The Tor Project has quietly released a new VPN app for Android, enabling users to route all their internet traffic through the Tor network.
First spotted by security journalist Catalin Cimpanu, this marks the organization's first official foray into mobile VPN solutions.
Tor VPN Beta is now available on the Google Play Store and is explicitly labeled as experimental. The Tor Project warns users not to rely on it for anything sensitive, as it may still leak identifying information. This beta software is intended primarily for testing, feedback, and further development rather than critical use.
According to metadata in the project's GitLab repository, development on the app began in January 2022, and it has since undergone more than 600 commits. The codebase is licensed under the BSD 3-Clause license and is fully open source, aligning with Tor's long-standing commitment to transparency and free software.
Google Play
Tor VPN is built on Arti, Tor's modern Rust-based implementation of the Tor protocol. Arti replaces the older C-based “C-Tor” codebase, offering improved memory safety and modularity. The app allows Android users to route internet traffic from individual apps through the Tor network, with each app receiving its own Tor circuit and exit IP address. This per-app routing is designed to reduce correlation attacks and further obscure a user's network activity.
The Tor VPN app offers:
- IP and Location Obfuscation: Apps and services see a Tor exit node, not the user's real IP.
- Per-App Routing: Users can choose which apps are routed through Tor, creating isolated circuits.
- Censorship Resistance: By using Tor's decentralized routing, the app can help users access content in countries or networks with restrictions.
- Onion Service Support: Like Tor Browser, the VPN enables access to .onion domains for anonymous communication and metadata-free services.
Founded in the early 2000s and funded by a mix of public donations and institutional grants, the Tor Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing human rights and online freedom. Its most well-known product, the Tor Browser, enables anonymous web browsing by routing traffic through a volunteer-run overlay network. With the launch of Tor VPN Beta, the group is now expanding its capabilities into broader device-level privacy on mobile platforms.
Limitations and warnings
Tor VPN Beta is not yet production-ready and comes with clear caveats. According to the app's documentation and store listing, users should not trust the app for high-risk or sensitive activities. Android's system-level data, such as device identifiers, may still expose users, and no VPN, including Tor's, can fully prevent this.
Users are also advised to expect bugs, crashes, and unpolished features during this beta phase. The app is best suited for testers, developers, and privacy enthusiasts willing to provide feedback to the development team.
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