ZbigZ.com Review
ZbigZ is a Canadian cloud torrent and storage company, which started operating in 2012.
ZbigZ back in 2012, image retrieved from their official Facebook account
All the services offered by the platform work directly from the cloud, which translates into no software required to use them.
What does ZbigZ offer?
Three services are highlighted on the homepage of ZbigZ: cloud storage, bypassing ISP restrictions and streaming media content directly from the internet.
Registration is not required but additional features are unlocked by creating an account. Anonymous users are limited to downloading files through the platform without the right of using any cloud storage.
Signing up is a simple process and takes only an email + password combination. Users are granted 2 file slots and a 7-day file lifetime just for joining ZbigZ.
The maximum file size for regular users is 1GB with a limit of 1 or 2 parallel downloads. Free accounts are in general quite restricted and ads are served to compensate for the offered services. Another interesting fact about the platform is that HTTPS support requires a premium membership.
On the other hand, premium accounts are technically unlimited, with no speed, storage, file size or bandwidth constraints. Besides the standard premium subscriptions, upgrades are also offered for a 24h period.
Pricing
Paying with Paypal, Bitcoin or buying through any of the listed resellers on ZbigZ’s site you can buy a premium membership for just 5 days at $3.99 or for longer periods of 1, 3, 6 or 12 months at $9.9, $24.9, $48 and $84, respectively.
The somewhat pricey ZbigZ premium membership
Depending on your country, upgrades can also be purchased via SMS; but the cost and duration of the plan will vary from one region to the other. Prices range from $1 to $2 per day and are charged to the next mobile phone bill (or deducted directly from the current balance for prepaid lines).
Bitcoin payments are possible through a partnership with Bitlzz. Other cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin and Litecoin are accepted by DigitalKeys, one of the official resellers that have associated with ZbigZ. The complete list of resellers may be found here, including some local resellers for Asia and the Middle East.
Premium subscriptions can be cancelled at any time, but no refunds will be issued, not even for partial terms. The company also has the right to unilaterally terminate any account suspect of inappropriate use or misbehavior.
Using the site
Free trial
There are references to trial accounts on their Terms of Service, but it seems such offers are activated temporarily and do not run all year long. There are two ways of using the site without paying for it, which are technically equivalent to a limited trial.
How to download anonymously through ZbigZ
Signing up is completely optional, but the added benefits of having an account make it worth the effort. No personal information is collected in the process, besides payment details for those purchasing a premium membership.
The first step for downloading torrents through the platform is finding a working magnet or torrent link and pasting it in the text bar at the top of the page. Users can alternatively upload a torrent file from their computer by clicking on the upload button just below the aforementioned box.
A magnet link ready to be downloaded!
After linking to a resource, either via URL or a file, the user must click the cloud Go! icon. A second screen will show up right after asking whether to proceed as free or premium user.
You are given the option of buying a premium membership, but you can still stick with the free alternative
Whatever you decide, you will be taken to a new page and the transference to ZbigZ’s server will start.
What happened to the 150 KB/s limit? I wish all free services gave more than they promise!
When the files have been moved to the platform, a new option will appear to the right of the resource name letting you bring it to your current device. The trashcan icon to the very right will remove the file from the server. A screen will again ask if you want to download the file as premium or free and then the usual “save as” dialog will show up.
Transfer the file to your computer as you would with any file you download
ZbigZ does not offer seeding, the service is limited to cloud storage and torrent downloading. So, while technically possible, it is not recommended to download from private torrents through this platform.
How anonymous is ZbigZ?
Even if the user decides to register, the requested information is not enough to compromise his privacy. IPs are hidden and ISPs cannot track any activity because the site works as an intermediary between torrents and the end devices.
ZbigZ does not collect information nor tracks the activity of its users, but they have the right to do so if deemed necessary. The site complies with vigent copyright laws and will review any intellectual property violation claims within 48 hours and take actions.
What about the security?
The site supports downloads through SSL and both HTTP and HTTPS. End to end encryption is guaranteed at least for premium customers.
ZbigZ will download to its servers and make available any file indicated by the user, without scanning it for virus or malware, so discretion is advised when grabbing files from the internet.
The site faced recurrent DDoS attacks during 2016, forcing the administration to extend premiums for a couple of days more than once to compensate their users for the downtimes.
User experience on ZbigZ
Surprisingly the site is not responsive, but a simplified mobile version does exists, which is loaded in devices with smaller screens. The design is clean and the position of the menus makes it intuitive to browse the platform.
ZbigZ does not enforce HTTPS, loading through an HTTP connection if not explicitly asked to be served with SSL support.
There are not many reviews about the site on the internet, but the few currently online are predominantly negative. Users complain mostly about limitations, even for premium accounts. The site currently has a 3.11/5 score on mouthshut and a 1 star review on Sitejabber.
Regarding trustworthiness, Scam Adviser currently gives the site a 92% rating, tagging it as safe.
Their official Twitter account has not tweeted since 2015 and their Facebook page not published in more than one year. Their Alexa global rank has worsened passing from a place around the 11,000s to rank 16,666. They are still strong in India, from where nearly half its visitors come, and where it ranks within the top 2,500 most visited sites.
Pros
- Anonymous downloads.
- Bitcoin accepted.
- Good speed.
- No additional software required.
- No registration required.
- Unlimited features for premium members.
Contras
- Expensive premium upgrade.
- Extremely limited free tier.
- No antivirus.
- No money back guarantee.
- No seeding.
- The site has been declining within the last 12 months.
Conclusion
The site works just fine for downloads under the 1GB limit placed on free users. While limitations can be removed by purchasing a premium membership, it is considerably more expensive than in other cloud torrent sites. The site has been declining since the middle of 2016, adding to the case of staying away from any serious investment on it.
Sticking with the free tier or buying occasional, short-term upgrades seems a safe advice. Bitcoin and altcoin payments are accepted, so at least the site is welcoming to the crypto-community.
Go to zbigz.com