It’s the end of an era for private torrent tracker BaconBits, which is shutting down after more than a decade of serving torrents to its users. While the site may have been relatively small compared to others, its history is unique, having initially launched as a tracker exclusively for Reddit users.
However, BaconBits faced a major setback in 2015 when it experienced a near-catastrophic technical failure. Although the site managed to bounce back from this incident, it never quite regained the same level of success it once had. Over time, staffers lost their motivation, and the site struggled to recapture its former glory.
During the late 2000s, a group of Reddit users had a novel idea: why not create a torrent tracker for their own community?
The concept took shape during Christmas of 2009, sparked by Redditors’ desire to share content. Some users had posted pirated material on platforms like Dropbox and Amazon S3, only to see it swiftly taken down due to copyright issues. So, they turned to torrents as a more resilient solution.
Pooling their resources over a few hours, a small team managed to bring a tracker online. They dubbed it “BaconBits.”
The Rise of BaconBits
Once the platform was stable, the staff made the official announcement on Reddit, branding BaconBits as the first private torrent tracker exclusively for Reddit users.
“We’ve decided to make a tracker for only Reddit users! Its name is Baconbits.org. It’s much like the S3 Dropbox that was started on Christmas, where Reddit users can share out of their hearts to the rest of Reddit,” read the announcement.
In just one day, BaconBits attracted thousands of users. This was particularly impressive considering that prospective members needed a Reddit account for at least three months, with a respectable amount of link and comment karma.
The rapid growth of BaconBits underscored the power of community collaboration. To this day, it remains one of the most unique origins for a torrent site.
The Beginning of the End
In the years following its launch, BaconBits cultivated a small but devoted following. While it managed to avoid any major legal troubles, the site suffered a severe technical failure in 2015 that nearly wiped it out.
Although BaconBits made a partial recovery, restoring some content, the damage was done. Morale waned, user and upload counts stagnated, and developer resources dwindled. Now, nearly seven years later, BaconBits has decided to shut down for good.
“There is no easy way to say it, this site has been struggling since the great robot uprising nuked half our torrents,” explained staffer Blackfish.
Moving On…
The announcement of the shutdown was made last month, and yesterday BaconBits finally ceased operations.
Over the years, the site underwent changes, moving away from its Reddit-centric roots to operate more like a traditional private tracker. Despite its iconic status among early Redditors, traffic to BaconBits remained relatively modest. Coupled with dwindling motivation among staffers, the decision to close shop was perhaps inevitable.
As with any tracker closure, there are calls for a revival. However, the staff has made it clear that they will not be handing over the code to anyone.
“No, it will not be handed over to a random user with ‘good intentions’. That’s bad security. Any relaunches will be scams,” noted Blackfish.
