Is the qBittorrent App Safe? (Tests & Results)
qBittorrent has a reputation for being a safe, reliable application, and our research has confirmed this. In fact, qBittorrent is the safest torrent client available at the moment.
This doesn’t mean that it comes without some drawbacks, though. Here is a summary of the strengths and weaknesses of the client:
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Open-source software | Your IP address can be exposed during torrenting |
No bundled bloatware or malware | Torrents can contain malware |
No adverts | |
Integrated proxy support | |
Advanced security settings | |
Active community |
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of what makes qBittorrent safe to use:
1. Open-source software
qBittorrent is open-source, which means that anyone can inspect its source code for bugs or malicious content. As such a popular client, it really does get looked over again and again by programmers all over the world.
When bugs emerge they are fixed quickly, and if there were any significant vulnerabilities or malicious code they would have been identified.
2. No bundled bloatware or malware
As long as you download it from the official source, qBittorrent doesn’t come with any other bundled software.
This means you don’t have to worry about accidentally downloading annoying or even harmful programs and is a great start for building trust in the software.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the case with some competing torrenting clients.
3. No Adverts
The client doesn’t have any ads, which obviously makes for a good user experience. But it also means that it is more secure and private, with no closed-source third-party code or ad trackers.
Fewer components in the client also leaves less opportunity for vulnerabilities or security issues.
4. Integrated proxy support
While we prefer VPNs, qBittorrent has in-client support for SOCKS5 proxies, which are a popular way to keep IP addresses from leaking during torrenting. A SOCKS5 proxy works similarly to a VPN to reroute your traffic and obscure your true IP address from other users.
The client also supports HTTP proxies but they are insecure and unreliable, and we don’t recommend using them.
5. Advanced security settings
qBittorrent includes advanced tools to help keep your true IP address from leaking with a VPN or proxy. The first is network interface filtering, which allows you to select a specific network adapter to torrent over. The second is IP binding, which allows you to select a single IP address for the client to torrent from.
If your proxy or VPN connection drops, these features will prevent the client from torrenting. We’ve tested these features and have found they are both effective ways to keep your ip address from leaking with a proxy or VPN.
6. Active community
qBittorrent is well supported and actively updated by a global group of volunteer developers, led by a contributor called Sledgehammer999. This means that any bugs can be identified and fixed quickly. On top of this, there are no known serious bugs or exploits associated with the app.
This also means that it is very easy to get help from other users on the qBittorrent forums if you ever encounter any issues with security or performance.
qBittorrent Vulnerabilities
However we’ve also found that qBittorrent has some vulnerabilities. Torrenting always comes with some risks, and qBittorrent doesn’t eliminate them:
1. Your IP address can be exposed during torrenting
When you torrent other users in the swarm can see your IP address. This can be targeted by copyright trolls and cause legal issues. On its own, qBittorrent does nothing to prevent your identity being exposed during torrenting.
For this reason it is important you always use a VPN or proxy when using qBittorrent.
2. Torrents can contain malware
One of the biggest risks of torrenting is that you might accidentally download malware. There is nothing in the qBittorrent software to prevent you from downloading or sharing a virus.
To minimise the risk of downloading malware, we recommend installing antivirus software, and only torrenting from trusted sources.
Advanced Features Test Results
qBittorrent comes with several advanced features which greatly improve the safety of your IP address while torrenting, most notably: network interface filtering and ip binding.
We’ve tested both these features to make sure they work as advertised and prevent the client from torrenting (and leaking your true IP) if your VPN connection cuts out.
Network Interface Filtering
First we tested network interface filtering with the following method:
-
- We connected to a local VPN server
- We selected the TAP adapter for our VPN in the network interface setting

Tools > Options > Advanced > Network Interface
- We started torrenting our test file in qBittorrent
- Once the torrent was in progress, we disconnected the VPN
- After a few minutes we reconnected the VPN
Test result: Successful!
When we disconnected our VPN the download froze, and when we reconnected it the download resumed. This shows the function was worked as intended to prevent connections from outside the VPN.
IP Binding
Next we tested IP binding, following this method:
-
- We connected to a local VPN server
- We selected our VPN’s IP address from the “Optional IP address to bind to” setting

Tools > Options > Advanced > Optional IP address to bind to
- We started torrenting our test file
- Once the torrent was in progress, we disconnected the VPN
- After a few minutes we reconnected the VPN
Test result: Mixed.
Disconnecting the VPN did cut out the torrent, but reconnecting didn’t start it again, as the VPN had given us a new IP address. So while this feature would work better with a proxy, or stationary IP, it is inconvenient for most VPNs.
Malware Test Results
In order to determine that qBittorrent is safe to download and use, we scanned the app with Malwarebytes.

Malwarebytes found qBittorrent to be 100% Malware free
The results were good: the antivirus software didn’t find any malware or signs of dangerous activity.
This is unsurprising. qBittorrent is a popular app and it would be known if it contained malware. The bigger risk is that torrent files you download could contain malware.
Because of this, we recommend you run antivirus software yourself while torrenting to make sure no torrent files you download are dangerous or include dangerous content.
Why Has My Antivirus Blocked qBittorrent?
It is possible that your antivirus software will flag qBittorrent itself as a potential issue. If this occurs, it is most likely that your client has connected to servers which are known to house malicious content.
This can happen because P2P file sharing involves connecting your client to lots of other peers. As long as the torrent file or magnet link you are using is trustworthy, though, it shouldn’t be an actual risk as the tracker co-ordinates the download between multiple peers.
As such, these alerts are generally false alarms, but they should be taken as a reminder to only download torrents from trustworthy sources.

qBittorrent allows you to filter out ip addresses associated with malware
Using the IP filter feature (found under Tools > Options > Connection) with an IP blacklist is a good way to mitigate the risk of downloading dangerous or unwanted files, and prevent these kinds of alerts from occurring.