Does IPFS host files you access by default?

I could not find a straight answer, so I am sorry if it has already been solved.

I was wondering, like with BitTorrent, when you download something using IPFS, does it automatically 'seed'/host it?

I also know you can stop seeding with torrents. If it automatically hosts the file after downloading it, what would be a way to stop hosting a specific file? all files?

edit: if it doesn't automatically host files after a download, how would one go about hosting a file on IPFS?

Thanks a ton.

Solution

To understand IPFS the best thing to do is take the time to read the white paper.

The protocol used for data distribution is inspired by BitTorrent and is named BitSwap. To protect against leeches (free-loading nodes that never share), BitSwap use a credit-like system.

So to answer your questions, yes when you download some content it's automatically hosted (or a least part of it), and if you try to trick the protocol by not hosting the content your credit will drop and you will not be able to participate in the network.