FAQ Does Rtorrent 16 add public trackers to my torrents? How do I turn it off?

[Silas Mariusz]

Symptoms

• A public torrent lists more trackers than its .torrent file has.
• You want to know which torrents get these trackers and how to stop it.

Cause
Rtorrent 16 keeps a list of public trackers and adds it to every new torrent that rtorrent reports as not private. A private torrent never gets it. A torrent uses the first 16 addresses on the list, split into four groups, and rtorrent asks one tracker from each group for peers. Addresses this NAS cannot reach (.i2p, .onion, .local) are disabled for that torrent. The package downloads the list again once a day. A public torrent you create on the NAS gets the list in rtorrent as well, but its .torrent file keeps only the trackers you entered.


Resolution

1. Open Settings → Connection and switch on Advanced at the top of the page.
2. Under Public trackers, set Add public trackers to new public torrents to Off.
   
   
3. Press Review & save and confirm the change in the window that opens. No restart is needed. Torrents you add after that keep only their own trackers.
4. A torrent added earlier keeps the addresses it got. To switch them off, right-click the torrent in Quick access or Full view and choose Properties / Edit task settings…. Untick the trackers you do not want and press Save tracker changes. A row marked Read only cannot be changed there.

Notice & Advise

• The private flag in the .torrent file decides, not the connection profile. A public torrent on the Private profile still gets the list; a private torrent on the Public profile does not.
• To use a list of your own, choose A list at the URL below and type its address in Tracker list URL. A list with fewer than 5 usable lines is refused, and the previous list stays.

Ref. links:
Rtorrent 16 guide: Public and private connection profiles