PIRACY | TECHNOLOGY | MONEY
How Free Pirate Sites Profit from Your Streams and Downloads
By advertising, of course — but there are some nefarious means, too
When you visit a pirate site to stream the latest blockbuster or download your favorite artist’s new album, it feels like you’re getting what you’re supposed to pay for at no cost.
For media and entertainment consumers with an inability, inaccessibility or refusal to pay for legal, paywalled content, pirate sites are a savior.
Maybe you’re allowed to not want to pay for “convenience” when it’s available at a few inconvenient clicks for free.
However, users pay in ways that aren’t immediately apparent, and we’re talking about them today.
How Pirates Sites Work
Pirate sites rarely host content themselves.
Instead, they rely on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks like BitTorrent.
Users download a torrent file, which directs them to the content stored on individual computers (peers) across the globe.
A pirate site is like a library without any books. They don’t actually own the books (movies, music, games), but they have a giant list (torrent file) that tells you where to borrow them from other people’s shelves (computers).
So the site doesn’t need to buy any books, but can still make money by charging you an entry fee (ads or data) to use their list.
How Pirate Sites Make Money
By advertising, of course— but there are some nefarious means, too.
Advertising
Anyone who’s ever visited a pirate site has seen the barrage of ads that flood your screen.
Pop-up ads, banner ads, embedded video ads, what not. 8/10 pirate sites and apps even refuse to work if it “looks like you’re using an adblocker.”
In 2014, the Digital Citizens Alliance reported that the top 30 pirate sites generate an average annual ad revenue of $4.4 million, while high-traffic torrent and P2P portals make $6m.
These ads might seem harmless — offering discounts, miracle cures or flashy gambling sites, but here’s what really happens:
Type 1 — The Game Ad
You click on an ad for a fun-looking game.
Instead of taking you to the game, it silently downloads malware on your device, which can record everything you type from usernames to passwords, and sell it to hackers.
Type 2 — The Shopping Ad
You see a great deal on shoes (it’s likely an item you’ve recently searched for).
Click that. You’re redirected to a legitimate-looking store. You enter your payment info to buy the shoes, but money is deducted, you receive no shoes, and your bank account details are stolen.
Type 3 — The Virus Warning
An ad claims your computer is infected and you need to download an antivirus to fix it. Panicked, you download the software, which is actually a virus.
Type 4 — The Fake Survey
An ad offering a reward for completing a simple survey.
After filling out the survey, you’re asked to enter your email and phone number, which is sold to spammers, who annoy you with unwanted messages and calls.
Premium Subscriptions
“If you want to legally watch and rewatch The Crown, Game of Thrones, and The Handmaid’s Tale, you’ll have to pay for three separate streaming services: Netflix, HBO, and Hulu.” writes Damjan Jugovic Spajic in his Piracy Statistics for 2024 report.
Some pirate sites offer “premium” memberships with the promise of
- faster downloads
- no ads, and
- exclusive content access.
This can lure in users who are tired of interruptions but still want free content.
Premium access for price a fraction of 3–4 platforms (like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime) combined, might seem like a great deal, however —
There’s no guarantee the site will honor the premium services. You could end up paying for a service that remains as unreliable and ad-ridden as the free version.
Paying could also lead to
- financial loss from unauthorized charges on your bank account from sharing payment info
- identity theft from sharing personal info like name, address, and phone number
- the site disappearing later (yes, it happens!)
Data Mining
You’re at a shopping mall, casually browsing different stores.
Each store you enter secretly notes down what you looked at, what you showed interest in, and which sections you spent the most time in.
They share this information with other stores and businesses. By the time you leave the mall, you’re bombarded with ads and special offers oddly tailored to your tastes.
That happens on pirate sites.
Trackers
Website trackers track every video you watch, how long you watch it, the genres you prefer, and anything that tells something about you, which can be sold to businesses.
Location Leaks
If you use a pirate site without a VPN, it collects your location data through your IP address.
Most sites, therefore, do not let users in if a VPN connection is detected.
If you’re in New York, you might suddenly start seeing ads for local events, restaurants, or stores near you, even if you never shared your location explicitly.
But I don’t click on ads, or share personal info, and I can understand when they’ve collected my activity data?
There is more.
- Downloaded content itself can contain malware.
- Your IP address reveals your location and device info (OS, browser, etc), which can be used not only for online, but real-life scams, too.
- Cookies, tracking scripts, and third-party trackers collect your searches, link hovers, clicks and mouse movements, and aggregate it from multiple sources to build a detailed profile of your interests.
The Piracy Business Isn’t New
Historically, too, piracy has always found a way to profit.
Think back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Pirates didn’t just steal goods — they ransomed captives, sold stolen merchandise, and even formed networks of black-market trade.
Today’s pirates operate similarly, using the internet to turn digital “loot” into money.
