HOW SECURE ARE PRIVATE TRACKERS ? This depends entirely on the precautions of the operator. Some are shady and will use your information for profit; and some are not. Two important precautions to take: 1 ) Never use the same password across multiple trackers. Operators of shady sites often use that common vulnerability among people to steal accounts to other trackers which they can then use to cause further harm (such as leaking peer lists to the public or selling the accounts and its invites on invite forums). Using two-factor authentication is also advised, where available. 2 ) Don't tie any personal information to your tracker accounts. This includes a non-throwaway email address or personally identifiable information of any kind. Information like that could be used to harm or track you down should it fall into the wrong hands. The tracker staff may be legitimate, but the site itself can be busted or defaced by hackers. Don't post about yourself in the forums and for fuck's sake, don't post in those "post a pic of you" threads. Torrent trackers aren't social networks.