# Tor Browser for iPhone: what exists, what iOS allows, and how to browse anonymously on iOS URL: https://webvpn.org/anonymity/tor-browser-iphone/ Updated: 2026-09-10 There is no official Tor Browser for iPhone. What the Tor Project recommends for iOS, how Onion Browser works, what iOS limits, and how to browse anonymously on iPhone. There is no official Tor Browser for iPhone. Apple requires every iOS browser to use its own WebKit engine, so the Tor Project cannot ship its Firefox-based browser on iOS. The project instead recommends Onion Browser, an independent open-source app that sends your traffic through the Tor network, and that is the realistic answer to anonymous web browsing on an iPhone. That answer comes with conditions that are worth understanding before you rely on it. An iPhone is a device with a SIM card, an Apple account and dozens of apps that identify it, and no browser app changes that. Within those limits, Tor on iOS does exactly what Tor does elsewhere: it hides your IP address from websites and hides your destinations from the network. This guide explains the app, its limits, how to set it up well, how it compares with the iPhone's own privacy features, and when to reach for a laptop instead. ## Why there is no Tor Browser for iOS Tor Browser on desktop and Android is a modified Firefox. Its anonymity depends not only on the Tor network but on the browser being configured so that every user looks the same to websites: identical reported fonts, screen sizes, script behaviour and so on. That requires deep control over the browser engine. Apple's App Store rules require all browsers to use WebKit, the engine behind Safari, and restrict how much an app can change its behaviour. The Tor Project has explained on its own site that this makes it impossible to provide the same protections, so it does not publish Tor Browser for iOS and instead points users to Onion Browser, which was created independently and is open source. Regulatory changes in some regions have begun to loosen the engine requirement, and the situation may change. Until it does, treat any app store listing called "Tor Browser" for iPhone with suspicion; the official project does not have one. ## Onion Browser: what it does and does not do Onion Browser connects to the Tor network and routes the web traffic inside the app through it. Websites see a Tor exit relay's address rather than your phone's. Your Wi-Fi network or carrier sees an encrypted connection to Tor. That is the core of Tor, and it works. Where it falls short of desktop Tor Browser: - Fingerprinting resistance is weaker, because WebKit is shared with Safari and the app cannot reshape it. Websites can often tell an Onion Browser user apart from other Tor users. - Only traffic inside the app goes through Tor. Other apps, and the operating system's own connections, use the normal network. - Some features, such as onion service support and the security level slider, work differently or depend on the current iOS version. Read the app's own documentation for the current state, and keep it updated, because it changes with each iOS release. ## Setting up Tor on an iPhone: a step-by-step checklist The setup is short, and each step closes a common gap. - Install Onion Browser from the official App Store listing, which is linked from the Tor Project's website. Check the developer name matches the project's link rather than a similar-looking imitation. - Open it and let it connect to Tor. If your network blocks Tor, the app supports bridges; the guide on Tor bridges on this site explains how to obtain one. - Raise the security level to the higher setting for sensitive browsing. It disables scripts and features that can be used to identify or attack you, at the cost of some sites breaking. - Do not log in to any personal account inside the app. A logged-in session is you, whatever the network. - Keep Safari and other browsers for everyday use and do not switch between them for the same task, so that one identity stays in one app. - Consider connecting a trusted VPN first if you do not want your carrier or network to see Tor use. Confirm that the VPN and the Tor app can run at the same time on your iOS version. - Close the app fully when finished so its circuits and any session state end. ## What the iPhone itself reveals No browser can hide facts about the device it runs on. An iPhone has a SIM card registered to a person or a payment, an Apple account, push notification connections, location services, and apps that check in constantly. If your threat is a website learning your IP address, Tor on iOS solves it. If your threat is someone with access to carrier or Apple records, the phone is the weak point, and the answer is not a better browser but a different device or no phone at all. For sensitive work, the anonymity guides on this site describe Tails and Whonix, live or virtual systems on a laptop that route everything through Tor and leave no trace. That is a different level of protection from anything possible on an iPhone. ## How iOS privacy features compare Apple ships several privacy features that people confuse with anonymity. Private Browsing in Safari keeps history and cookies off the phone. It does nothing about your IP address or what the network sees. iCloud Private Relay, part of the paid iCloud plans, hides your IP address and DNS lookups from websites and from your network for Safari traffic, using two relays. It is a real privacy improvement, but Apple and its partner know your identity, and it is not designed for anonymity from a determined observer. Hide My Email creates aliases for signups. Mail Privacy Protection hides your IP address from email trackers. These are worth turning on for everyday privacy. The guide on hiding your IP address on an iPhone on this site explains each one. None of them replaces Tor when the goal is that no single party can link you to your browsing. ## Alternatives and combinations A VPN app on the iPhone hides your traffic from the local network and your IP address from sites, but the VPN provider sees everything; it is a trust shift rather than anonymity. Combining a VPN with a Tor app, VPN first, hides Tor use from your network and is reasonable if that is a concern. Browsers that advertise anonymous mode on iOS without using Tor are private browsing under another name. For reading blocked news or reaching an onion service, Onion Browser is the tool; for everyday tracking reduction, Safari's features plus a content blocker cover most of it. ## What the Tor Project and iOS security researchers say The recommendations here follow what the relevant developers and researchers have stated. The Tor Project's support pages explain that there is no Tor Browser for iOS because of Apple's WebKit requirement, recommend Onion Browser as the option for iPhone users, and note that it lacks some of Tor Browser's protections for the same reason. Onion Browser's own documentation is candid about the limits of running on WebKit, including weaker fingerprinting resistance, and encourages users to keep expectations calibrated. Mobile security researchers who study anonymity on smartphones generally conclude that the phone platform itself, with its persistent identifiers and always-on connections, is a poor foundation for strong anonymity, and recommend dedicated devices or laptop-based live systems for high-risk situations. ## Do this on your iPhone today Install Onion Browser from the link on the Tor Project's site, raise its security level, and use it for the browsing you want kept separate from your identity. Turn on Safari's privacy features for everything else. And if what you need to do would matter greatly if it were traced, leave the phone in your pocket and use a laptop with Tor Browser or Tails. ## FAQ Q: Is there a Tor Browser for iPhone? A: Not an official one. Apple requires all iOS browsers to use its WebKit engine, so the Tor Project cannot ship its Firefox-based browser. The project instead points iOS users to Onion Browser, an independent open-source app that routes through Tor. Q: Is Onion Browser as anonymous as Tor Browser? A: It hides your IP address the same way, through the Tor network. It cannot match Tor Browser's fingerprinting protections because it is built on Apple's engine, and it shares that engine with Safari. It is the best available option on iOS, not an equivalent. Q: Can I use a VPN and Tor together on iPhone? A: Yes. Connect the VPN first, then open the Tor app, and your carrier or Wi-Fi network sees only the VPN. iOS allows one VPN configuration active at a time, and some Tor apps on iOS use the VPN slot themselves, so check whether they can coexist. Q: Does Private Browsing in Safari make me anonymous? A: No. Private mode stops history and cookies being saved on the phone. Websites still see your IP address, and your network still sees which sites you connect to. iCloud Private Relay hides your IP address from sites in Safari but is not an anonymity network. Q: What is the most anonymous way to browse on an iPhone? A: Onion Browser or another Tor-based app, at its higher security level, with no logged-in accounts, over a network that is not tied to you, and with the understanding that the phone itself has a SIM and identifiers that no browser can hide. For anything serious, a laptop running Tor Browser or Tails is stronger.