It’s still illegal to commit crimes while connected to Tor, regardless of whether or not you think you’ll be caught. They have an onion site as well, presumably to allow access to the website’s content in countries that aren’t so friendly to the notorious intelligence agency’s … It is a tool for those looking for onion sites and also to find onion sites. Although the site is still continually expanding and improving, it has become a significant resource on the Tor network.
SecureDrop — Secure File Sharing For NGOs, Journalists & News Organizations

Many free VPN providers lack basic security features and track your online activity, so they don’t offer much privacy. That’s why it’s important to verify links through trusted directories and proceed with caution. Visiting onion sites on older Tor versions can needlessly expose you to added risks. Many dark web links could get you mixed up in some kind of criminal activity of another, whether you’re looking for it or not. The deep web is rife with sales of illicit drugs, weapons, and goodness knows what else, and steering clear of these nefarious web pages is easier said than done. ZeroBin’s onion address ensures your traffic is routed through multiple nodes, so it’s challenging for any third party to trace any message back to your original location.
Specialized Data Repositories
Torch is one of the oldest dark web search engines, having served the darknet community for years. It boasts a vast archive of over 400,000 pages, providing comprehensive coverage of .onion sites, including forums, blogs, and marketplaces. ZeroBin allows users to post encrypted text that even the host server can’t read — perfect for pasting links or messages securely. OnionShare lets users share files directly from their device over a temporary .onion address without needing a centralized server.
Anonymous Forums
A robust antivirus can help block malware and other online threats, even on the dark web. Lifehacker has been a go-to source of tech help and life advice since 2005. Our mission is to offer reliable tech help and credible, practical, science-based life advice to help you live better. As I’ve previously said, it’s a good idea to keep your interactions with the dark web to a minimum, unless you can absolutely trust the people you’re dealing with. You’ll often see a sign in stores that says “look, don’t touch,” and it’s not a bad adage to bear in mind as you navigate around the dark web. For obvious reasons—I don’t want to get you or me into trouble, after all—I’m not going to get too specific when it comes to what you can find for sale on the dark web.

Before Hidden Wiki is Daniel, a ‘dark web websites’ aggregator that can help you navigate the onion maze. Daniel acts as a dark web search engine to help users find reliable onion sites. Daniel regularly crawls the dark web searching for new websites or checking the status(es) of other websites. Definitely yes, especially if this is your first time on the dark web.
Ahmia — Tor Search Engine With Robust Abuse Protection
SecureDrop allows whistleblowers to establish encrypted communication with a news outlet. It’s used by 50+ news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Intercept, The Globe and Mail, ProPublica, and more. These news outlets offer dedicated .onion links where you can drop whistleblowing news. OnionLand Search distinguishes itself from other dark web search engines by offering several practical features that enhance the browsing experience. The dark web is neither entirely a haven for illicit activities nor a utopian space of limitless freedom.
BBC Tor Mirror
Similarly, the CIA launched its .onion site to provide worldwide anonymous access to its resources. If the websites you visit use tracking scripts, third parties can monitor you. With NordVPN’s double VPN feature, your traffic is routed through two servers for double encryption. It also includes a dark web monitoring feature that crawls the dark web and alerts you if your details show up anywhere.
- The dark web and the deep web are often used interchangeably, but they’re two distinct concepts.
- Many cybercriminal groups announced their support for Durov and continue to rely on Telegram’s strong encryption and familiar infrastructure.
- However, make sure you’re careful which links you click on — some of them lead to sites that contain illegal content and services.
- DuckDuckGo is a search engine available on the Tor network that lets you browse the surface and dark web.
- While it might appear tempting to venture into the dark web, it’s crucial to understand that the risks here are far more severe compared to the deep web.
- Taking the necessary precautions makes tracing your activities on the dark web difficult.
Just like Facebook, this is no random namesake; it is a legitimate platform from which to reach the CIA anonymously. You can even apply for jobs and request information, among other things. People like spies or whistleblowers often contact the CIA via the dark web to keep themselves hidden.
Alt Address
Our mission is to simplify navigation in the complex and evolving world of the darknet. Here, you’ll find links to various resources, including educational archives, private forums, anonymous services, and more. The dark web is a small part of the much larger “deep web,” which also isn’t indexed by search engines — but authorized users can access it using common web browsers. The deep web is made up of email platforms, workplace portals, subscription services, and banking websites — basically anything that requires a login. The “surface web,” on the other hand, is the publicly available part of the internet that search engines index. Beneath the surface web that you’re reading right now, many .onion websites remain invisible to Google and other search engines.
ProtonMail is a Swiss-based encrypted email service that doesn’t require personal information when you sign up. ProtonMail’s end-to-end encryption makes it one of the best onion sites for easy-to-use, secure, anonymous email. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) provides a .onion version of its website, enabling individuals to bypass restrictions to access its content from anywhere.


ZeroBin is a wonderful way to share the content you get from dark web resources. It is a reliable messaging tool where you copy/paste a text or image and send it to your addressee. While this is not much compared to standard email services, it is enough for PGP-encrypted messages. Using the ProtonMail .onion site offers security and privacy advantages. Moreover, the company also uses HTTPS and SSL encryption on the Onion site for extra protection. This makes it even harder for third parties to see your email traffic.

Primarily favored by individuals interested in procuring illicit goods and services from Dark web markets, Candle provides a straightforward and minimalistic user interface. It presents users with the top ten most relevant search results, akin to its mainstream counterpart, Google. However, it’s worth noting that Candle struggles to interpret certain characters like parentheses or quotation marks, posing a limitation to its functionality. Torch stands as one of the oldest and most recognized dark web search engines. Boasting an extensive archive of over 400,000 pages, Torch excels in navigating the depths of the Dark Web, consistently providing relevant results for a wide array of search queries.