Shutdown and aftermath In May 2017 Extratorrent announced it would shut down permanently and took its domains offline. The operators cited legal pressures and the increasing difficulty of maintaining the service as reasons for the closure. The shutdown mirrored a period when multiple major torrent indexes faced similar fates—some were taken down by authorities, others voluntarily closed or moved to more resilient domain strategies. After Extratorrent’s closure, numerous mirrors, proxy sites, or clones appeared, attempting to capture its former traffic. These mirror sites varied in legitimacy and safety, and users were frequently cautioned about malware, scams, and data‑harvesting actors exploiting the brand recognition.
: Some clones use the ExtraTorrent name to phish for user information or lead visitors to unrelated services. Legality and Safety Shutdown and aftermath In May 2017 Extratorrent announced
ExtraTorrent.cc was once one of the most prominent BitTorrent indexes globally, known for its massive library and active community of "release groups" like ETRG and SaM. 🛑 Current Status (2026) The original is no longer operational. Legality and Safety ExtraTorrent
By the time of its closure, it was the 291st most-visited website globally. After Extratorrent’s closure