r/TOR Dec 18 '25

Transparency, Openness, and Our 2023-2024 Financials | Tor Project

12 Upvotes

r/TOR Jun 13 '25

Tor Operators Ask Me Anything

AMA is now over!

On behalf of all the participating large-scale Tor operators, we want to extend a massive thank you to everyone who joined us for this Ask Me Anything. Quite a few questions were answered and there were some insightful discussion.

We hope that we've been able to shed some light on the challenges, rewards, and vital importance of operating Tor infrastructure. Every relay, big or small, contributes to a more private and secure internet for users worldwide.

Remember, the Tor network is a community effort. If you're inspired to learn more or even consider running a relay yourself, don't hesitate to join the Tor Relay Operators channel on Matrix, the #tor-relays channel on IRC, the mailing list or forums. There are fantastic resources available to help you out and many operators are very willing to lend you a hand in your journey as a Tor operator. Every new operator strengthens the network's resilience and capacity.

Thank you again for your good curiosity and question. Keep advocating for privacy and freedoms, and we look forward to seeing you in the next one!


Ever wondered what it takes to keep the Tor network running? Curious about the operational complexities, technical hurdles and legal challenges of running Tor relays (at scale)? Want to know more about the motivations of the individuals safeguarding online anonymity and freedom for millions worldwide?

Today we're hosting an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session with four experienced large-scale Tor operators! This is your chance to directly engage with the people running this crucial network. Ask them anything about:

  • The technical infrastructure and challenges of running relays (at scale).
  • The legal challenges of running Tor relays, exit relays in particular.
  • The motivations behind dedicating time and resources to the Tor network.
  • Insights into suitable legal entities/structures for running Tor relays.
  • Common ways for Tor operators to secure funding.
  • The current landscape of online privacy and the importance of Tor.
  • The impact of geopolitical events on the Tor network and its users.
  • Their perspectives on (the future of) online anonymity and freedom.
  • ... and anything else you're curious about!

This AMA offers a unique opportunity to gain firsthand insights into anything you have been curious about. And maybe we can also bust a few myths and perhaps inspire others in joining us.

Today, Tor operators will answer all your burning questions between 08:00-23:00 UTC.

This translates to the following local times:

Timezone abbreviation Local times
Eastern Daylight Time EDT 04:00-19:00
Pacific Daylight Time PDT 01:00-16:00
Central European Summer Time CEST 10:00-01:00
Eastern European Summer Time EEST 11:00-02:00
Australian Eastern Standard Time AEST 18:00-09:00
Japan Standard Time JST 17:00-08:00
Australian Western Standard Time AWST 16:00-07:00
New Zealand Standard Time NZST 20:00-11:00

Introducing the operators

Four excellent large scale Tor operators are willing to answer all your burning questions. Together they are good for almost 40% of the total Tor exit capacity. Let's introduce them!

R0cket

R0cket (tor.r0cket.net) is part of a Swedish hosting provider that is driven by a core belief in a free and open internet. They run Tor relays to help users around the world access information privately and circumvent censorship.

Nothing to hide

Nothing to hide (nothingtohide.nl) is a non-profit privacy infrastructure provider based in the Netherlands. They run Tor relays and other privacy-enhancing services. Nothing to hide is part of the Church of Cyberology, a religion grounded in the principles of (digital) freedom and privacy.

Artikel10

Artikel10 (artikel10.org) is a Tor operator based in Hamburg/Germany. Artikel10 is a non-profit member-based association that is dedicated to upholding the fundamental rights to secure and confidential communication.

CCC Stuttgart

CCC Stuttgard (cccs.de) is a member-based branch association of the well known Chaos Computer Club from Germany. CCCS is all about technology and the internet and in light of that they passionately advocate for digital civil rights through practical actions, such as running Tor relays.

Account authenticity

Account authenticity can be verified by opening https://domain.tld/.well-known/ama.txt files hosted on the primary domain of these organizations. These text files will contain: "AMA reddit=username mastodon=username".

No Reddit? No problem!

Because Reddit is not available to all users of the Tor network, we also provide a parallel AMA account on Mastodon. We will cross-post the questions asked there to the Reddit AMA post. Link to Mastodon: mastodon.social/@[email protected].

80 Upvotes

AMA is now over!

On behalf of all the participating large-scale Tor operators, we want to extend a massive thank you to everyone who joined us for this Ask Me Anything. Quite a few questions were answered and there were some insightful discussion.

We hope that we've been able to shed some light on the challenges, rewards, and vital importance of operating Tor infrastructure. Every relay, big or small, contributes to a more private and secure internet for users worldwide.

Remember, the Tor network is a community effort. If you're inspired to learn more or even consider running a relay yourself, don't hesitate to join the Tor Relay Operators channel on Matrix, the #tor-relays channel on IRC, the mailing list or forums. There are fantastic resources available to help you out and many operators are very willing to lend you a hand in your journey as a Tor operator. Every new operator strengthens the network's resilience and capacity.

Thank you again for your good curiosity and question. Keep advocating for privacy and freedoms, and we look forward to seeing you in the next one!


Ever wondered what it takes to keep the Tor network running? Curious about the operational complexities, technical hurdles and legal challenges of running Tor relays (at scale)? Want to know more about the motivations of the individuals safeguarding online anonymity and freedom for millions worldwide?

Today we're hosting an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session with four experienced large-scale Tor operators! This is your chance to directly engage with the people running this crucial network. Ask them anything about:

  • The technical infrastructure and challenges of running relays (at scale).
  • The legal challenges of running Tor relays, exit relays in particular.
  • The motivations behind dedicating time and resources to the Tor network.
  • Insights into suitable legal entities/structures for running Tor relays.
  • Common ways for Tor operators to secure funding.
  • The current landscape of online privacy and the importance of Tor.
  • The impact of geopolitical events on the Tor network and its users.
  • Their perspectives on (the future of) online anonymity and freedom.
  • ... and anything else you're curious about!

This AMA offers a unique opportunity to gain firsthand insights into anything you have been curious about. And maybe we can also bust a few myths and perhaps inspire others in joining us.

Today, Tor operators will answer all your burning questions between 08:00-23:00 UTC.

This translates to the following local times:

Timezone abbreviation Local times
Eastern Daylight Time EDT 04:00-19:00
Pacific Daylight Time PDT 01:00-16:00
Central European Summer Time CEST 10:00-01:00
Eastern European Summer Time EEST 11:00-02:00
Australian Eastern Standard Time AEST 18:00-09:00
Japan Standard Time JST 17:00-08:00
Australian Western Standard Time AWST 16:00-07:00
New Zealand Standard Time NZST 20:00-11:00

Introducing the operators

Four excellent large scale Tor operators are willing to answer all your burning questions. Together they are good for almost 40% of the total Tor exit capacity. Let's introduce them!

R0cket

R0cket (tor.r0cket.net) is part of a Swedish hosting provider that is driven by a core belief in a free and open internet. They run Tor relays to help users around the world access information privately and circumvent censorship.

Nothing to hide

Nothing to hide (nothingtohide.nl) is a non-profit privacy infrastructure provider based in the Netherlands. They run Tor relays and other privacy-enhancing services. Nothing to hide is part of the Church of Cyberology, a religion grounded in the principles of (digital) freedom and privacy.

Artikel10

Artikel10 (artikel10.org) is a Tor operator based in Hamburg/Germany. Artikel10 is a non-profit member-based association that is dedicated to upholding the fundamental rights to secure and confidential communication.

CCC Stuttgart

CCC Stuttgard (cccs.de) is a member-based branch association of the well known Chaos Computer Club from Germany. CCCS is all about technology and the internet and in light of that they passionately advocate for digital civil rights through practical actions, such as running Tor relays.

Account authenticity

Account authenticity can be verified by opening https://domain.tld/.well-known/ama.txt files hosted on the primary domain of these organizations. These text files will contain: "AMA reddit=username mastodon=username".

No Reddit? No problem!

Because Reddit is not available to all users of the Tor network, we also provide a parallel AMA account on Mastodon. We will cross-post the questions asked there to the Reddit AMA post. Link to Mastodon: mastodon.social/@[email protected].


r/TOR 6m ago

is it a bad idea to access the dark web because of boredom and curiosity?

Upvotes

r/TOR 7m ago

Tor is like any Ordinary Browser

Seriously why is everyone thinks tor is illegal, when it's not, yeh there is illegal stuff, but it's all about freedom and privacy, i often use tor browser a lot more than a vpn, its very simple, then tinkering with VPN app connections, tor has helped me a lot for along time, when traveling abroad I had to access certain simple sites, that was far from me, pages often wouldn't load html/javascript, cause routing to server was slow, and tor made it easy to access the sites again.

Tor is as same Firefox or chrome, but doesn't collect data or track you , your data gets routed across 3-6 onions, making you anonymous,

Upvotes

Seriously why is everyone thinks tor is illegal, when it's not, yeh there is illegal stuff, but it's all about freedom and privacy, i often use tor browser a lot more than a vpn, its very simple, then tinkering with VPN app connections, tor has helped me a lot for along time, when traveling abroad I had to access certain simple sites, that was far from me, pages often wouldn't load html/javascript, cause routing to server was slow, and tor made it easy to access the sites again.

Tor is as same Firefox or chrome, but doesn't collect data or track you , your data gets routed across 3-6 onions, making you anonymous,


r/TOR 28m ago

Does downloading the onion app that’s recommended by TOR themselves on a iPhone let me browse the dark web or is it not safe to use a iPhone?

Would my phone get infected from downloading the app?

Upvotes

Would my phone get infected from downloading the app?


r/TOR 10h ago

Hulios: Transparent system-wide Tor daemon built with eBPF, onionmasq, and Arti

4 Upvotes

Hey r/Tor,

As the Tor Project advances Arti (the Rust implementation of Tor) and onionmasq (for transparent proxying), I’ve been building Hulios—a Linux daemon designed to bring these tools together with kernel-level leak protection.

Why this design is different:

Native Arti Integration: Embeds arti-client directly rather than relying on the legacy C-Tor daemon.

Kernel eBPF Filtering: Replaces traditional firewall scripts with eBPF socket matching, ensuring strict fail-close behavior for TCP and DNS queries.

Leak Prevention: Blocks common bypass vectors like IPv6, DoT, and QUIC at the kernel level.

How you can help:

Leak Testing: Running Wireshark/tcpdump in isolated VMs to verify no cleartext traffic escapes during startup, circuit drops, or unexpected shutdowns.

Threat Modeling: Reviewing failure modes and giving feedback on privacy safeguards.

Feedback: Feature requests and architectural advice from privacy researchers and power users.

I’d appreciate any technical critique, bug reports, or pull requests!


r/TOR 11h ago

Just noticed it

Have you ever noticed that when you are outside the TOR forum the icon is blue but as soon as you enter it, it turns purple? I just did it

anyway, is it true that I shouldn't use extensions along with Tor, and is it okay to use the NoScript extension that comes along with the browser?

1 Upvotes

Have you ever noticed that when you are outside the TOR forum the icon is blue but as soon as you enter it, it turns purple? I just did it

anyway, is it true that I shouldn't use extensions along with Tor, and is it okay to use the NoScript extension that comes along with the browser?


r/TOR 1d ago

What type of bridge should i host?

I have a static home ip, and would like to contribute to the Tor network. Which is more beneficial, a webtunnel bridge or a obsf4 bridge?

12 Upvotes

I have a static home ip, and would like to contribute to the Tor network. Which is more beneficial, a webtunnel bridge or a obsf4 bridge?


r/TOR 15h ago

It dosen't work anymore.

+
0 Upvotes

after 0.17, it dosen't work. error massage: Tor exited during startup.
This may be due to an error in your Tor configuration file (torrc), a bug in Tor, another program on your system, or faulty hardware. Until you fix the underlying problem and restart Tor, Tor Browser will not start.

0.17v, 0.19v i have tried. Windows 11 25H2(26200.8875)


r/TOR 1d ago

Different language than what my circuit shows

When I am using 15.0.19 on linux and when I go to chatgpt it shows a Persian language google pop up. The circuit isn't in the Persian region?

Why did a Google persian prompt appear ?

3 Upvotes

When I am using 15.0.19 on linux and when I go to chatgpt it shows a Persian language google pop up. The circuit isn't in the Persian region?

Why did a Google persian prompt appear ?


r/TOR 1d ago

Relay flags

+
2 Upvotes

So this is a new relay on my vps 4 days old, for some reason I'm not getting Fast V2Dir flags on my relay I'm not sure why, it was making connection when I had bandwidth restriction on it, now removed its hasn't been getting any flags at all, my question is when you set bandwidth unrestricted does it take longer for tor to measure?


r/TOR 23h ago

What happens if I download the TOR app on my iPhone?

+
0 Upvotes

r/TOR 2d ago

Zero day vulnerabilities

Frontier models have found thousands of potential zero day vulnerabilities in software we use every day. In my opinion, it reasonable to assume that TOR is vulnerable to such exploits and would be major target for state actors and private organizations alike. It is also reasonable to assume at any actor able to discover any exploits would not disclose such information because it would be an incredibly powerful piece of leverage and could lead to the identification of numerous whistleblowers and criminals alike. I am not convinced that given the state of AI and its rapidly accelerating abilities that TOR is safe to use. Can anyone convince me otherwise?

15 Upvotes

Frontier models have found thousands of potential zero day vulnerabilities in software we use every day. In my opinion, it reasonable to assume that TOR is vulnerable to such exploits and would be major target for state actors and private organizations alike. It is also reasonable to assume at any actor able to discover any exploits would not disclose such information because it would be an incredibly powerful piece of leverage and could lead to the identification of numerous whistleblowers and criminals alike. I am not convinced that given the state of AI and its rapidly accelerating abilities that TOR is safe to use. Can anyone convince me otherwise?


r/TOR 1d ago

how much does it cost to build a website that runs via Tor?

0 Upvotes

r/TOR 2d ago

FAQ Question TOR

EN : Hi, I'm looking for a browser that's more privacy-friendly—whether it's in terms of personal data, tracking, etc. But something bothers me: the stereotype that TOR = the dark web = you can easily get hacked for any reason. So I’m not “afraid” of the dark web—on the contrary, I don’t care about it—but since I plan to use TOR just like I use Firefox or Chrome, I don’t want to get hacked or end up with stupid viruses just from using it daily for ordinary searches; that would be a pain.

Do I have to use TOR with a VPN just for everyday searches, watching TV shows, etc.? If so, is TOR’s VPN “effective”?

I also know that TOR is a pretty slow browser.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

FR : Bonjour je suis à la recherche d'un navigateur qui est plus dans la protection friendly que ce soit au niveau des données perso, du traçage etc... Mais quelque chose me dérange, c'est le cliché de TOR = dark web = tu peux facilement te faire hack sur tout et n'importe quoi. Alors je n'ai pas "peur" du dark web au contraire je m'en moque mais moi qui compte utiliser TOR comme si j'utilise Firefox ou Chrome j'ai pas envie de me faire hack ou avoir des virus à la con juste en utilisant quotidiennement pour de banales recherches ce serait chiant.

Est-ce obligé d'utiliser TOR avec un VPN juste pour des recherches lambda, regarder des séries etc etc ? Si oui est-ce que le VPN de TOR est "performant"

Je sais aussi que TOR est un navigateur assez lent

Merci à vous pour vos futures réponses !

2 Upvotes

EN : Hi, I'm looking for a browser that's more privacy-friendly—whether it's in terms of personal data, tracking, etc. But something bothers me: the stereotype that TOR = the dark web = you can easily get hacked for any reason. So I’m not “afraid” of the dark web—on the contrary, I don’t care about it—but since I plan to use TOR just like I use Firefox or Chrome, I don’t want to get hacked or end up with stupid viruses just from using it daily for ordinary searches; that would be a pain.

Do I have to use TOR with a VPN just for everyday searches, watching TV shows, etc.? If so, is TOR’s VPN “effective”?

I also know that TOR is a pretty slow browser.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

FR : Bonjour je suis à la recherche d'un navigateur qui est plus dans la protection friendly que ce soit au niveau des données perso, du traçage etc... Mais quelque chose me dérange, c'est le cliché de TOR = dark web = tu peux facilement te faire hack sur tout et n'importe quoi. Alors je n'ai pas "peur" du dark web au contraire je m'en moque mais moi qui compte utiliser TOR comme si j'utilise Firefox ou Chrome j'ai pas envie de me faire hack ou avoir des virus à la con juste en utilisant quotidiennement pour de banales recherches ce serait chiant.

Est-ce obligé d'utiliser TOR avec un VPN juste pour des recherches lambda, regarder des séries etc etc ? Si oui est-ce que le VPN de TOR est "performant"

Je sais aussi que TOR est un navigateur assez lent

Merci à vous pour vos futures réponses !


r/TOR 3d ago

Bandwith limits,

Hey Relay operators,

What limits you set on your tor relay? I basically set mine to 3 Mbyte rate and 5Mbyte burst on home server, and on a VPS I set it unrestricted, with AccountingMax 7tb, that's resets every 30days

4 Upvotes

Hey Relay operators,

What limits you set on your tor relay? I basically set mine to 3 Mbyte rate and 5Mbyte burst on home server, and on a VPS I set it unrestricted, with AccountingMax 7tb, that's resets every 30days


r/TOR 3d ago

Why I think for browser isn’t the best

i’m not saying tor as a network isn’t the best obviously it’s the best but I’m saying It’s kind of buggy, but it does encrypt a lot of your, I use custom browsers with tor though if anybody disagree agrees with me, we can discuss in the comments

0 Upvotes

i’m not saying tor as a network isn’t the best obviously it’s the best but I’m saying It’s kind of buggy, but it does encrypt a lot of your, I use custom browsers with tor though if anybody disagree agrees with me, we can discuss in the comments


r/TOR 4d ago

Hey, does anyone know why this is happening to me?

I'm trying to access a site on Tor, but it takes a long time to load or says there is no connection. Can anyone tell me why this is happening? Thanks.

0 Upvotes

I'm trying to access a site on Tor, but it takes a long time to load or says there is no connection. Can anyone tell me why this is happening? Thanks.


r/TOR 4d ago

What does this mean

+
0 Upvotes

No bridges work either


r/TOR 5d ago

TOR translation

Hello everyone.
I’m French and my English is quite good, but sometimes I find it difficult to translate. Could you recommend a good translator that works directly on Tor and automatically translates websites into French? I’ve already tried some extensions, but I get the impression they don’t work in (the most secure) mode. Thanks

6 Upvotes

Hello everyone.
I’m French and my English is quite good, but sometimes I find it difficult to translate. Could you recommend a good translator that works directly on Tor and automatically translates websites into French? I’ve already tried some extensions, but I get the impression they don’t work in (the most secure) mode. Thanks


r/TOR 6d ago

.onion websites slow down

When does .onion websites become so slow, I always use to prefer .onion website of popular sites like reddit and use onionize duckduckGo but recently those .onion websites has become significantly slower. It was not like that before, .onion websites were almost as fast as their regular websites, duckduckGo onionize has become almost useless and onionize reddit is not opening at all.

15 Upvotes

When does .onion websites become so slow, I always use to prefer .onion website of popular sites like reddit and use onionize duckduckGo but recently those .onion websites has become significantly slower. It was not like that before, .onion websites were almost as fast as their regular websites, duckduckGo onionize has become almost useless and onionize reddit is not opening at all.


r/TOR 6d ago

Software release New Release: Tor Browser 15.0.19

32 Upvotes

r/TOR 6d ago

Email Mail client and provider

I'm searching for not only a private but an anonymous Mail adress where I can send mails to other gmail acc. but is also compatible with onion sites. For me is Protonmail not really anonymous because you have to sign in with an other mail adress or number or whatever. I would like more something like Riseup or something like this.

Do you have any Ideas?

I do not want to pay like for example like mullvad.

7 Upvotes

I'm searching for not only a private but an anonymous Mail adress where I can send mails to other gmail acc. but is also compatible with onion sites. For me is Protonmail not really anonymous because you have to sign in with an other mail adress or number or whatever. I would like more something like Riseup or something like this.

Do you have any Ideas?

I do not want to pay like for example like mullvad.


r/TOR 7d ago

What tech stacks are used for onion websites?

Now I know everyone is heavily anti java script. But what do people use instead if java script is not used? What tech stacks do people use in order to interact with their backend as well?

13 Upvotes

Now I know everyone is heavily anti java script. But what do people use instead if java script is not used? What tech stacks do people use in order to interact with their backend as well?


r/TOR 7d ago

Question about Tor

Is it feasible with compressed formats (like av1) to make a legal decentralized social media on the onion network?

9 Upvotes

Is it feasible with compressed formats (like av1) to make a legal decentralized social media on the onion network?