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Tor Browser

The strongest single privacy tool — route traffic through multiple encrypted relays

How It Works

Tor routes your traffic through three encrypted relays (guard, middle, exit), making it extremely difficult to trace back to you. Unlike a VPN, no single relay knows both your identity and your destination.

The Tor Browser also standardizes your fingerprint — all Tor users report the same screen resolution, user agent, timezone, language, and other technical details. This makes it nearly impossible to distinguish one Tor user from another based on browser fingerprint.

What It Protects

Limitations

Important: Do not install additional extensions or change default settings in Tor Browser. Every modification makes your browser more unique and easier to fingerprint, undermining the protection that comes from all Tor users looking identical.

Available Options

Best combined with: For maximum protection, use the official Tor Browser on its own without additional extensions. If you need extra network-level security, you can combine Tor with a VPN (connect to VPN first, then open Tor), though this adds complexity and requires trusting your VPN provider.

How Tor Works in Detail

The Onion Routing Principle

Tor stands for "The Onion Router". The name comes from its layered encryption approach — like peeling layers of an onion. Your data is wrapped in three layers of encryption before it leaves your device. Each relay in the Tor circuit removes exactly one layer and forwards the data to the next relay. No single relay ever knows both who you are and what you're accessing.

Three Layers of Encryption Layer 3 — encrypted for Guard relay Layer 2 — encrypted for Middle relay Layer 1 — encrypted for Exit relay Your original data GET https://example.com/page Each relay can only remove its own layer. No relay can read the original data except the Exit relay (which doesn't know who sent it).

The Tor Circuit

When you open the Tor Browser, it builds a circuit — a path through three relays selected from thousands of volunteer-operated servers worldwide. Each relay has a specific role:

Your Device 2601:4c:xx::8a3 New York, US 3 layers 1 Guard Knows: your IP Doesn't know: destination 2 layers 2 Middle Knows: nothing useful Only passes data along 1 layer 3 Exit Knows: destination Doesn't know: your IP Guard Relay (Entry) Your first contact with the Tor network. Sees your real IP but cannot see what site you visit. Middle Relay An intermediary that adds a layer of separation. Knows neither your IP nor the destination website. Exit Relay The last relay before the website. Sees the destination but has no way to know who sent the request. Website Sees only Exit relay IP Key difference from a VPN A VPN has a single point of trust — the VPN provider sees all your traffic. Tor splits trust across 3 independent relays — no single entity can link you to your activity.

Fingerprint Standardization

Unlike a VPN, which only hides your IP address, Tor Browser also makes your browser fingerprint identical to every other Tor user. This is critical — without it, websites could track you even though your IP changes with each circuit.

Regular Browsers Each user looks different User A 1920x1080, Chrome, Win NVIDIA RTX 4070, en-US 43 fonts, UTC-5 User B 2560x1440, Firefox, Mac Apple M2, en-GB 67 fonts, UTC+0 User C 1366x768, Edge, Win Intel UHD 630, es-MX 38 fonts, UTC-6 Each user is uniquely identifiable Tor Browser Users Everyone looks identical User A 1000x900, Firefox, Win Blocked, en-US Blocked, UTC+0 User B 1000x900, Firefox, Win Blocked, en-US Blocked, UTC+0 User C 1000x900, Firefox, Win Blocked, en-US Blocked, UTC+0 Impossible to tell users apart Tor Browser reports the same resolution, user agent, timezone, language, fonts, and GPU data for every user.

What Happens to Your Data at Each Step

1 Your Device (Tor Browser) Encrypts data with 3 layers. Sends it to the Guard relay. Your fingerprint is standardized. 2 Guard Relay Removes layer 3. Sees your real IP, but the remaining 2 layers of encryption hide the destination. 3 Middle Relay Removes layer 2. Only knows the Guard and Exit relay addresses. Cannot see your IP or the destination. 4 Exit Relay Removes layer 1. Sees the destination website but has no way to know who sent the original request. 5 Destination Website Sees only the Exit relay's IP. Your fingerprint matches all other Tor users. You are anonymous. The response travels back through the same circuit in reverse. A new circuit is created every 10 minutes.

Tor vs. VPN — Side by Side

Many people confuse Tor with a VPN. While both hide your IP address, they work very differently and provide different levels of protection.

VPN Trust model: Single provider sees all your traffic Relays / Hops: 1 server (single point of trust) Fingerprint protection: None — your fingerprint is unchanged Speed: Fast — suitable for streaming, downloads Detection: VPN IP ranges are known and often blocked Best for: Tor Browser Trust model: Split across 3 independent relays Relays / Hops: 3 relays (Guard, Middle, Exit) Fingerprint protection: Full — all Tor users look identical Speed: Slow — 3 hops add significant latency Detection: Exit nodes are public and often blocked Best for:

Tip: You can use our homepage tool to verify your Tor connection. When using Tor Browser, you should see the exit relay's IP address, "Tor Exit Node" should be detected, and your fingerprint parameters should match the standardized Tor values.

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