We’ve covered several security-focused topics over time including publishing articles on the 10 steps to browse the Internet anonymously and securely and 10 Free Proxy Servers for Anonymous Web Browsing.
But I know that not everyone wants to be a ghost online – there are security conscious people who enjoy the thrills of using Facebook and other social media platforms. Today, my concentration is on Facebook.
In case you’re not familiar with Tor, it is an open source project that enables its users to communicate freely and anonymously. It does this by bouncing all traffic that goes through it off its volunteer overlay network consisting of 7000+ relays.
Originally with the project name, The Onion Router, Tor has since come to become a household name among every privacy & anonymity-conscious Internet user and it is completely free to use.
Tor has a dedicated Firefox-based browser as well as platforms with dedicated Onion links which work within Tor browser alone. Facebook has such an Onion version that runs on the Tor network and that means that you can enjoy using Facebook alongside the features that make the Tor network outstanding such as no advertising or tracking.
The following are the easy steps to browse Facebook in Tor web browser.
1. Download Tor Browser
Tor offers users a free multi-platform browsing application that is also available as a portable version that can run off of a flash drive. The first step to using the Tor network is installing Tor Browser and you can grab your device’s version here.
2. Connect & Install Updates
Once Tor browser is installed, connect to the Tor network and install its recommended updates. They contain all the settings required to provide you with the best User Experience.
3. Head to the Facebook Onion Site
Facebook’s onion URL is https://facebookcorewwwi.onion/ and it will only work in Tor browser so copy and paste it into its address bar and wait for it to load completely. It might be slow when you load the page for the first time depending on your Internet connection, but subsequent loads will always be significantly faster.
4. Don’t Enable HTML5 Canvas
In the ideal hands, the data in your browser’s HTML5 canvas can be used to track your usage and similar statistics in Tor so don’t allow it to run. If you read Tor’s recommendations you’ll understand why it’s important not to activate 3rd-party plugins or to even resize the browser window.
5. Accept the Facts
- Facebook has had a lot of privacy issues in the past and the company is still tackling major data issues so using it means you agree with its data privacy policies whether you read it completely or not.
- Using Tor doesn’t make you anonymous on Facebook because it can still track your activities on the platform when you’re logged in.
With that being, should you use an extra layer of security? Most definitely. You can hide your IP address with a VPN to amplify Tor’s anonymity and censor-dodging efforts.
In the meantime, feel free to share this with pals as you add your suggestions and share your thoughts in the section below.
The FB onion site is not working. Is there a correct one?