How do you stop ARC leaks and piracy?

You can't make an ebook impossible to copy. What you can do is make sure every copy points back to the person who got it. Approve each reader yourself, give each one their own watermarked file, and tell them up front. Readers think twice before sharing, and a copy that escapes leads back to one name.

By Pratik, founder of ArcBunny · Last updated October 1, 2026

Why do ARCs leak?

Usually because one file went to everyone, so nobody had to answer for it.

An EPUB attached to an email takes two taps to forward. A shared download link takes one post in the wrong Telegram channel. Either way, the file looks exactly the same whoever passes it on.

And some people join ARC teams to collect free books rather than to review them. When nothing ties a copy to them, passing it along costs them nothing.

I read posts from hundreds of authors who found their book on a pirate site. How upset and disheartened they were has stayed with me.

What actually stops a leak?

Knowing you'll be found does more than any lock on the file.

DRM tries to lock the book down. Honest readers end up fighting their reading apps, while the people determined to share it strip the DRM in minutes.

A personal watermark works the other way round. The book opens anywhere and reads normally, but it carries the name of the person it was sent to. That is why I built ArcBunny around watermarks and not DRM.

How do you protect your ARCs, step by step?

These are the five habits I'd build into every ARC campaign.

Stop emailing the EPUB, and never post a public download link.
Make readers apply, and approve each one yourself.
Give every approved reader their own copy, with marks they can see and marks they can't.
Tell readers before they download that their copy is traceable. The “Protected by ArcBunny” badge says it for you.
Let download links expire after a set window, so an old link can't be passed around forever.

Does watermarking ruin the reading experience?

No. Done properly, readers barely notice it.

ArcBunny adds a short ownership page at the front and a small line under each chapter, plus fingerprints no reader will ever see. Your words and formatting don't change.

It isn't DRM, so the copy opens in any reading app and works offline.

What should you do if an ARC leaks anyway?

Find out whose copy it was before you do anything else.

On ArcBunny you upload the leaked file in your dashboard and it names the reader that copy was sent to. It takes seconds, and it's on every plan, including the free one. Answering “whose copy was this?” is the whole reason the trace tool exists.

Then take that reader off your future ARC teams and ask the sites hosting the file to take it down.

Questions authors ask

Can you stop ARCs from being pirated completely?

Nobody can make an ebook impossible to copy. You can make every copy traceable, which puts most people off sharing and tells you exactly where a copy came from if one does surface.

Is DRM better than watermarking for ARCs?

For ARCs, a watermark usually works better. DRM gets in honest readers’ way and is often stripped, while a watermark keeps reading simple and makes sharing traceable.

What happens if my ARC is leaked?

Find out whose copy it was, take that reader off your future ARC teams, and ask the sites hosting it to take it down. On ArcBunny the first part takes seconds in your dashboard.

Do honest readers mind watermarked ARCs?

Honest readers lose nothing. The book reads normally, and the mark only ever matters if someone shares it.