Yes, you read that right, anybody has downloaded movies, songs or anything on the BitTorrent without using VPN (Virtual Private Network), proxy or seedbox, your IP address has been noted down and is available for viewing for the whole the world to see.
A website tool dubbed as the "I Know What You Downloaded on BitTorrent (IKWDB)" has been launched online revealing millions of IP addresses of the users who have accessed file-sharing sites on Internet.
Also read: After Kickass Torrents, Torrent Hound goes offline permanently
Should you be worried?
With your IP address now in the public domain, there is a slight chance you might get a notice from the original copyrights holder of the media content you downloaded illegally.
Having said that, BitTorrent user is unlikely to face any legal hurdles per se, but a warning message implying not to visit the BitTorrent site again.
The main intention of IKWDB is to actually help original content-maker or organisations to understand how their network is used to pirate content. And, also in some extraordinary instances, they also heed to public's request to take down a content, which they deem it illegal and inappropriate or offensive in nature.
For instance, IKWDB received a letter from a girl whose sexually explicit video had appeared on the Internet and had been widely spread over torrents sites and it helped her to remove public access to that content.
"We've set up the site for promotional purposes and as a demonstration of our capabilities. We are engaged in the distribution of information relating to torrent downloading activity to rightsholders, advertising platforms, law-enforcement and international organisations." Andrey Rogov Marketing director, IKWDB said to Torrent Freak.
IKWDB has information on 460,000 torrents in its database and captured more than 70 million unique IP-addresses during the last month alone. This makes it much larger than its predecessor (Youhavedownloaded.com), which was closed recently.
IKWDB also offers another spy tool that can help you see what your friends are downloading on BitTorrent sites. You don't need to know their IP-address at all. You just need to send a hyperlink of a file-sharing site via SMS and if your frient clicks on a link you send them, their alleged download history shows up immediately, without the IP-address being exposed.
