Orbot & The Onion Router with InBrowser FAQ

Is InBrowser with TOR and Orbot 100% secure and anonymous?

Short answer is no, it's not. Even though we work hard on our implementation of TOR it's impossible to guarantee 100% anonymity. There have been several issues with TOR and leakage, eavesdropping, traffic-analyses and similar things have occurred. You can find more information about this on Wikipedia.

That said, using TOR is a lot more secure than to browse the Internet without it.

It's a lot harder for companies to track you or governments or networks to block you. The Tor Project has a lot more details in regards of why you should use TOR and how secure it is.

Why is InBrowser warning me about HTML5 video and audio tag leakage?

Android-versions below Lollipop (5.0) has a bug in html5 video and audio tags which could cause your real IP and/or pages you visit to leak to a third party. The reason is that the webview in Android does not pass on the proxy settings for the web page to embedded media players it displays. It's a well known issue that has been widely reported [1], [2].

Google seem to have fix this issue in Lollipop. But if you rely on strong anonymity, we do not recommend that you use TOR below android version 5.0 Lollipop. Especially not if you intend to use it for video or audio browsing.

Why is browsing the Internet so slow when using TOR?

All TOR traffic are routed through several relays (onion layers) to and each of those add latency. Simple browsing such as visiting Facebook or regular-sites should be just fine with TOR. But do not expect major speeds when downloading or viewing videos while on the TOR network. You could also try to re-connect to TOR to get faster nodes.

How can i tell if i'm online using TOR?

The progress-bar color in InBrowser is green when you're on TOR and orange if you're not. Also, you'll get a notification in the bottom of the start-page if you are connected to TOR. We strongly encourage you to visit https://check.torproject.org to confirm that you are connected properly to TOR.

Can i bypass firewalls or blocks set by my ISP (Internet service provider), government, employer or network?

Yes, using TOR will generally route you around those blocks or limitations.

Can my ISP (Internet service provider) see what i'm doing while on TOR?

Generally no, TOR will hide this traffic from your ISP. Your ISP will only see that your connection disappeared into a TOR node and all traffic will be obfuscated and hidden. Keep in mind that any leakage could be visible to your ISP even if you're using TOR.

Is it illegal to use TOR?

The Tor Project clearly state that Tor is not illegal anywhere in the world, so using Tor by itself is fine.

Can i access the deep web (aka undernet, darknet etc) using InBrowser and TOR?

Yes, we do not limit any kind of access and you should be able to visit the hidden services and .onion-urls on the deep web.

What is the difference between the three TOR modes in InBrowser?

Enabled means that InBrowser will connect via TOR if Orbot is active and connected to TOR. Forced means that InBrowser wont work at all unless Orbot is active and connected. Disabled turns of all TOR support in InBrowser.

What is "leakage" and can InBrowser leak information about me when i'm using TOR?

Leakage is when information such as your real IP or which pages you visit is leaked even if you are using TOR. Leakage is especially common when html5 video tags are used on webpages. But other third party plugins such as Flash or Java could also cause this kind of leakage. There could also be weaknesses in Android itself which causes leakage.

We intentionally try and route video and audio via the TOR-proxy to maintain your privacy (which also means that the video-player on TOR is a bit unstable), but keep in mind that TOR was never built to support audio or video-viewing.

What is routed through TOR?

We route the activity in the webview, suggestions in the inputfield, downloads and video/audio through TOR when Orbot is running and connected to TOR.

Any final words?

Make sure to read through the FAQ at The Tor Project to learn more about TOR and how it works.

And remember to be smart about your presence online, even if it's with or without TOR.