Stremio User Receives Copyright Notice from Spectrum: A Cautionary Tale
A Stremio user recently took to Reddit to share a concerning experience: they received a “Copyright Complaint Notice” from their internet service provider, Spectrum, after using the Stremio app on various devices. The notice alleged that the user had used Spectrum’s internet to “improperly copy, share, or stream copyrighted content”.
The user shared a screenshot of the notice, which can be seen below.
Understanding the Issue
The user noted that they don’t use a VPN, which is likely the root of the problem. Many people assume that using a debrid provider like Real-Debrid keeps them safe from copyright notices, but this is not the case. Real-Debrid speeds up streaming by pulling high-quality cached files, but it doesn’t hide online activity.
When using Stremio, the app directly accesses torrent providers to serve up content, making the end user’s IP address visible to the public or their internet service provider. This is why several users in the Reddit thread reported receiving warnings even with Real-Debrid connected.
Protecting Yourself
The only way to keep your internet provider from monitoring this traffic is by running a VPN before opening Stremio. Without it, you are exposed to the same risks as anyone else downloading from public torrent pools.
Some advanced users suggested disabling all public providers in Torrentio to reduce exposure, forcing the addon to use private services instead of connecting to open torrent swarms. While this doesn’t replace the protection of a VPN, it can limit how often your device reaches out to public sources that copyright bots monitor.
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