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Using Tor on Android and iPhone: The Legitimate Apps (2026)

By admin 14 min read
On this page
  1. On a phone, pick the layer before the app
  2. The legitimate apps, side by side
  3. Android, layer one: Tor Browser for Android
    1. Getting it
    2. What it doesn’t do
  4. Android, layer two: Tor VPN and Orbot
    1. Tor VPN (beta)
    2. Orbot
    3. The catch with any device-level Tor
  5. iPhone and iPad: why there’s no Tor Browser, and what to use
    1. What the Tor Project recommends
    2. What’s changing
  6. Spotting the genuine listing
  7. Leaks that only happen on phones
  8. Where to go next
  9. Sources

On a phone, pick the layer before the app#

Using Tor on a laptop almost always involves just one thing. You open Tor Browser, you browse the internet, and then you close it. The rest of the computer carries on as usual, which is generally fine, since most of what matters happens inside the browser.

Phones aren’t designed to work that way. Most of what you do on a phone happens in apps, not on web pages. That includes messaging, email, news, maps, banking and social media. Each app makes its own connections and doesn’t use Tor simply because you’ve installed a Tor app somewhere on the phone. The Tor Project made this point itself in its September 2026 announcement about Tor VPN. Most people no longer experience the internet through a browser at all.

So on a phone, the first question isn’t “which Tor app should I install?” but rather “what do I actually want Tor to protect?” There are really only three answers.

  1. Just the web pages I choose to open privately. That’s a browser.
  2. Some or all of my apps. That is a device-level tunnel, which on a phone appears as a VPN-type app.
  3. Both. That’s two apps, which should be used together with care.

Once you know which layer you need, the number of legitimate apps becomes very small. On Android there are three that matter, while on iPhone there are two, and neither of them is called Tor Browser. Every other app in the app stores with an onion on its icon should be treated with suspicion until it’s proven genuine, which is exactly what our guide to fake ‘dark web’ apps in 2026 looks at.

The legitimate apps, side by side#

This is the full list of apps that the Tor Project makes or recommends for phones, as of October 2026.

App Platform Made by What goes through Tor Where to get it
Tor Browser for Android Android The Tor Project Only the web pages you open in it Google Play, or the APK from download.torproject.org
Tor VPN (beta) Android The Tor Project The apps you choose, each on its own circuit Google Play, F-Droid, or the APK from download.torproject.org
Orbot Android and iOS Guardian Project The apps you choose, through a VPN-style connection Google Play or the App Store
Onion Browser iPhone and iPad Guardian Project Web pages you open in it, using Orbot to connect App Store

Two names keep appearing, so it’s worth knowing who they are. The Tor Project is the non-profit organisation that builds Tor and Tor Browser. The Guardian Project is a separate group of developers who have been working with Tor on mobile for over ten years. The Tor Project says that Onion Browser and Orbot are open source and developed by someone who works closely with it, and it recommends both for use on iOS. They are not impostors. Rather, they are the long-standing partners who make Tor work on platforms the Tor Project doesn’t handle itself.

Notice what is missing from the list. There is no iPhone version of Tor Browser, no app from the Tor Project on the App Store, and nothing called ‘Dark Web Browser’, ‘Tor Onion VPN’, ‘Hidden Wiki’ or similar from any other company. If you come across one of those, it is not official, however good the reviews look. Our guide to why most ‘hidden wiki’ lists are full of scams explains why that name in particular is a red flag.

Android, layer one: Tor Browser for Android#

If you’re looking for private web browsing, this is the app. Tor Browser for Android is the genuine Tor Browser, developed by the same team as the desktop version and released alongside it. The current version, 15.0.24 from September 29, 2026, runs on GeckoView 140.17.0esr, which is the Android version of the same Firefox engine the desktop browser uses, and it includes the security fixes from Tor 0.4.9.13 issued in September. For more details, see our Tor Browser 15.0.24 release notes.

Since it’s the same browser, it has the same protections. It blocks the usual trackers, deletes cookies and browsing history when you close it, makes every copy look as alike as possible to websites, and offers the same three security levels as the desktop version. You’ll find them by opening the three-dot menu, then Privacy and security, then Security Level. If you change the level, you’ll need to save and restart the browser. Our guide to Tor Browser security levels explains what each level switches off, and it applies to Android just as much as to the desktop.

Getting it#

You can install it from Google Play, where the developer should read The Tor Project, or download the APK directly from download.torproject.org if you’d rather not use Google’s store or can’t reach it. When you open the app for the first time, you’ll see a Connect button. If Tor is blocked where you are, Connection Assist will suggest a bridge based on your location, just as it does on the desktop.

What it doesn’t do#

It only protects what happens inside it. If you tap a link in Tor Browser that opens your email app or a map, that app connects normally, outside Tor. And if you copy an onion address into Chrome, Chrome won’t be able to open it, and even if it could, it wouldn’t have any of Tor Browser’s protections.

That is also why the Tor Project strongly advises against pointing other browsers at Tor through a proxy. It is technically possible with a tool such as Orbot, but an ordinary browser wasn’t designed to resist fingerprinting or to keep sites separate, so you would be sending an easily identifiable browser through an anonymous network. If you want to browse privately on Android, use Tor Browser itself.

Android, layer two: Tor VPN and Orbot#

If you want apps other than a browser to use Tor, you need something that sits underneath them. On Android, that means an app that uses the phone’s built-in VPN feature. It isn’t a commercial VPN. It simply uses the same system interface to send other apps’ traffic through Tor. There are two legitimate options, and they’re built in rather different ways.

Tor VPN (beta)#

This is the Tor Project’s own device-level app, and it is the most significant development for Tor on mobile in years. The Tor Project soft-launched it in late 2025 and published a detailed update on September 9, 2026.

Several things set it apart.

  • Each app gets its own circuit. Rather than sending all your apps through one shared tunnel, Tor VPN gives each app its own route through the Tor network. According to the Tor Project, this is inspired by the way Tor Browser keeps websites separate, and the idea is that activity in one app can’t easily be linked to activity in another.
  • You decide which apps use it. The Apps screen is now searchable, so you can choose exactly which apps go through Tor and leave the rest alone.
  • It is built on Arti. Tor VPN runs on Arti, the Tor Project’s newer Rust implementation of Tor, together with a component called Onionmasq. The Tor Project says this foundation means fewer crashes and better handling of changing networks. For an explanation of what Arti is, see Arti 2.7.0: Tor’s Rust Rewrite Explained.
  • It was designed with censorship in mind. The Tor Project says many of its first users were in heavily censored countries such as Iran and Turkmenistan, which is why bridges were given priority. WebTunnel bridges arrived in version 1.4.0, and the app now asks you to connect to Tor before letting you choose an exit country, because testers kept picking exit locations when what they really needed was a bridge. Our guide to bridges, Snowflake and WebTunnel explains why that matters.

You can get it from Google Play, from F-Droid, or as an APK from the Tor Project’s download page, and its builds are reproducible, meaning anyone can check that the app matches its published source code. It is still a beta, though. The Tor Project is open that it doesn’t yet behave like a speed-optimised commercial VPN, that some performance features from the older C version of Tor haven’t reached Arti yet, and that it publishes a separate threat model listing known limitations. Read it before you depend on the app. For more detail, see our Tor VPN beta overview.

Orbot#

Orbot, from the Guardian Project, has been routing Android apps through Tor for more than ten years, and it’s also available for iOS. It works in a similar way, with a VPN mode that sends the apps you choose through Tor. It is mature, widely used and recommended by the Tor Project, and it’s the connection layer that Onion Browser relies on for iPhone. If you’re already using Orbot and it works well for you, there’s no urgent need to switch.

The catch with any device-level Tor#

Here is the point that’s easily overlooked. Routing an app through Tor hides your IP address from the app’s servers. It does not make the app anonymous. If you’re logged in, the app knows who you are. Many apps also send device identifiers, analytics and crash reports, and on Android, push notifications usually arrive through Google’s own servers rather than through the app. Tor VPN and Orbot are very good at getting past blocks and at stopping your network provider from seeing which services you use. They are not a way to make Instagram forget your name.

Here’s a practical tip. If you use both Tor Browser and Tor VPN on the same phone, leave Tor Browser out of Tor VPN’s list of apps. It already makes its own connection to Tor, and routing it through Tor again adds delay without adding protection.

iPhone and iPad: why there’s no Tor Browser, and what to use#

In short, there is no Tor Browser for iOS, and the reason lies in Apple’s rules rather than a lack of effort.

For many years Apple has required every web browser on the iPhone and iPad to use WebKit, the engine that powers Safari. Tor Browser’s privacy protections are built into its own modified version of the Firefox engine, and many of them can’t be reproduced on top of WebKit. The Tor Project says directly that this requirement prevents Onion Browser from having the same privacy protections as Tor Browser.

What the Tor Project recommends#

For the iPhone and iPad, the Tor Project recommends two apps used together.

  1. Orbot connects your device to Tor. Install it first, connect, and make sure it stays running.
  2. Onion Browser is the browser you use on top of that connection. It’s open source, developed by the Guardian Project team, and is the only iOS browser the Tor Project endorses.

Both are on the App Store, and Onion Browser is free. Treat it as the best option available on iOS rather than as an equal to Tor Browser on Android or desktop. When you can choose which device to use for a sensitive task, Tor Browser on Android or desktop is the stronger tool.

What’s changing#

This is one of the more hopeful stories in the Tor world this year. Under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, Apple has allowed approved browsers in the European Union to use engines other than WebKit since iOS 17.4. That opens a door that was previously shut. According to its project page on the Tor Project’s internet freedom website, the Onion Browser team plans to use this change to build a full Tor Browser for iOS on the same Firefox engine as the other versions, starting with the EU market and hoping eventually to extend it worldwide.

People are putting real money behind it. In the Tor Project’s first community funding round, which closed on June 19, 2026, Onion Browser received by far the largest share, $111,119 of the roughly $200,000 raised. That doesn’t mean a Tor Browser for iPhone is imminent. Building one is a major undertaking, and for now it is limited to the EU under Apple’s own rules. But for the first time, it is a funded plan rather than just a wish.

Until it ships, the advice stays the same. Use Orbot and Onion Browser, keep both up to date, and be careful with any App Store listing that claims to be ‘Tor Browser’ already.

Spotting the genuine listing#

The app stores contain many apps that resemble the genuine ones. Some are harmless and merely provide a basic web view. Others show aggressive advertisements, request permissions they don’t need, or quietly record what you type. A small number are complete fakes designed to look like the real apps. We maintain a current list in Fake ‘Dark Web’ Apps in 2026: What to Avoid, but you won’t need it if you stick to a few rules.

Start from the official website, not the store’s search box. For Tor Browser and Tor VPN, go to download.torproject.org. For Orbot and Onion Browser, go to the Guardian Project’s or Onion Browser’s own websites. Then follow the links on those pages to the store. A store search orders results by popularity and paid placement, whereas an official link takes you to the correct listing.

Check the developer’s name. Tor Browser for Android and Tor VPN should appear under The Tor Project. Orbot and Onion Browser are developed by the Guardian Project team. Any other app using the name “Tor” is not one of these apps.

On Android, check the package name. Every Android app has a unique ID, which appears in its Google Play web address. For Tor Browser it is org.torproject.torbrowser, and for Orbot it is org.torproject.android. A fake can copy a name and an icon, but it can’t use the same ID.

Be suspicious of extras. The genuine apps never show advertisements, never ask for your contacts or your location, and never offer a ‘premium’ version. If an app with an onion icon does any of those things, delete it.

Don’t trust reviews or download counts. Both can be bought, and fake apps often have more of both than the genuine ones.

If you installed a Tor app in the past and aren’t sure where it came from, uninstall it and install it again from the official sources. It only takes five minutes, and it’s the same advice we give for computers in How to Download and Install Tor Browser Safely.

Leaks that only happen on phones#

Even with the right app, a phone still gives away information that a laptop generally doesn’t. None of these are flaws in Tor. Rather, they are features of the phone itself, and most of them are easy to manage once you know about them.

Your keyboard. Many popular keyboards have cloud features such as suggestions, syncing or voice typing, which can send what you type to the keyboard maker’s servers. That includes what you type into Tor Browser. If it matters to you, use a keyboard that works offline, and turn off cloud features while you’re using Tor.

Notifications and previews. Phones show snippets of messages on the lock screen and keep a snapshot of each open app in the app switcher. Anyone who picks up the phone can see them. Turn off lock screen previews for sensitive apps, and when you’ve finished with Tor Browser, close it properly rather than leaving it in the background.

Your SIM and your location. Tor hides your IP address from the websites you visit, but it does nothing about your mobile carrier, which still knows that your SIM is connected and roughly where you are. Nor does it affect GPS, which apps can read directly if you’ve given them permission. Tor protects what you do online, not where your phone is.

Your accounts. Phones are usually signed in to a Google or Apple account, and many apps share identifiers with one another. Tor Browser keeps its own separate session, but apps routed through Tor VPN or Orbot don’t automatically forget who you are.

Downloads and screenshots. Tor Browser erases your history when you close it, but files you download and screenshots you take are saved to the phone’s storage and often backed up to the cloud as well. If someone else might get hold of your phone, think carefully before saving anything.

Old software. Whatever browser they run, phones that no longer receive system updates are easier to break into. Keep both your operating system and your Tor apps up to date. September 2026 was a reminder of why, as we explain in Tor’s September 2026 security fixes.

Finally, the same rule applies on a phone as anywhere else. The app gets you onto Tor safely, but it can’t tell you whether the site you’re visiting is genuine. A small screen makes it even harder to read a full 56-character onion address, which is exactly what phishing clones take advantage of. Before you log in to any site, check the address as explained in How to Verify an Onion Address Is Official, and see Onion Phishing: How Fake Mirrors Clone Real Addresses for what to look out for.

Where to go next#

Sources#

4 comments

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  2. Pingback: How to Verify an Onion Address Is Official - The Hidden Wiki
  3. Pingback: Fake Dark Web Apps in 2026 – What to Avoid - The Hidden Wiki
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