Tor Browser for anonymous surfing appears for Android

The Tor Project browser, which allows users to surf without leaving a trace, is now also available for Android devices. Due to restrictions imposed by Apple, there will be no iOS version of the Tor Browser.

An alpha version of the app already existed, but Tor Browser 8.5 is the first stable version for Android, according to the developer’s blog. The mobile version would offer the same level of privacy protection as the desktop version for Windows, macOS and Linux. This means, among other things, that the browser ‘isolates’ every website visited, so that third-party trackers and advertisements cannot track the user. After browsing, cookies and browsing history are automatically deleted.

The Tor software is based on Mozilla’s Firefox. When using the Tor Browser, the user’s Internet traffic is routed and encrypted through a network of thousands of servers known as Tor relays. This should make it almost impossible to identify visitors based on the browser and the hardware with which they visit websites, so-called fingerprinting. In addition, the Tor Browser makes it possible to visit pages that have been blocked in some way.

According to the developer, it is important that the Tor Browser now also exists for Android. “Mobile browsing is growing at a rapid pace and in some parts of the world it is the only way for people to access the internet. Not infrequently, those same regions are subject to strict government controls and censorship, so it was a priority for us to reach those people,” the blog reads.

The Tor Browser for Android is available for free on the Google Play Store and, later this week, also via F-Droid. Additional software is no longer necessary; the alpha version of the browser could only connect to the Tor network through the Orbot complementary app. Due to restrictions from Apple, there will be no iOS version of the browser, the blog reports. Users of an iPhone or iPad are advised to use the Onion Browser.