Twitter has just launched its website in a Tor version. This allows us to enter this social network through the Tor browser and thus avoid censorship and improve privacy. This especially is very useful to use it in certain countries where they have prohibited its use. Now, is it really private to use it this way? We will explain how it works and what weaknesses it has.
Twitter is now accessible via Tor
Tor allows you to browse the Internet privately, hiding information. Our data does not travel directly from our computer to the server we are entering, but passes through multiple nodes that encrypt the connection until it leaves. In this way, the website or service that we use will not know the information of the initial node, it will not know what our IP or location is.
Now, the popular social network Twitter has just announced that it is now possible to access through Tor. For this it is necessary to have this browser installed. You can see how to install and use Tor. It has its advantages, but also disadvantages. Keep in mind that browsing will be slower, since we do not connect directly to a server.
Once you have the Tor browser installed, you will be able to access the Twitter URL: https://twitter3e4tixl4xyajtrzo62zg5vztmjuricljdp2c5kshju4avyoid.onion/. From there, the usage is similar. You will find the main page of the social network to log in or register. The difference lies in how you connect to the servers.
This is very useful for countries where Twitter has been censored. A clear example is in Russia, which has recently blocked different social networks and online services. In this way, a person who is in that country will be able to enter Twitter through Tor and avoid the blocking.
In addition, the use of Onion sites has other benefits. For example, it allows you to bypass DNS censorship and TLS man-in-the-middle attacks. One more way to improve privacy and security when browsing the net.
not so anonymous
Although the Tor network has anonymity as its main objective, if we think about using Twitter in this way it is not really that anonymous. Why do we say this? If you enter the URL to access Twitter through Tor, you will see that when registering, it asks for the phone number just like if you enter from regular Chrome or Firefox.
Therefore, if a person wants to sign up for Twitter via Tor simply to remain anonymous and not have to give any personal data, this will not be possible. They do not have total privacy to use this type of services.
However, in order to be able to avoid geographic blocking and use this popular social network from countries where it may be blocked, it is very useful. In this sense, the blockade will be skipped and it will allow access without filtering the location or the IP address from which we are entering.
In short, Twitter is now available via Tor. You will only have to have this browser and access the corresponding URL to enter the Onion site of the social network. This way you can bypass possible geographical blocks and gain anonymity.
