Tor Celebrates 300th WebTunnel Bridge Milestone in Fight Against Censorship

The Tor Project has reached a major milestone in its battle against online censorship, announcing the deployment of its 300th WebTunnel bridge.

The achievement marks the successful completion of a months-long campaign aimed at expanding WebTunnel, a pluggable transport designed to bypass internet restrictions by disguising Tor traffic as ordinary web activity.

A year of scaling and resistance

The WebTunnel initiative was officially launched in March 2024 as a response to increasing censorship measures in countries like Russia, China, and Iran. In November 2024, Tor issued an urgent call for volunteers to set up additional WebTunnel bridges, setting a goal of deploying 200 new bridges by early 2025. The campaign ultimately surpassed expectations, adding 207 new WebTunnel nodes to the network.

The Tor Project credits this success to its global community of relay operators and supporters, who contributed technical expertise, bug reports, and feedback to refine WebTunnel’s performance. Over the past year, WebTunnel has demonstrated significant advantages in restrictive environments, particularly where other circumvention tools, such as obfs4, have been blocked or throttled.

Why WebTunnel matters

WebTunnel is a censorship-resistant transport that masks Tor traffic to make it appear as standard HTTPS web traffic, making it harder for internet service providers and state censors to detect and block connections. This method has proven particularly effective in countries where deep packet inspection (DPI) is used to filter or restrict access to circumvention tools.

Since its launch, WebTunnel has provided:

1. Increased resistance to censorship, allowing users to bypass blocks in regions where traditional bridges are heavily targeted.
2. Improved performance, delivering better speed and reliability compared to other bridge types.
3. Valuable data for future research, pinpointing areas where further technical refinements could enhance WebTunnel’s effectiveness.

Tor remains a critical tool for internet users in authoritarian regimes, journalists working in hostile environments, and individuals seeking privacy in an increasingly monitored online space.

Ongoing challenges and next steps

Despite the progress, Tor acknowledges that continued research is necessary to optimize WebTunnel’s performance and scalability. The organization encourages more volunteers to set up bridges and help strengthen the network against ongoing censorship efforts.

Tor is also urging users to explore other ways to support internet freedom, such as deploying Snowflake proxies — small, lightweight relays that help censored users connect to Tor — or participating in alpha testing programs to improve Tor’s tools.

As online censorship continues to evolve, the expansion of WebTunnel bridges represents a significant step in preserving access to free and open communication. Tor’s milestone serves as a testament to the power of collective action in defending digital rights worldwide.