# Tor Browser: the free onion routing browser, explained before you open it URL: https://webvpn.org/anonymity/tor-browser/ Updated: 2026-09-12 Tor Browser is a free onion routing browser for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android. Where to download it safely, how onion routing protects you, and safe habits. Tor Browser is a free, open-source web browser that routes your traffic through three volunteer-run relays so that websites cannot see your IP address and your network cannot see which sites you visit. Download it only from the Tor Project's own site or official app stores, leave its settings alone, and it will do what it promises for ordinary use. People arrive at Tor for very different reasons: avoiding tracking, reading news that is blocked where they live, researching something sensitive, contacting someone anonymously, or curiosity about onion sites. The browser serves all of them, but it is easy to misuse in ways that cancel its protection. This guide explains what Tor Browser is, how to obtain it safely, how onion routing protects you, what the dark web does and does not mean, and the habits that keep the anonymity intact. ## What Tor Browser is Tor Browser is a modified version of Firefox bundled with the Tor software. When you open it, it connects to the Tor network and builds a circuit through three relays: an entry relay that sees your IP address but not your destination, a middle relay that sees neither, and an exit relay that sees the destination but not you. The website sees the exit relay's address. The browser part is as important as the network part. Tor Browser is configured so that every user looks alike to websites: same window sizes, same fonts reported, same behaviour for scripts and cookies, all designed to defeat fingerprinting. That is why the project tells users not to install extensions or change settings. A Tor user with a unique configuration is identifiable even though their IP address is hidden. It is developed by the Tor Project, a US-based non-profit, with the code public and audited. It is free of charge and free to modify, and the project does not sell anything. ## Where to download Tor Browser safely Because Tor is an anonymity tool, it is a target for fake downloads. Malicious copies have been distributed through search ads and third-party download sites, and they do exactly what you would expect a fake anonymity tool to do. Follow these rules: - Download from the Tor Project's website, from its official mirrors listed on that site, or from the official listings in app stores where they exist. - If the Tor Project's site is blocked where you are, the project runs an email autoresponder and a distribution service that sends download links from official mirrors; details are on its support pages. - On Android, install from the official app store listing or the F-Droid repository the project supports. On iPhone, see the separate guide on this site, because Tor Browser does not exist for iOS. - Verify the signature if the platform allows it. The project publishes instructions; it takes five minutes and rules out a tampered file. - Never accept a Tor Browser installer from a message, a forum attachment or a bundled software package. The browser updates itself. Keep it updated, because fixes for browser vulnerabilities matter more in an anonymity tool than anywhere else. ## How onion routing protects you The name comes from the layers. When Tor Browser sends a request, it encrypts it three times, one layer for each relay. The entry relay removes the outer layer and learns only where to send the packet next. The middle relay removes the second and does the same. The exit relay removes the last layer and sends the request to the website. On the way back, each relay adds a layer, and only your browser can remove them all. The result is that no single relay knows both who you are and what you are visiting. The entry relay knows your address; the exit knows your destination; nobody knows both. Your internet provider sees an encrypted connection to a Tor relay and nothing more. The website sees a request from a Tor exit and nothing more. The separate article on onion routing on this site goes deeper into the mechanism and its limits. ## What "dark web browser" actually means Tor Browser can open onion services, which are sites reachable only through Tor at addresses ending in .onion. Because these sites hide their location too, the term dark web attached itself to them, along with a reputation built on a small number of criminal marketplaces. The reality is broader and duller. Major news organisations, whistleblower submission systems, privacy-focused email providers, search engines and social networks run onion services so that people in censored countries or hostile situations can reach them safely. Most Tor traffic is not to onion services at all; it is ordinary browsing of ordinary sites by people who want to do it without being watched. This site does not list onion addresses or describe marketplaces. If you need a specific organisation's onion service, its own regular website or a reputable directory will point to it. Treat any unknown onion link with the same suspicion you would give an unknown link anywhere, and more, because there is no browser padlock to tell you a site is who it claims. ## First-use habits that keep Tor anonymous Tor Browser protects your network location. The following habits protect the rest. - Do not install extensions, and do not change the security or privacy settings unless the project's documentation tells you to. Uniformity is the protection. - Do not log in to personal accounts. A session logged in as you is linked to you regardless of Tor. - Do not open downloaded documents while online. PDFs and office files can fetch resources over your normal connection and reveal your IP address. Open them offline or in a separate, disconnected environment. - Do not maximise the window to unusual sizes; Tor Browser letterboxes for a reason. - Do not use Tor and your normal browser for the same identity at the same time. - Use the Security Level setting to "Safer" or "Safest" for sensitive browsing; it disables features often used in attacks at the cost of some sites breaking. - Prefer HTTPS sites and onion services. Tor encrypts to the exit relay; from the exit to the site, only HTTPS protects the content. - Do not torrent over Tor. It is slow, it harms the network, and torrent clients commonly leak your real address. ## Speed, blocking and other realities Tor is slower than a direct connection because your traffic crosses three relays run by volunteers on ordinary connections. Pages load in seconds rather than instantly; video is usable but not pleasant. Some websites block Tor exits outright or present endless CAPTCHAs, because exits are shared by many users and some of them misbehave. Tor Browser offers a "New Circuit for this Site" option that often resolves it. Some networks and countries block connections to Tor relays. The browser's connection settings include bridges, which are unlisted entry points that get around such blocks; a separate guide on this site covers how to obtain and use them. None of this is a reason not to use Tor; it is the price of a network that nobody owns. ## What the Tor Project and researchers say The advice above is consistent with what the developers and independent researchers have said publicly, which is a useful check on the folklore that surrounds Tor. The Tor Project's own support documentation is explicit that Tor Browser hides your location but cannot protect you if you identify yourself, and it warns specifically against installing extensions, changing settings, and opening downloaded files while connected. Academic researchers studying anonymity networks have repeatedly found that the practical threats to Tor users are browser exploits and user behaviour rather than breaks in the onion routing design, which is why keeping the browser updated and using the higher security levels for sensitive work is the standard recommendation. Digital-rights organisations that train journalists and activists describe Tor Browser as the baseline tool for anonymous browsing and pair it with the same habits listed here, noting that in the cases they have documented, identification came from logins, documents and timing rather than from the network. ## Install it and try it properly Download Tor Browser from the Tor Project, open it, and spend ten minutes browsing ordinary sites so you know how it feels. Leave the settings alone, stay logged out of your accounts, and when you next need to look something up without being watched, you will already know how. The other Tor guides on this site cover phones, Linux and Mac, bridges, exit nodes and the routing itself. ## FAQ Q: Is Tor Browser free? A: Yes. Tor Browser is free software developed by the Tor Project, a non-profit, and is available for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android at no cost. Anyone charging for it or bundling it with other software is not the official source. Q: Where do I download Tor Browser for PC safely? A: Only from the Tor Project's own website or its official mirrors and app store listings. Fake downloads have carried malware in the past. Verify the download signature if you can, and never install a version sent to you by someone else. Q: Is Tor Browser a dark web browser? A: It can reach onion services, which is what people usually mean by the dark web, but most Tor traffic goes to ordinary websites. Tor Browser is first an anonymity tool for the normal web; onion sites are an additional capability, not the purpose. Q: Is using Tor Browser legal? A: In most countries, yes. It is used by journalists, researchers, businesses and ordinary people. Some countries block or restrict it, and using Tor does not make illegal activity legal. Q: Can I use Tor Browser as my everyday browser? A: You can, and some people do. It is slower, some sites block Tor exits, and logging in to personal accounts over Tor links those sessions to you anyway. Most people use it for the browsing they want kept separate and a normal browser for the rest.