The Best Dark Web Browsers Of 2024

Most people know that the dark web can be a dangerous place. Even the threat of it can make people fall for scams, like this dark web fraud revealed by the FTC. Still, it has a reputation for a reason. If you decide you simply must go there (something we recommend against), then it’s important to at least use the safest browsers. We’ll let you know which ones are your best bets in terms of privacy and protection.  First, you should know a little more about what you could be getting into.

What’s The Difference Between The Dark And Deep Web?

Many people erroneously think that the dark and deep web are the same place. Not so. The deep web contains mostly benign websites that aren’t on the surface web where browsers like Google can find them. Surface sites make up only about three percent of the internet. A lot goes on behind the scenes. In fact, the majority of the World Wide Web is made up of deep sites. Here are some examples of deep web content, specifically:

• Email and chat messages
• Electronic bank statements
• Electronic medical records
• Private content on social media sites
• Password and link protected information, like your Netflix account
• Safeguarded databases
• Subscription services

Most of the internet is made up of these behind the scenes content. There are still ways to get to it, especially for hackers, but it’s not easily accessed without the proper permissions. 

What is the dark web?

Here’s where it can get confusing. The dark web is actually part of the deep web. Remember, the deep web is any part of the internet not indexed by search engines. The dark web makes up a very small percentage of this, and is wrapped up within the much larger and usually benign deep web. 

The dark web consists of websites that have hidden IP addresses and use encryption software to keep their locations and users anonymous. Likewise, data can be transferred anonymously, making the dark web perfect for nefarious activity, such as drug transactions, gambling, pornography, and illegal firearm purchases. It’s a very dangerous place full of criminal activity and unsavory types. That said, not everyone there is up to no good. It’s also a place where activists and journalists who are in danger of censorship by their governments can speak freely. Political whistleblowers also find a home here. 

Want to learn more? Here’s how to access the dark web, safely.

Precautions Before Browsing The Dark Web

Protecting yourself on the dark web is crucial. Besides the possible criminal elements you may encounter, hackers and malware are rampant. In fact, generally it is wise to simply not venture into the dark web in the first place. Few people have good reasons to take such risks, though some in the fields of law enforcement or cybersecurity are exceptions. Still, if you’re determined to do some exploring, there are ways to minimize your risks. 

• Protect your personal data, including your search history and other such personal information.
• Picking the right browser for this is important. We’ll have a list of suggestions for you. 
• Keep your security settings at maximum. Yes, it may be sluggish or buggy, but it’s worth it to be protected from malicious payloads and scripts. 
• Cover up or disconnect cameras on your PC or device. These can be exploited and leave you vulnerable or exposed. 
• Don’t purchase or download anything. Seriously. Also, don’t click links. You never know where they might lead you. 
• Keep software and your system up to date. Malware you may pick up will exploit any vulnerabilities available. You’ll decrease these if you keep up to date on patches and such. 
• Use a VPN! Virtual private networks encrypt your data and IP address to keep you anonymous, adding an extra layer of protection. They also can block known infected sites, and keep your identity secure and secret from possible hackers you may encounter. Here’s how to protect your privacy with a VPN.
• If you really want to be cautious, you can use a virtual machine, a burner laptop, or find other ways to keep your personal network separate and protected. 

Best Dark Web Browsers To Keep You Safe

Here’s our list of favorites, in no particular order. Just remember, besides using one of these browsers, be sure to pair it with a good VPN service too. You can never be too careful. 

Tor Browser

The popular onion browser, Tor, is perhaps the most well-known privacy browser out there. It’s extremely capable at hiding your IP address from traffic analysis or network surveillance. It also conceals your identity and location, all through multi-layered encryption transmitted through a series of network nodes also known as onion routers. This keeps your browsing activities private. While we’re talking about Tor, here’s how to use Tor on your Chromebook.

What we love: 

• Hides browsing activity and blocks tracking.
• Open-source platform available to everyone, though there are countries that prohibit it.
• Can be used for regular browsing, albeit a bit slower than mainstream browsers.
• Can create anonymous sites for both the host of the website and its visitors.
• Available for multiple devices.

What we don’t love: 

• Your ISP (internet service provider) can’t see your browsing activity but it can tell you’re using Tor, which can be condemning enough in certain countries with restrictions. 
• You can still be identified if you provide details or log into an account while using Tor. 
• Tor doesn’t protect against tracking at the entry and exit nodes so anyone who owns and runs these will be able to see your real IP address. 
• Can experience DDoS attacks.
• Vulnerabilities possible at the exit nodes. 

I2P: The Invisible Internet Project

This privacy garlic browser is less well known than Tor, but it’s every bit as respected. It’s peer-to-peer, which means a portion of a peer’s bandwidth and resources are made available for other participants on the network. This means servers are decentralized, distributing workloads across multiple machines rather than one. This network is fully encrypted, protecting traffic comings and goings, contents, and other such data from observers. 

What we love: 

• I2P hides the server from the user and vice versa.
• All traffic is internal to the I2P network.
• Resistance to blocking by censors.
• Has its own DNS for self-hosting and mirroring.
• Java software includes a BitTorrent client, email, and static website template.
• Resistant to malicious exit nodes.

What we don’t love:

• Not good for browsing the open, regular web.
• Your IP address is visible on the peer-to-peer network, even though your activities are still anonymous. If you accidentally get infected with malware, you could risk it discovering your IP address through this network. Yikes. You’ll want to use in depth, additional safety measures if you use I2P. 
• Can be complex and confusing to use.

Whonix browser

This Tor-based browser amplifies your privacy protections because you can run it in a virtual machine, which increases your anonymity. Its compartmentalization model runs its operating systems through two separate virtual machines while at the same time routing traffic through Tor, maximizing security. Whonix is a complete OS that can be used on top of your existing operating system. This can add an extra layer of protection if your other browser becomes compromised through malware. 

What we love: 

• Helps protect against DNS leaks. 
• Actively maintained to keep abreast of security concerns, which it makes users aware of.
• Keystroke cloaking. 
• Leak shield and anti-tracking.
• Virus and malware protection.
• Timestamp attack protection.

What we don’t love:

• Obscure and hard to find a lot of details on.
• Can be complex for beginners.
• Can make browsing a bit more sluggish.

Best Dark Web Search Engines

As a little bonus for you, here’s a quick rundown of the best dark web search engines. Why? Once you use the right dark web browser, you’ll still need the right search engine to actually help you find the sites. It’s a lot trickier than just Googling something on the surface web. In fact, you can’t use Google at all. So take a quick look at our favorites.

Duck Duck Go

Duck Duck Go is a highly favored private search engine, both on and off the dark web. In fact, it’s the default search engine for the Tor browser. This is because it doesn’t collect, share, or log your search history or personal information, a rarity these days. It’s easy to use, has intuitive design, and has a no-log policy so you don’t have to worry about your data being kept. If it’s good enough for Tor, then it is good enough for us.

Ahmia search engine

Ahmia sets out to be the “premier” search engine for sites on the Tor network. They value anonymity and privacy and seek to filter out unsafe, abusive, or malware riddled websites while also providing useful search capabilities. It combines function, relevance, and safety, all while being crowd sourced and open source. 

Haystak search engine

Like Duck Duck Go, Haystak values user privacy. It doesn’t track your data, protects your identity, and is used via the Tor network. There are paid and free versions, though the free version comes with ads. That said, this is a very well respected search engine, indexing more dark web sites than most, if not all, others. It has a minimalist, easy to use design and cares about the security of its users. 

Torch search engine

Considered to be the oldest search engine on Tor, Torch doesn’t use web trackers, values user privacy, and won’t censor your search results or keep your search history. This means you’ll have access to pretty much anything out there on the dark web. This may not always be a good thing, though, so consider yourself warned. There’s a lot of unpleasant stuff out there.

Dangerous as it is, the dark web is a fascinating place. Here’s a great article about how AI is helping mitigate the risks of the dark web