Deleted original comment, and btw - all the comments attached to this just underline the fact that the piratebay is not exactly user friendly AND ALSO BTW - A VPN doesn't in any way guarantee that your IP address can't leak out in a number of ways.
BitTorrent is peer-to-peer. Anyone can join a swarm and see the IP addresses of other computers they’re communicating with. Knowing the files came from a trusted a trusted uploader won’t hide your identity from that.
Like many others here, Steam/Netflix/Spotify have largely stopped me from torrenting anything. But we continue to slide toward needing a separate streaming service for every single TV series, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the piracy pendulum swing back the other way.
Some big ISPs probably get enough of these to have automated the process, hence the difference of minutes.
You can't download "pirated" torrents except through a VPN.
I mean, there are prominent warnings on TPB.
Yet that's the content which is always in the top downloads section. Well, that and porn. Lots of porn.