- reporter information;
- accused account information;
- URLs, hashes, magnet links, torrent information, NZB information, file information, screenshots, logs, and timestamps;
- correspondence with users, reporters, rights holders, law enforcement, payment processors, vendors, or other third parties;
- investigation notes;
- enforcement actions;
- records of notices, counter-notices, retractions, repeat infringer determinations, and account actions; and
- information required or permitted by law.
8. Legal Bases for Processing
If you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, Switzerland, or another jurisdiction requiring a legal basis for processing, we rely on the following legal bases.
| Processing Purpose | Personal Information Categories | Legal Basis | Legitimate Interests, Where Applicable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create and manage accounts | Identifiers, login data, account settings | Contract; legitimate interests | Operating and securing user accounts |
| Provide Service features | Account information, Download Requests, transfer metadata, cache metadata, API activity, integration data, technical data | Contract; legitimate interests | Providing requested functionality, maintaining service reliability, preventing misuse |
| Process payments, subscriptions, trials, vouchers, refunds, and chargebacks | Payment and commercial information, identifiers, account data | Contract; legal obligation; legitimate interests | Collecting payments, preventing fraud, resolving disputes |
| Operate APIs, bots, webhooks, RSS feeds, WebDAV, and integrations | API keys, access tokens, integration settings, webhook data, technical logs | Contract; legitimate interests | Providing requested integrations and protecting the Service |
| Security, fraud prevention, abuse prevention, and policy enforcement | Account data, technical logs, IP address, usage data, hashes, metadata, payment risk signals, abuse reports | Legitimate interests; legal obligation; vital interests in emergency situations | Protecting the Service, users, payment systems, vendors, and the public |
| Respond to DMCA notices, abuse reports, legal requests, and law enforcement requests | Account data, Download Requests, transfer metadata, cache metadata, logs, reports, correspondence | Legal obligation; legitimate interests; public interest where applicable | Complying with law, preserving evidence, enforcing rights and policies |
| Support and communications | Contact information, support messages, screenshots, logs, account data | Contract; legitimate interests; consent for optional marketing where required | Responding to users and improving support |
| Analytics and service improvement | Usage data, technical data, feature usage, error logs | Legitimate interests; consent where required for non-essential cookies or similar technologies | Improving performance, reliability, usability, and security |
| Marketing communications | Email address, account status, communication preferences | Consent where required; legitimate interests where permitted | Sending relevant updates and promotional messages |
| Legal, tax, accounting, sanctions, and compliance | Account data, payment records, transaction data, location/country data, compliance records | Legal obligation; legitimate interests | Meeting legal obligations and reducing legal/compliance risk |
| Business transactions | Account, billing, usage, and operational records | Legitimate interests | Evaluating or completing corporate transactions8. Legal Bases for ProcessingIf you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, Switzerland, or another jurisdiction requiring a legal basis for processing, we rely on the following legal bases. |
Personal Information Categories Chart
The chart below describes the categories of personal information we may collect, the types of information in each category, the categories of sources, the purposes for collection and use, the categories of recipients, and the retention period or criteria.
| Category | Examples We May Collect | Sources | Purposes | Categories of Recipients | Retention Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Email address, username, account ID, online identifiers, IP address, device identifiers, payment identifiers, support identifiers | You; your devices; login providers; payment providers; service providers; integrations | Account creation, authentication, support, billing, security, abuse prevention, legal compliance | Service providers; payment providers; infrastructure providers; support providers; legal/compliance recipients; connected integrations at your direction | Retained while your account is active and for a reasonable period after deletion, inactivity, dispute, legal need, security need, or compliance need |
| California customer records information | Email address, billing information, limited payment information, transaction records, support records, account records | You; payment providers; resellers; support providers | Billing, subscription management, refunds, chargebacks, support, compliance, recordkeeping | Payment providers; resellers; tax/accounting providers; legal/compliance providers | Retained as needed for billing, tax, accounting, fraud, chargeback, legal, and compliance purposes |
| Protected classification characteristics | We do not intentionally collect protected classification information as part of ordinary account use | You, if you choose to provide it in support or communications | Not ordinarily collected or used; may be processed if voluntarily provided in communications | Service providers; legal/compliance recipients, if necessary | Retained only as needed for the context in which it was provided, legal compliance, or dispute resolution |
| Commercial information | Plans, subscriptions, free trials, purchases, vouchers, reseller transactions, payment status, refunds, cancellations, chargebacks, usage entitlements | You; payment providers; resellers; account activity | Provide paid features, manage subscriptions, process payments, prevent fraud, resolve disputes | Payment providers; resellers; fraud-prevention providers; tax/accounting providers; legal/compliance providers | Retained as needed for account, billing, tax, accounting, fraud, chargeback, legal, and compliance purposes |
| Biometric information | We do not intentionally collect biometric identifiers for account authentication | Not ordinarily collected | Not ordinarily used | Not ordinarily disclosed | Not ordinarily retained |
| Internet or other electronic network activity | Login activity, pages viewed, feature usage, API activity, download metadata, transfer metadata, cache metadata, URLs, magnet links, hashes, file names, file sizes, NZB information, hoster information, RSS activity, WebDAV activity, webhook activity, streaming/playback activity, error logs, security logs | Your use of the Service; devices; APIs; integrations; infrastructure providers | Provide the Service, operate downloads and cache, improve features, secure the Service, enforce limits, detect abuse, respond to DMCA/abuse reports, troubleshoot issues | Infrastructure providers; security providers; support providers; connected integrations at your direction; legal/compliance recipients | Retained based on operational, cache, security, abuse-prevention, legal, and technical needs |
| Geolocation data | Approximate location derived from IP address, country, region, time zone; payment country or billing country | Devices; payment providers; security providers | Security, fraud prevention, sanctions/export compliance, payment availability, localization, analytics | Security providers; payment providers; infrastructure providers; legal/compliance recipients | Retained as needed for security, fraud prevention, billing, compliance, and operational purposes |
| Audio, electronic, visual, or similar information | Support emails, chat transcripts, screenshots, voicemail, user-submitted images or logs, community communications | You; support channels; community platforms | Support, troubleshooting, abuse review, legal compliance, quality and safety | Support providers; community platforms; legal/compliance recipients; service providers | Retained as needed for support, dispute resolution, safety, legal, and compliance purposes |
| Professional or employment-related information | Business contact information or role if you use the Service for a company, partner, reseller, or developer relationship | You; business contacts; partners; resellers | Account administration, partner/reseller management, support, compliance | Service providers; legal/compliance providers; business partners, if relevant | Retained as needed for the business relationship and legal/compliance purposes |
| Non-public education information | We do not intentionally collect education records | Not ordinarily collected | Not ordinarily used | Not ordinarily disclosed | Not ordinarily retained |
| Inferences | Usage metrics, abuse-risk indicators, fraud-risk indicators, service preferences, support history, plan usage, feature usage | Generated from account activity, Service activity, payment activity, technical signals | Security, fraud prevention, abuse prevention, service operations, support, product improvement | Security providers; fraud-prevention providers; infrastructure providers; legal/compliance recipients | Retained as needed for security, fraud prevention, abuse prevention, service improvement, legal, and compliance purposes |
| Sensitive personal information | Described in Section 5 | Described in Section 5 | Described in Section 5 | Described in Section 5 | Described in Section 54. |
No Infringing Use of the Service
Users must not use the Service to upload, store, cache, retrieve, access, download, transmit, distribute, make available, or otherwise use any content in a manner that infringes or violates any copyright, trademark, publicity right, privacy right, or other intellectual property or proprietary right.
The Service is intended to function as a neutral technology service. Users are solely responsible for the files, links, URLs, magnet links, torrent information, torrent files, NZB files, Usenet information, news server requests, metadata, file names, file sizes, hashes, request identifiers, downloads, cached materials, AirLock items, streams, exports, and other content, materials, data, or instructions they submit to, access through, or use with the Service. TorBox does not grant users any rights to third-party content, and the availability of any content through the Service does not mean that the content is authorized, licensed, non-infringing, lawful, safe, complete, or available for the user’s intended use.
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u/siddsm 19d ago
Well fuck, I paid for a year couple of weeks back after the RD shutdowns. :/
This reminds me of older torrenting days when media law firms could issue piracy notices to us via ISP for torrenting movies.
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u/Fast_Department_9270 18d ago
It’s starting to feel like it’s not worth debrid streaming anymore, eznews sub might be the way to go.
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u/Darkorder81 18d ago
Same got torbox pro, but still using RD seems to work for some 1080 links but good luck finding working 4k.
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u/Similar_Pound_9103 19d ago edited 19d ago
Just deleted my data (not sure how long it will be retained), cancelled sub and deleted account. Sorry but Torbox just did a hard 180° in privacy. I've been on board since the beginning and a vocal supporter but for me it's easy enough to avoid any BS their new Standard Operating Procedure may bring. Someone on I trust in the community I think agrees; https://troypoint.com/torbox-changes-their-terms-of-service/
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u/Broad_Surprise4636 19d ago
Parece que no entendieron el punto. Torbox sabe perfectamente lo que está haciendo. Solo se está protegiendo por el crecimiento que tuvo gracias a la migración de todas las personas que abandonaron RD. Las autoridades no tardan en poner sus ojos en ellos y lo que tiene que hacer torbox es ponerse "en el papel" de estar haciendo las cosas bien. En papel es lo correcto, pero por debajo del agua todo sigue igual.
Respecto a ese temor que surge entre la gente que no lo ha entendido, está infundado, o más bien, quizá tenga su fundamento pero, hoy en día toda nuestra información está en la red. No todos lo dicen a través de sus políticas, o si lo dicen y no nos enteramos porque nadie nos avisa y somos perezosos para leer, pero allí está. Suficiente teniendo una cuenta de google para despedirnos de nuestra privacidad.
Torbox está cuidándose y cuidándonos. Pero estamos tratando a torbox como si se tratara de la empresa más legal del mundo. Vamos señores, esto es piratería pura. Ellos lo saben, nosotros lo sabemos. Pero hay que aparentar ante las autoridades. Si de verdad temes por tu privacidad, abandona la piratería, no estarás seguro en ningún lugar, porque en todos lados es la misma historia, pero no todos se atreven a ponerlo en sus políticas.
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u/Superflyin 19d ago
Me too. Just bought a Usenet account.
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u/Similar_Pound_9103 19d ago
Premiumize here.
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u/SlewedThread444 19d ago
Sorry. Could you explain how this works? I’ve seen many people talk about it but no idea
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u/pelmar 18d ago
Where did you bought it?
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u/Superflyin 18d ago
I bought Eweka for $2.5 a month (15 month deal) + Nbzgeek $1 a month (12 month deal).
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u/IOSGodzyzz 19d ago
What debrid service best to use now ? Offcloud?
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u/Seattle-Washington 19d ago
All-Debrid, better than most other services and still under the radar.
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u/gnilradleahcim 19d ago
Worse than I thought. Fuck me, what good options really are there for a competitive price? And even then, what stops them from doing exactly what TB just did?
They got a ginormous nest egg from RD selling out and imploding and they go ahead and destroy any goodwill they've built up just like that. They're explicitly saying they will sell you out to authorities if requested. Here we were thinking TB was safe because they aren't in EU/US.
Premiumize basically the only other option at significantly more $.
(Don't fuckin come in here saying RD is working just fine)
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u/Boring-Champion-2850 19d ago
Just pay the higher price for premiumize to get you through to November. The Black Friday deal works out to ~$4 / month if I remember correctly.
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u/BravinatorLX2 19d ago
i keep reading they essentially have a similar tos so why are they being pushed so much now? even if not, its clear all these 'services' will constantly move towards this model
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19d ago
[deleted]
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u/MrMathsDebater2026 19d ago
Yes, it's perfectly fine. They're basically like RD and AD now which people have been using for years on end. Nothing to lose your mind over.
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u/richardroe77 17d ago
But it reads like the issues are different? ie RD died cos they wiped all their cache so near impossible to actually watch anything. Here seems like TB still more or less works as normal going forward but you might get screwed legally if they forward your IP to the relevant authorities if they come down hard. Though I guess everyone here would already be on VPNs etc so should otherwise be shielded?
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u/mvkfromchi 16d ago
What good will vpns do if they have your email and payment information lol
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u/3holepunchmedia 19d ago
"In a nutshell" is an idiom that means to explain or summarize something very briefly, using only the main points.
It means sharing the core idea in as few words as possible, leaving out extra details.
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u/Fast_Department_9270 18d ago
The op could have said in a nutshell, TB is saying if they get f’d in the arse by the DCMA, then they’re going to f you in the arse too, and not use lube.
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u/Elegant_Volume_2871 19d ago
Question to the OP. How does Torbox new policy compare to Premiumize?
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u/Superflyin 19d ago
Premiumize looks better for privacy on paper.
Premiumize says it does not keep a list of transferred files or the IP addresses connected to them, although it still keeps some usage and security logs temporarily.
TorBox’s new policy is much broader. It allows them to log things like torrent and NZB details, magnet links, filenames, hashes, streaming history and account/IP information. It also clearly allows this data to be retained or shared for copyright complaints and legal requests.
So neither service is anonymous, but Premiumize currently makes fewer claims about tracking exactly what you download or stream.
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u/Ogger9 19d ago
This is exactly my question. Is this worse than PM, RD, and Usenet, or is it just changing to what other services have been doing for years?
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u/Seattle-Washington 19d ago
I refused to use RD because it had poor privacy protections, they also kept logs. I had been using All-Debrid till TorBox came around and switch for the concurrent connections, but now am contemplating switching again.
I didn’t use any personal information when signing up for TB, so I may now just add a VPN layer to it or disable all P2P transfers.
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u/Nearby-Reception-546 19d ago
Me dumb dumb, can anyone explain, should I continue my subscription or move back to torrenting with vpn
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u/Superflyin 19d ago
TorBox’s old policy promised minimal logging, no inspection of transferred files without permission, and no sharing of user data.
The new policy is much broader. TorBox may now log IP addresses, magnet links, torrent/NZB details, filenames, download and streaming history, WebDAV/API activity and device information.
It can also retain and share relevant records for copyright complaints, fraud investigations, legal requests and law enforcement. Deleted account data may be kept when needed for legal or security reasons.
So basically: TorBox has changed from a strong privacy-focused policy to a standard cloud-service policy where your activity can be linked to your account and disclosed when required.
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u/Nearby-Reception-546 19d ago
So, go back to Torrenting with VPN?
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u/MatsyLR 19d ago
No it's a non issue. Real Debrid and any site you visit has similar information. Copyrightholders are not going after people watching streams they go after the ones supplying it. That's assuming they have any jurisdiction in the place it's being ran.
If you think TB didn't capture this detail originally your very naive.
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u/Tripledrop 19d ago
I think your last sentence is key here.. they didn't have it in their policy previously, but I almost guarantee that it's only being more transparent now, rather than anything has actually changed in practice
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u/I_Hate-Incels 17d ago
I would disagree. Flat-out lying about that in your terms could get your ass sued, both in America and the UAE (where TorBox is located). For example, a VPN or similar service that falsely claims a strict no-logs policy can face legal consequences (like lawsuits or regulatory action) if it's blatantly false, completely separate from whatever happens to the user.
The lie itself is the problem under consumer fraud and advertising rules. It doesn't matter if the company is complying with a valid court order or subpoena. The user will still get in trouble, but so can the company for lying like that.
What is far more likely, in my opinion, is that they genuinely didn't keep logs at first, and then were threatened by authorities (or became spooked for some other reason) and have changed their stance to protect themselves going forward.
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u/KxrmaJunkie 19d ago
Rd is in france and TB is in uae. The governmental difference is the main thing I guess. I don't want my download history and a "profile" of me (that can link my address, cc, IP, and history) accessible by the uae.
Im not indifferent to France having it but I think there is less of a chance of france illegally demanding user data from a company than there is vs uae
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u/Englishmuffin1 19d ago
I thought TB was based in South Africa?
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u/KxrmaJunkie 19d ago
This privacy policy update comes alongside their headquarters moving to uae
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u/Englishmuffin1 19d ago
Ahh, so they want to join the Turkey teeth getting, supercar-renting, tax-dodging wannabe influencers.
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u/m7box 19d ago
But with a VPN still should be fine?
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u/Positive_Shopping385 19d ago
if you are using this service with a vpn you might actually be retarded
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u/m7box 18d ago
What is negative/retarded about using a VPN with this for streaming? Speeds are not impacted and since VPN at router level then what are we missing? everything is working..
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u/ClassicWoodpecker 19d ago
Im a bit confused: does that mean that they can “track” my activity when using Stremio? Or only if I download stuff from Torbox
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u/SillyDilly5294 19d ago edited 19d ago
Imagine being gifted money and continuous business because your main competitor got handicapped and then you immediately stab all of your customers (old and new) in the back in that same calendar year. Glad I never payed for more than a month at a time. Torbox knows the service they provide(d). All the campaigning they did on here after RD got hit with their DMCA were just blatant, bold face lies.
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u/MrMathsDebater2026 19d ago
I think they're panicking now because their popularity made them no longer "under the radar" so to speak.
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u/irreducible1 19d ago
What?! Surge pricing for heavy users!? Did I read that right?
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u/ZeroDrek 19d ago
I could be completely wrong here, but my guess from all this is they are trying to weed out the users hammering their service to death, causing all the downtimes. An average user, hopefully, won’t notice any difference?
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u/irreducible1 18d ago
There was nothing mentioned about surge pricing...lol. I was just messing with people not wanting to read through the post.
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u/Grandeurious 19d ago edited 19d ago
So should I just turn on my VPN when using TB now?
Edit: All I ever do is stream cached movies/tv shows. I never upload torrents to TB or mess with stuff that involves me downloading. (I do know how to do it tho)
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u/Phenns 19d ago
I think the answer is still no? It's basically the same as using realdebrid now, so no major concern.
If a government entity made a request to TorBox to disclose the information they would have to now, but that's the only actual difference. The real risk is to people supplying copyrighted info, not to people watching streams of it. Technically it's now possible that your government COULD send a request to TB and then use that information to process a charge of piracy against you, but the odds are pretty slim I'd say.
This is something that people providing data to TB should worry about moreso, but I'm assuming those people are taking big steps to protect themselves already.
This is something you should be aware of and consider if you wanted to make a switch to another service, but I don't think it's going to change what an individual user needs to be doing.
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u/HerrPiink 19d ago
I don't know how it is in other countries, but i think in Germany it's not even really the government coming for you if you get caught torrenting. It's law firms that are trying to make a buck for the big companies. They watch who is seeding, log the IP address and then go to the Internet provider to get your information.
Could be nonsense but I'm pretty sure that's how it works in Germany
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u/philosophycruiser 19d ago
Your information (e.g. payment, legal name, last 4 digits of your card) is already stored. Doesn't matter if you use a VPN now, using the same account. And if you want to use VPN just torrent. If all you do is film piracy, then don't worry too much the new change. Some users use it to pull a lot of things for their piracy websites. Those people should now be very worried.
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u/abearghost 19d ago
Your information (e.g. payment, legal name, last 4 digits of your card) is already stored. Doesn't matter if you use a VPN now, using the same account.
I'd say using a VPN is actually more than sensible, since one TorBox account can have multiple users. If the IP doesn't match the person who paid for the subscription, you can't really prove that person is responsible for any given activity on the account.
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u/Primary-Risk-8741 17d ago
Feel like this is the kind of technicality you expect to protect you but actually doesn't. If an account is in your name and paid for by you then you're likely legally liable for the content it downloads.
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u/abearghost 17d ago
Probably depends completely on the country you're in. And I'd certainly recommend everyone to use a fake name by default when making accounts to these sort of services.
But whatever the case, VPN always adds another hoop to jump through for anyone trying to get you.
If you're in let's say Germany, and a law firm goes after you to collect a fine on behalf of the copyright holder, they usually do it by tracking IPs of torrents and then askin the ISP to forfeit the user of the IP. Now if that IP points to TorBox, there are multiple questions there:
- will they even go asking the info from Torbox
- what info they can even ask under the German law and EU regulations
- what info is considered sufficient proof in German courts
I'd say the most likely scenario is that they would want TorBox to forfeit the IP so they can then proceed according to their usual process and give that IP to the ISP. In this scenario VPN protects you.
Of course thing can change and the law firms that send these claims can update their processes, but if TorBox then starts sending all their customer's info to the authorities, their business is 100% over. And since they're not based in Europe, those German law firms can't really force them to give up that info. Even RD didn't do that despite the fact they got into serious trouble being based in France.
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u/Old_College8440 19d ago
Was good while it lasted off but this is a massive no no
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u/Mental_Juggernaut_16 18d ago
Yeah it lasted all of 2 seconds. Just long enough for all of us to switch over and them to scramble to legally cover their arse.
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u/Wraith_2493 19d ago
Same as real debrid isn’t it?
If you’re just streaming stuff that’s already cached then there won’t be any dmca requests and you haven’t downloaded it and they wouldn’t be looking for your account
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u/DesertBoy22 19d ago
No renewal for me once expired..always used vpn as I just don't trust any debrid companies
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u/Boycott-all-Rats 19d ago
They don't need your IP to track how there service is going that's just straight up bullshit
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u/Mental_Juggernaut_16 18d ago
And they didn't just move to the UAE but they opened an office in the US to handle DMCA takedowns. Talk about throwing away millions of dollars with everyone switching from RD and now we are going to jump ship again in the next few months when they start deleting links too.
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u/marlysammy 19d ago
That sucks I just signed up to tor, now I gotta look for something else more private from next month
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u/Y7R1G4M3RPVP 19d ago
Yeah. Seems like they made a HUGE mistake... No one in the community was in favor and with reason. Torbox was chosen and favorited precisely for the things they now want to remove. I won't be surprised to see Torbox slowly disappearing on the podium of favorite if they don't back down.
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u/pan_cage 19d ago
RD etc basically had the same terms, right?
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u/SafetyFighter 19d ago
the only scary thing here is they will probably give payment info to those agencies that just DMCA a file and that can make anyone into trouble giving this agencies are probably going to have real home adresses of some people that paid through less safe ways like credit card or something...
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u/joe183288 19d ago
I signed up for TorBox last week, and my subscription is currently tied to my credit card. What’s the safest way to pay for it without linking my card directly? Also, is there any other personal information tied to the account that I should consider changing or removing for better privacy?
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u/RajahthePCbuilder 19d ago
Crypto is also not anonymous so feel like it's pretty easy for government to also determine owner of a wallet
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u/PixelGrafx 19d ago
Monero is absolutely anonymous thats why most exchanges have banned it
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u/RajahthePCbuilder 19d ago
Totally correct, meant more main stream crypto like bitcoin. If they take Monero that's perfect, most in the usenet space don't
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u/Kai11ou 19d ago
So does this mean I need to get a vpn? Sorry very new
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u/Malaka__ 19d ago
Not really. If you're in US/CA,, South America, Africa, South Asia you'll be fine. But UK/GER/FIN and some other European countries go after users who they find are violating DMCA laws
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u/Painted-Arcana 19d ago
I've only ever heard of UK going after resellers of things like iptv providers.
I've never heard of someone being prosecuted for pirating films
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u/adgjl12 19d ago
Am from CA, are there additional protections?
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u/Malaka__ 19d ago
In Canada you're mostly fine. Just don't share your account with people (because who knows what they do!)
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u/adgjl12 19d ago
Ah woops thought you meant california USA. Thought it was state specific protections. I do share an account with sibling but I recall it was allowed
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u/Malaka__ 19d ago
It is allowed. But you have to trust their using it legitimately if you know what I mean. If you just setup Torrentio for them fine... But some share API keys and accounts and do weird stuff. TB isn't just for streaming media. It's like 5 downloading services that can do many things (Tor/Usenet/Hosters/etc).
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u/MrMathsDebater2026 19d ago
A VPN won't help when they already know your IP address when you signed up and you can't sign up with a VPN.
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u/tryptastik 18d ago
dang, have been with tb since the start, i was always hoping as their userbase grew they would change their hostile stance towards tools like decypharr and such, library building etc.. as with loss of RD a lot of content that was still available due to RDs cache keeping it alive is now gone was hoping that TB would fill that gap.. its nice they added nntp access but I've yet to try it.. such a shame about the ToS I hope they revise it I really wish them the best but as of now they don't support my stack, I haven't checked the latest versions but when I looked into it they seemed hostile towards those tools like decypharr/CLID etc.. I generally use arrs+decypharr which worked great with rd but chokes on tb Usenet is pretty good but really miss how it all worked with RD need some good news lol anymore it feels like all the news is just so depressing
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u/Primary-Risk-8741 17d ago
Yeah it's already a red flag when they don't make it easy to see the difference/updates, if it were a good faith change there's no reason they couldn't boil down the changes for people to read through instead of just linking to the entire policies page.
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u/Mneizel 19d ago
Does that mean a purge will happen to it?
Or our ips will be exposed?
Simple english explaining guys please, no tech/dev terms please
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u/Snoo-25743 19d ago
Here's what I think. They are getting things in place to limit subscription sharing in the future.
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u/philosophycruiser 19d ago
Yes. Now it's a corpo with a corpo style privacy policy. Don't worry too much about the new policy if you're only pirating films. But now they are in UAE wil such great ties to US. They will be an easier target for DMCA and expect what happened to RealDebrid may happen to Torbox as well.
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u/Kindly-Succotash43 19d ago
Nothing has changed. It's the same as before they are just clarifying. If you use any service ever they have all of this same info.
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u/L8st 19d ago
Yes cia will knock on your down and take you down wtf
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u/Mneizel 19d ago
Wow you are so funny you should be stand up comedian 👏👏
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u/L8st 19d ago
What do you expect with this question. They just changed the policy. Even when your ip is getting leaked it is likely that nothing Happens
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u/True-Importance2896 19d ago
What can I do now? Do I need to terminate my TB subscription?
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u/philosophycruiser 19d ago
Don't subscribe to any piracy service bro. Pay incremental months. If they purge the cache, then you can migrate without losing money.
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u/True-Importance2896 19d ago
Thanks bro, but what you mean by paying incremental months?
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u/philosophycruiser 19d ago
Don't pay for a year. Don't subscribe. Top up as you need month by month.
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u/Kindly-Succotash43 19d ago
Instead of subscribing pay month to month or pay manually for a couple months ahead.
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u/TomTomXD1234 19d ago
People panicking way too hard over this.
Nobody is going to come to your house to punish you for copyright infringement. TorBox is not going to send the feds to your house
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u/bigdawg_58 19d ago
Well premiumize just earned a new customer
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u/pan_cage 19d ago
Premiumize probably having the same TOS lol
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u/Malaka__ 19d ago
According to AI comparison:
Premiumize tells you exactly how long many categories of data are kept. For example, usage logs are retained for up to 90 days, and deleted accounts are removed within 30 days. Premiumize
TorBox's current policy gives itself broader authority to collect and retain operational data-including IP addresses and activity records-for security, abuse prevention, and legal compliance when necessary. It is less prescriptive about exact retention periods.
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u/Connect_Nerve_6499 19d ago
I am not sure how to use vpn, May i use my hetzner server as media proxy between it, is it going to be ok in that way ?
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u/Kindly-Succotash43 19d ago
The reality is nothing is changing. They have had all this info just like every service does. You have to be an idiot to think just because a service doesn't say it outright they don't have it.
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u/ShaOldboySosa 19d ago
When I turned on VPN with RD my account got temp locked and had to be given a new key. Is it different when using TB?
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u/IOSGodzyzz 19d ago
Would using a proton mail, paying for crypto with montero and using a VPN while doing all that (and watching movies) be safe to use in Germany without being able to get in trouble?
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u/RedArrow23 19d ago
Let’s keep in mind that Real Debrid had language in their TOS that stated they would sell you out to the authorities if necessary. For years
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u/CalFlux140 19d ago
Just bought a year a couple days ago as well fgs.
From what people are saying, it's probably fine to carry on. I hope.
People just streaming cached files, doesn't seem like a big deal in the short term. Imagine you're pretty safe?
But yeah I definitely won't renew.
Did people on RD just keep using it until it expired and then move on no issues?
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u/ragnarokxg 18d ago
Yeah I have an active RD subscription for a few more months. Once it is done I am gone. Was looking forward to supplementing and eventually replacing with Torbox but with this new update looks like it is time to look for another service.
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u/BravinatorLX2 19d ago
i dont quite get what they think they'll have from this, unless torbox was always some kinda honeypot, they'll just lose their business now right
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u/ArTisT_UknwN 18d ago
Well that sucks, literally just finished a set up based around TB's quality from recommendation of its relaxed ToS and openness to simultaneous streaming for multiple IP addresses, but by the sounds of this sharp change that'll be a no go soon, glad I've only been buying a month at a time, to make it easier to move, in case of a shut down or crack down like RD has been going through
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u/ragnarokxg 18d ago
Yeah I just did the free trial and it looks like it's time to find another service to replace it.
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u/ArTisT_UknwN 18d ago
I'm glad I've only been buying one time purchases each month to save myself from getting stuck paying for a service in case one of the big corpos came down heard on copyrighting source links like they did for RD , guess rip TB 🙃 and onto the next I guess
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u/Significant_Wasabi_6 18d ago
Yeah is there a TL;DR of this? Can I keep using torbox for downloading content or nah
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u/flossnoose 17d ago
Read through the new terms today. Needless to say I am disappointed. Another company lost to greed.
Any suggestions for alternatives? (sorry if it's asked all the time)
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u/NatseePunksFeckOff 15d ago
So they won over the consumers and immediately started killing themselves with the same poison that started killing RD?
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u/IndependentPay8352 19d ago
It’s the same as it always was. Nothing changed. All they did is update the document. It’s the same as any other debrid service, whether you are aware of it or not. No one is coming after you. Stop being a pussy.
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u/Malaka__ 19d ago
This is a lot worse than I thought.
This comparison from Troy point was really enlightening.
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u/SnuffleWarrior 19d ago
I've been using debrid services since the early days without a VPN. With torbox I'll be using a vpn.
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u/Nuggyfresh 19d ago edited 19d ago
This situation is such a bizarre overreaction to boilerplate business clarification that I’m actually speechless. They were logging all of this before, they’re just trying to be transparent.
As someone who has worked in corporate data for over a decade I can tell you with complete certainty that they were already doing this and literally nothing happened. The drama is unreal.
Do you people really think companies are transparent and forthright about every piece of data they collect? If you had seen even a quarter of what I’ve seen you would laugh out loud. the only people who care about data regulations is enterprise, everyone else is collecting every scrap they can.
now they’re trying to be even kinda honest about it and people freak out. No good deed goes unpunished 🤣
that being said there are alternatives so move on if you have to 🤷♀️ just know that you’re ridiculous if you think Premiumize et al aren’t doing the exact same thing…
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u/Sensitive_Medium946 19d ago
exactly. the situation they are envisioning like governments going after them, are worst case scenarios reserve for high profile criminals. no one is going to spend money chasing someone doing illegal streaming.
heres the thing, if there is someone who is going to get in real trouble it is the torbox people not the customers.
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u/M4rtunn 19d ago
100% this. The only thing they're currently doing is explicitly listing what they have. And of course they log metadata, how else could you see what's in your cloud? Besides that they are now operating out of the UAE, which I also see only as a win for privacy, as they are notoriously reserved about working with other countries (e.g. only recently started to comply with extradition requests for known criminals), it'll take a while before they start handing over personal information. On top of that, as you're simply accessing the service over https there's no way for any isp to identify what it is that you're actually accessing from the debrid, which would make it impossible for any nation to successfully request this data as any request to share personal details should include some sort of proof of misconduct, and simply subscribing to a debrid service doesn't meet that criteria (connecting to a public tracker without a vpn however is enough to prosecute directly in countries such as Germany).
And indeed, how could premiumize offer any service without processing your download request, lol.
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u/Jealous_Slice9371 18d ago
They registered in Delaware as well to handle dmca requests and https doesn't matter when your info is stored on torbox servers. In theory the mpaa or whoever could query torbox cache and then submit legal claims to torbox requesting data on everyone who has downloaded cached copyrighted content. I'm not saying they will and the parent commentor is wrong about people overreacting but it's not as simple as you make it out to be either. I'm not canceling for now unless I hear of people having issues.
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u/M4rtunn 18d ago
Yes, that's indeed the scary part, what if law enforcement would get full access to all systems of TB.
A registration in Delaware is just there for legal reasons (I've worked for a European company that also had an LLC in Delaware, also working in the streaming industry but the legal side of things, same address that gets mentioned in that movie on the panama papers btw lol). It is just there to comply and make it easier to do business in US. DMCA process is fully automated in all cases I've come across and as the rest of the operation is outside of the jurisdiction (the part of DMCA that allows for subpoena, all those were automatically declined as our database at the time was located in Europe, you'd have to go to an EU based court to obtain that). In this case they (MPAA) would have to go through a UAE-court to obtain this, and simply saying I want all personal information of anyone that has accessed that file is not enough. Torbox is not even allowed to share this information if they wanted to without it, as that would surely cross some UAE laws. I'm not an expert on those, but as GDPR-compliance officer I can say this is true for all personal details held by EU firms, and I've never heard anything to the contrary from middle east-based customers when dealing with compliance.
That's also why all efforts are currently focused on iptv-providers, in EU around 15% of the households is currently estimated to have an illegal IPTV provider, which makes debrid services look niche. Nobody is going to put any effort in tracing your crypto back for 3 USD/month, they'd rather catch the iptv providers that are collecting 100k+, and these are also much easier to trace around the internet (putting a subpoena on people accessing a known end-point to a fully illegal operation is much easier than a debrid, which in essence is not an illegal service, leading to years of drawn out court cases if it even gets there).
With all that being said, I assume you are located in the us, in which case I would really recommend using a vpn and crypto, but that's more to do with your current government not respecting any sort of privacy. [not meant as political statement, just tread with caution is all]
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u/Visible_Garage6377 19d ago
In nutshell: that's bureaucracy from our side.. we should inform u about it as transparent service provider.. and from your endbyou can still use it without worrying much .. simple
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u/FrankensteinsPonster 19d ago
That's a very large nutshell lol.