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Mullvad torrenting works, and its privacy suits P2P. It needs no email at sign-up, has more than 10 audits in our table, and a police visit found no user data. The catch is port forwarding. Mullvad stopped issuing new forwarded ports on 29 May 2023 and removed the rest on 1 July, citing abuse, TechRadar reported. Popular torrents still download well; rare content and private trackers get harder.
This guide covers what works without port forwarding, setup, the kill switch, the SOCKS5 proxy and alternatives if you seed a lot. Our guide to Mullvad and SOCKS5 covers whether it is supported and how to set it up.
Why Port Forwarding Matters
Without a forwarded port, other peers cannot open connections to you; you can only connect out to peers who are reachable. For popular torrents with many connectable seeders, that rarely matters, community explanations note.
For rare files, old content and private trackers that reward seeding, it matters a lot, because two unreachable peers cannot connect to each other. Seeding on private trackers, where ratio counts, suffers most, and those users usually choose a provider with port forwarding.
Why Mullvad Removed It
Mullvad said publicly in May 2023 that the abuse vector of port forwarding had caught up with it, TechRadar reported. A third-party check in 2026 found Mullvad’s FAQ still answers no, and no old setting or trick brings it back.
Mullvad’s SOCKS5 proxy changes outbound routing inside its network; it is not an inbound port, that check notes. Reusing an old port number does nothing.
Mullvad Torrenting Setup
Install the Mullvad app on the computer that runs your torrent client. Connect to a nearby server for speed, and confirm the kill switch is on before opening the client. Mullvad’s app documentation describes it as always on, with an extra lockdown mode on desktop that blocks traffic whenever the VPN is off.
In your torrent client, bind it to the VPN interface where the client allows it, so it never falls back to your normal connection. Our torrenting VPN guide covers client settings.
Split Tunnelling and the SOCKS5 Proxy
Never exclude your torrent client with split tunnelling; keep it inside the tunnel, or your real address reaches every peer. Mullvad’s split tunnelling suits the opposite case, such as a banking app that rejects VPN addresses.
Mullvad’s SOCKS5 proxy works only while you are connected to the VPN. It adds a separate exit for an app rather than replacing the tunnel. Our SOCKS5 VPN guide explains when a proxy helps.
Speed, DAITA and Multihop
DAITA and multihop add overhead, and Mullvad warns they use more battery. For torrents, plain WireGuard to a nearby server is usually the better trade-off between privacy and speed. The tunnel already hides your traffic from your internet provider.
Save multihop for browsing where you want extra separation between entry and exit. Our Mullvad WireGuard guide explains each feature.
Paying and Signing Up Privately
Mullvad issues an account number instead of asking for an email, and accepts cash by post, Bitcoin and Monero, its terms list. For P2P privacy, that keeps your name away from the account entirely.
Cash and cryptocurrency are not refundable under its terms, so test with a card-paid month first if you want the 14-day window. Five devices fit one account.
Comparitech rated Mullvad’s P2P speeds and security highly in its review, and users in community threads report fast downloads on popular torrents. WireGuard, now Mullvad’s only protocol, keeps overhead low.
Seeding speed is where the missing port hurts most, since fewer outside peers can reach you directly. Downloads from well-seeded torrents are rarely affected in practice.
Routers and Remote Machines
Mullvad’s configuration generator creates WireGuard files for routers and servers, so a home server or a rented machine can run the torrent client behind Mullvad. Community users describe running qBittorrent on a remote server with a Mullvad WireGuard file.
Each machine uses one of your five keys, so plan which devices need Mullvad directly. Our Mullvad router guide covers the setup.
If You Need Port Forwarding
Proton VPN offers port forwarding on paid plans, and PIA and TorGuard offer it too. AirVPN gives up to 20 free forwarded ports, and Windscribe Pro offers ephemeral forwarding, our tables record. Each has its own trade-offs on audits, devices and price, so match the choice to how much you seed.
Our port forwarding guide compares them; Mullvad remains a strong pick for downloading privately.
The Legal Side
A VPN hides your torrenting from your internet provider, but it does not make downloading copyrighted material legal. Rules differ by country. Japan treats piracy as a crime, our Japan legality guide notes, while elsewhere the risk is a letter or a fine.
Our VPN legality guide explains the tiers, from countries where VPNs are fully legal to those that restrict them.
How We Research
This page draws on TechRadar’s 2023 report on Mullvad’s port forwarding removal, natchecker’s 2026 check, Comparitech’s Mullvad review, community explanations of port forwarding and our Mullvad tables. We cross-checked these sources against each other, and where they conflict or something can’t be verified, we say so in the text rather than guessing. We checked time-sensitive figures, including prices in US dollars, on 8 October 2026. The main source we relied on is TechRadar’s port forwarding report. Our full approach lives on the About Us page.
Mullvad Torrenting FAQ
Yes; its privacy suits P2P, though it lacks port forwarding.
No; it removed it on 1 July 2023.
Yes, but fewer peers can reach you, so seeding is slower.
No; it changes outbound routing, not inbound ports.
Proton, PIA, TorGuard, AirVPN and Windscribe Pro.
The Verdict
Mullvad torrenting is private and fast for downloads, but without port forwarding it suits heavy seeders and private trackers less well.