How peers find each other
Trackers, distributed hash tables, NAT traversal and why a direct connection is harder than it sounds.
Peer-to-peer technology, explained from the connection up.
Peer-to-peer, explained from the connection up
How P2P networks find each other, move data without a central server, and what every peer in the network can see about you.
Platform
Explore the Essentials
P2P you already use
Video calls, OS updates, file sync and more quietly run peer-to-peer. We show where and how.
Privacy in a swarm
In most P2P systems your IP address is visible to the peers you connect to. What that means and how to reduce it.
Decentralised storage
Content addressing, IPFS and blockchains: what changes when data is found by its hash instead of its location.
Questions people ask
Is peer-to-peer file sharing illegal?
No. The technology is legal and widely used for software updates, backups and open-source distribution. Sharing copyrighted material without permission is what infringes.
Can other peers see my IP address?
Usually yes. A direct connection needs an address to reach, so peers in the same swarm or call can typically see the public IP you connect from.
Insights
