Tor Browser

Overview

The Tor Browser is built on Firefox ESR and routes all traffic through the Tor network, a system of volunteer-run relays that encrypt and re-route your data three times. No single relay knows both your identity and your destination, providing the strongest anonymity available in any browser. The Tor Project is a non-profit organisation funded by grants and donations.

Every Tor Browser user presents an identical fingerprint to websites, making it extremely difficult to distinguish one user from another through browser fingerprinting techniques.

How Tor Works

When you request a webpage through Tor, your traffic is encrypted three times and sent through a guard node, a middle relay, and an exit node. The guard node knows your IP but not your destination. The exit node knows the destination but not your IP. The middle relay knows neither. This onion-layer encryption gives the network its name and provides robust anonymity against most adversaries.

Who Should Use It

Tor Browser is designed for situations where anonymity is essential. Journalists communicating with sources, activists in countries with censorship, and researchers investigating sensitive topics all benefit from Tor's protections. For everyday browsing, a VPN and hardened Firefox or Brave provide a better balance of privacy and performance. Tor is a specialist tool, not a general-purpose browser.