How to access .onion sites (also known as Tor Hidden Services)

I have used Tor for years to bypass censorship and access privacy-focused services. It is a powerful tool, but browsing the hidden web requires a specific setup and strict security habits. If you want to access a .onion address safely, follow these steps. Why Tor Works and How to Bypass Censorship Sites that use the .onion top-level domain are privacy-focused websites that are only accessible using the Tor network. Tor is an anonymizing computer network that is partially funded by the US government and designed to help people in countries where Internet access is heavily monitored or censored. When you connect to Tor, your internet traffic is wrapped in multiple layers of encryption. It bounces from an entry node to a middle node to an exit node before reaching the destination. This multi-layered routing ensures that no single point in the network can see both your identity and your activity. A .onion address points to a Tor hidden service. Unlike standard websites that rely on public IP addresses, hidden services route traffic entirely within the Tor network. This means your connection never leaves Tor, so it cannot be snooped on by exit node operators or local ISPs. It also means the server hosting the website can hide its true location. For example, Proton maintains an onion address at "https://protonmailrmez3lotccipshtkleegetolb73fuirgj7r4o4vfu7ozyd.onion", and Facebook maintains one at "facebookwkhpilnemxj7asaniu7vnjjbiltxjqhye3mhbshg7kx5tfyd.onion". These allow users in restrictive countries to access services without triggering local firewalls. If you live in a region with strict censorship, standard Tor connections may be blocked. You can configure bridges to disguise your Tor traffic as normal internet data. Open the Tor Browser settings, go to Connection, and select "Bridges." Choose "obfs4" or "meek" to bypass government firewalls. You will need to enter the bridge address provided by the Tor Project. How to Install and Launch the Tor Browser To access a .onion address, you must use the official Tor Browser. It is a modified version of Firefox configured to route traffic through the Tor network. Download the Tor Browser for Windows, Mac, Linux, or Android directly from the Tor Project website. On Android, the official Tor VPN Beta app works on devices running Android 7.0+ with specific architectures. Note that the app does not support Chromebooks or Android tablets. For iOS, there is no official Tor app, but you can use third-party clients in Apple's App Store. High-risk users should consider Tails OS, a live operating system that forces all connections through Tor. After launching the browser, click "Connect" to join the network. The browser will establish a circuit through three random relays. Once connected, you can type any .onion address into the URL bar. For instance, to access DuckDuckGo's hidden service, enter: https://duckduckgogg42xjoc72x3sjasowoarfbgcmvfimaftt6twagswzczad.onion/ Download the Tor Browser from the Tor project's website to continue. It's available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The Tor project still offers no official Tor apps for iPhone or iPad, but some third-party apps are available in Apple's App Store. After launching the Tor browser, type the .onion address into its address bar. For example, to access Proton's hidden service, you'd enter the following address: https://protonmailrmez3lotccipshtkleegetolb73fuirgj7r4o4vfu7ozyd.onion Or, to access the DuckDuckGo search engine's hidden service, you'd enter: https://duckduckgogg42xjoc72x3sjasowoarfbgcmvfimaftt6twagswzczad.onion/ While using the Tor browser, you can click links to .onion addresses and they'll load normally. But they'll only work in the Tor browser, while connected to Tor. Don't access .onion sites through proxies You can also access .onion sites without running Tor through proxies that connect to Tor for you. The proxy connects to Tor for you and then forwards you the traffic over the regular Internet. This, however, is a very bad idea! You're losing the anonymity you normally have when you connect to a .onion site through the Tor browser. That's the whole point of a .onion address, after all. The website you access maintains its anonymity, but someone monitoring your connection can see which website you're connecting to. The service provider can also see what you're connecting to and try to snoop on any information you may provide. Tor2web functions in this way, but you shouldn't use it unless you know exactly what you're doing. Many .onion sites will even give you a security warning if you try to access them using that sort of service. Looking for lists of .onion sites? Search the web for lists of .onion sites and you'll find some places to start. Many of the directories of .onion sites are themselves stored on .onion sites, though, which you can only access through Tor. Again, beware: Lots of .onion sites contain very nasty things, and many of them are likely scams. We recommend staying away from them, if possible. Try to avoid randomly browsing through .onion sites using Tor, and instead connect directly to specific sites you need or want to access.