Orbot: Tor for Android

What Orbot does

Orbot: Tor for Android routes supported phone traffic through the Tor network, helping separate a user’s connection from the services they visit. It is suited to people who want more privacy on a shared phone, users working with sensitive information, and anyone who needs Tor access on Android rather than through a desktop browser alone.

How it is used

Orbot can provide a Tor connection for selected apps or work as a broader system-level proxy, depending on how it is configured. That makes it more flexible than an app that only protects its own activity. The trade-off is that Tor connections can feel slower than a direct connection, and some apps or services may not work normally when routed through it.

What to expect

• Designed for privacy-focused browsing and communication.
• Uses the volunteer-operated Tor network rather than a single commercial network.
• Offers control over which apps use Tor, so ordinary traffic can be kept separate when needed.
• May require more understanding than a basic connection or privacy app, especially when a service blocks Tor traffic.

Ratings and publisher

Orbot is published by The Tor Project and is listed in the Communication category. It has a rating of 4.02 out of 5 from 197,510 reviews, with 10,000,000+ installs. Those figures suggest broad use, while the rating also leaves room for the practical drawbacks that come with routing traffic through Tor. It is a better fit for someone who values control and privacy over the simplest possible setup.