BitTorrent (BT) is one of the most popular peer-to-peer file sharing protocols used to share and distribute large files and data over the Internet. A BitTorrent client is required to send or receive files, where one of the most popular BitTorrent client is μTorrent.

One prominent feature of BitTorrent P2P protocol is that users of BitTorrent network are automatically uploading and transferring to other downloading peers while they’re downloading the files. As sharing (i.e. uploading) is important feature of BitTorrent to ensure the health of the file distribution network, due to the fact that if nobody seeds, and everybody leeches, the files shared on the BitTorrent will quickly die off.

That’s why the option to disable uploading or seeding in BT client is hard to find, with some BT clients not even provide such an option. uTorrent (µTorrent), one of the most popular BitTorrent client does have the ability to stop the seeding and uploads, albeit indirectly. This tutorial guides you on how to turn off seeding and disable the uploads in uTorrent.

Note that you’re considering as bad leecher or freeloader by most BitTorrent trackers if you completely disabled the uploads, which may cause you to be banned from the trackers.

  1. In uTorrent, go to Options -> Preferences.
  2. Go to Bandwidth section.
  3. Set the maximum update rate (kB/s): [0: unlimited] to 1 (not really necessary, but just in case uploads are still happening, at least the rate is slowest.
  4. Set the number of upload slots per torrent to 0.

    Disable Seeding in uTorrent

  5. Go to Queuing section.
  6. Set the minimum ratio (%) under “Seeding Goal” to 0.
  7. Set the minimum seeding time under “Seeding Goal” to 0.
  8. Set the minimum number of available seeds under “Seeding Goal” to 0.
  9. Select (tick) the check box for limit the upload rate to (kB/s): [0 = stop] under “When uTorrent Reaches the Seeding Goal”, and set its value to 0.

    Turn Off Uploading in uTorrent

  10. That’s it. Try to add a torrent and start downloading. you should notice that no data is been uploaded, even though there is still to communication happens.