The Pirate Bay: Tor, DNS and Access Restrictions

Last updated: Aug 9, 2026

💡 Note: Access to websites and online content may be subject to legal restrictions depending on your country. You should only download or share content when you have the legal right to do so (like I do 😇), for example public-domain works, freely licensed content, or files distributed with the copyright holder's permission.

The Pirate Bay is an online index of digital content, including entertainment media and software (source: Wikipedia). Over the years, the site has faced multiple shutdowns, domain seizures, and access restrictions in various countries. This page provides technical information about these restrictions and explains technologies such as Tor and alternative DNS resolvers.

Conventional and Tor (.onion) Addresses

The Pirate Bay has been available through different addresses over time, including its classic domain and a Tor (.onion) address:

Classic domain: https://thepiratebay.org
Tor Browser (.onion): http://piratebayo3klnzokct3wt5yyxb2vpebbuyjl7m623iaxmqhsd52coid.onion

Using the Tor Browser

💡 Note: To access .onion websites, which are only available through the Tor network, you need to download and install the Tor Browser. Tor Browser is specifically designed to connect to the Tor network and access .onion services. You can learn more about the Tor Project on Wikipedia.

Tor Browser routes traffic through the Tor network, helping to improve privacy and providing access to .onion services independently of conventional DNS resolution.

Once installed, launch Tor Browser from its desktop shortcut, just like any other web browser:

Once launched, simply paste the .onion URL (or a regular URL) into the browser's address bar:

Tor Browser showing The Pirate Bay onion address in the URL bar

DNS-Based Website Blocking

Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) restrict access to specific websites using DNS filtering. Since DNS filtering relies on the resolver used to translate domain names into IP addresses, using a different DNS resolver may affect how these restrictions are applied.

To use an unfiltered DNS resolver, I recommend DNS4EU, a European initiative providing secure and privacy-focused Domain Name System (DNS) resolver services, including an unfiltered resolution profile.

DNS addresses for the unfiltered resolution profile:
- IPv4: 86.54.11.100 / 86.54.11.200
- IPv6: 2a13:1001::86:54:11:100 / 2a13:1001::86:54:11:200

Another option is to use one of the alternative DNS resolvers listed on sebsauvage.net.

DNS Settings on Windows

To replace your default DNS resolver with DNS4EU, follow these steps on Windows:

Open the Network and Sharing Center, right-click your active connection, and select Properties:

Right-click on network adapter showing Properties option in Windows

In the DNS section, select Use the following DNS server addresses and manually enter the IPv4 values:

Windows IPv4 DNS settings showing DNS4EU unfiltered resolver addresses

If your network supports IPv6, repeat the same operation for Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and enter the IPv6 DNS addresses:

Windows IPv6 DNS settings showing DNS4EU unfiltered resolver addresses

The Pirate Bay Service Status

The Pirate Bay team maintains an official status page where you can check whether key services (such as search, login, and torrents) are currently online or experiencing issues.

The Pirate Bay status dashboard showing HTTPS and Tor availability, user registration, torrents, and comments activity over time