What Is Orbot, Onion Browser, And Mobile Tor Apps?
Desktop Tor Browser has a mobile family of its own — built by a longtime Tor Project partner, and split across genuinely different roles on Android and iOS.
Orbot is a free proxy and VPN app, built by the Guardian Project, that routes an Android or iOS device's internet traffic through the Tor network — it can send your whole phone's traffic through Tor, or just specific apps on Android. Onion Browser is a separate, Tor Project-endorsed web browser for iOS that plays a similar role to desktop Tor Browser, since Apple's platform restrictions have historically prevented a full Tor Browser port. On Android, Tor Browser exists as its own dedicated app, similar to the desktop version.
Tor Browser on desktop is a single, self-contained app: install it, open it, browse anonymously.
On mobile, that same idea splits into several different tools with different names and different jobs, which trips up a lot of people trying to figure out what to actually download.
TL;DR
Quick answer
Orbot is a free proxy/VPN app by the Guardian Project that routes Android or iOS device traffic through Tor, with per-app routing on Android. Onion Browser is the Tor-endorsed standalone browser for iOS, also built by Guardian Project, filling the gap left by Apple's platform restrictions on a direct Tor Browser port. Tor Browser for Android is a more direct port of the desktop browsing experience.
The setup
One goal, split across platform limitations
On Android, Tor Project offers a direct port of Tor Browser, functioning much like the desktop version. Alongside it, Orbot — developed by Guardian Project, a longtime Tor Project community partner — offers a different capability: routing some or all of a device's other apps through Tor, not just a browser.
On iOS, Apple's platform restrictions have historically made a full, direct Tor Browser port difficult, which is why Onion Browser, also built by the Guardian Project team, exists as the Tor-endorsed browser choice for iPhone and iPad users, with an active, ongoing effort to evolve it into a fuller Tor Browser for iOS built on the same underlying engine as the desktop version.
Who does what
- Orbot (Android & iOS): routes device or per-app traffic through Tor as a proxy/VPN.
- Onion Browser (iOS): a standalone, Tor-endorsed web browser for Apple devices.
- Tor Browser for Android: a direct port of the desktop browser experience.
One app can protect your whole phone, not just your browser tab
On Android, this includes the option to route only specific chosen apps through Tor, letting less sensitive apps keep their normal, faster connection while a specific app gets Tor's added protection.
Because Orbot works at the proxy or VPN level rather than inside a single browser, it can route traffic from other installed apps through Tor too — something desktop Tor Browser was never designed to do for other software running on the same computer.
It's a genuinely different capability than what desktop users are used to — mobile Tor tools solve a broader problem than 'anonymize my browsing' alone.
How the main mobile Tor tools compare
| Tool | Platform | What it does | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tor Browser for Android | Android | A direct port of desktop Tor Browser — a standalone browser | |
| Orbot | Android & iOS | A proxy/VPN app routing device or per-app traffic through Tor | |
| Onion Browser | iOS | The Tor-endorsed standalone browser for Apple devices |
Why couldn't Tor Browser just be ported directly to iPhones the same way it was to Android?
If Tor Browser exists on both desktop and Android as fairly direct ports, why did iOS need an entirely separate app built by a different arrangement of developers?Because Apple's App Store rules and underlying platform restrictions have historically limited how apps can handle networking and background processes in ways that made a direct Tor Browser port difficult to build and maintain. Onion Browser developed as a separate solution built specifically to work within those constraints, while remaining aligned with Tor's underlying principles — and it's since become the officially Tor-endorsed option for iOS as a result, with an active roadmap toward eventually building a fuller Tor Browser for iOS on the same Firefox-based engine as the desktop and Android versions.
The same small organization builds most of the underlying mobile plumbing
Beyond the visible apps, Guardian Project also maintains foundational tools like tor-android and Tor.framework — the core software libraries that let Tor actually run on Android and iOS/macOS devices at all — meaning much of the mobile Tor ecosystem traces back to one longtime community partner organization.
It's a useful reminder that a small, focused team can end up as critical infrastructure for a much larger ecosystem, well beyond what their public app store listings might suggest.
The platform built around tight control needed the most custom solution
Apple's iOS, often praised for its security through tight platform control, ended up requiring the most bespoke, separately engineered solution of the three — while more open Android could accommodate a fairly direct Tor Browser port with comparatively fewer platform-level obstacles.
Journalists using Orbot's per-app routing
Reporters operating in high-risk environments have used Orbot's per-app Tor routing specifically to protect a single sensitive communication app, without needing to route their entire phone's traffic through Tor and accept the broader speed trade-off.
It's a concrete, practical illustration of why the mobile ecosystem's added flexibility — protecting specific apps rather than an all-or-nothing choice — genuinely matters for real users with real stakes.
So, what are they, in short?
Orbot is a Tor-routing proxy/VPN app for Android and iOS; Onion Browser is the Tor-endorsed standalone browser for iOS; Tor Browser for Android is a direct port of the desktop experience — three related but distinct tools solving the mobile side of the same underlying goal.
Different names for genuinely different jobs, not redundant copies of the same app.
Mobile platforms often force privacy tools to fragment
This same pattern — one clean desktop tool splitting into several different, platform-specific mobile solutions — shows up across plenty of privacy and security software, not just Tor. Mobile operating systems' tighter control over networking and background processes routinely forces developers to build multiple specialized tools instead of one universal app.
The short version
- Orbot routes device or per-app traffic through Tor as a proxy/VPN, on both Android and iOS.
- Onion Browser is the Tor-endorsed standalone browser for iOS, built by the same Guardian Project team.
- Tor Browser for Android is a more direct port of the desktop browsing experience.
- All mobile Tor tools share the same core speed trade-off as the desktop version, for the same anonymity reasons.
Questions people ask
Where to go next
How to see the dark web
The desktop version of the access process these mobile tools mirror.
Why is Tor Browser good or safe?
The underlying protections these mobile apps are built to extend to phones.
Who built Tor Browser?
The broader project these mobile tools operate alongside as community partners.
How to stay safe on the dark web
Practical guidance relevant whether you're on desktop or one of these mobile tools.
What is a bridge relay in Tor?
A feature these mobile apps also support for users facing network censorship.
One idea, three different shaped keys
Orbot, Onion Browser, and Tor Browser for Android are all trying to unlock the same door. Each platform just needed its own differently shaped key to do it.
You now know
- Orbot routes device or per-app traffic through Tor as a proxy/VPN, on both Android and iOS.
- Onion Browser is the Tor-endorsed standalone browser for iOS, built by the Guardian Project.
- Tor Browser for Android is a more direct port of the desktop browsing experience.
Safety note
Educational, not operational
This guide is educational. It does not provide instructions for illegal activity, evading law enforcement, buying prohibited goods, or attacking systems. Laws and risks vary by country, so stay within your local rules and avoid interacting with unknown services.
FAQs
Questions people ask
Sources
Further reading
- Orbot: Tor for MobileGuardian Project
- Onion BrowserTor Project Internet Freedom
Glossary
Terms in this guide
Continue learning