That’s the question really. I hear the terms metadata and torrents thrown around all the time when talking about internet and privacy, but I don’t really understand them and when I tried googling torrents I was just confused. Can someone explain one or both like I’m 5?
ELI5 for torrents:
Traditionally when you send files, you upload them to a server where someone else can download them. Think of this server like sending a package through postal service.
When you transfer a file via torrent, it’s like driving a package directly to the home of the person you’re sending it to.
The main reason for doing this is because either running the middleman server (postal service) is too expensive, or you want to send something that is not “allowed” on the server (like trying to send something illegal through the postal service).
The risk of torrents is if you don’t know who you’re sending files to, you may be dropping your package of illegal goods on the porch of a police sting house.
Also for torrents, hundreds of people can deliver different parts of the package at the same time to make it faster.