The Must Know Eye-Opening Tor Statistics for 2023

Web browsing has gone far from what seemed difficult to a slip-of-the-finger activity. Today, the internet is loaded with lots of activities. Surfing the world wide web can never be complete without a web browser. Although there are varieties, everyone has a favorite web browser.

The most popular web browsers are Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari. These popular browsers make up 95% of internet users. But other options give higher security and anonymity. Tor is one of these tremendous options that offer excellent protection. The key statistics have been outlined below to understand better TOR, its usage, and its importance in this global internet world.

Key TOR Statistics at A Glance

1. Tor received an average of 60,000 Windows downloads daily between March and June 2021.
2. Just 3% of all traffic comes from the Dark web on the Tor network.
3. 6.7% of Tor network users connect to Onion services for malicious activities.
4. Approximately 100,000 users download the Tor browser from the Tor site daily.
5. Tor has over 145,000 circuits.
6. BitTorrent traffic accounts for over 40% of the Tor traffic.
7. Only 45% of sites host illegal activities on the dark web.
8. In 2021 Lithuania experienced 27 upturns and 23 downturns between July and October. This shows that there were censorship incidents.
9. At one point, the number of crypto vendors climbed to 40,000.
10. On the onion suffix, Tor has over 65,000 different URLs.
11. Nearly 200 people were apprehended by the FBI for engaging in illegal activities involving minors on the dark web.
12. The US government is one of Tor's core funders and creators.
13. Bitcoin transaction on the dark web was anticipated to reach $ 1 billion in 2019.
14. In India, 26% of internet users access the dark web through Tor.

Mind-Blowing Tor Statistics

1. Tor Received an Average of 60,000 Windows Downloads Daily Between March and June 2021.

It's no news that Windows is the most used platform for downloads on the internet. Between March and June 2021, Tor recorded a daily Windows download of about 60,000 in the United States. Compared to the daily downloads on Windows, Linux and macOS had less than 20,000 downloads.

2. The Dark Web Contributes Only 3% of Traffic on the Tor Network.

It's believed that Tor is mainly used for dark or deep web activities. On the contrary, statistics show that only 3% of all traffic on the Tor network comes from this dark web. Only a tiny percentage of users use this browser for illegal activities. Most users utilize this browser to hide their activities from ISPs, advertisers, and websites.

3. 6.7% of Tor Users Connect Daily to Onion for Evil Activities.

The internet can never be void of evil activities. Some technologies are being used to facilitate child abuse, sales of hard drugs, and distribution of malware. Statistics show that only a few Tor users globally use this technology for malicious activities. However, these percentages are more from politically free countries; they are not evenly distributed.

4. Over 2 Million People Access the Tor Platform Daily.

As mentioned earlier, TOR is one of the most used networks globally. Approximately 100,000 people download the Tor browser per day. Although it was primarily created for the military, over time, it became an accessible tool to all, ranging from journalists to political activists, individuals, and corporations.

5. 100,000 People Download the Tor Browser Daily.

Data is valuable, and internet users will go the extra mile to acquire it. The Tor browser offers greater security and anonymity at no cost than other web browsers. Tor browser is completely different from the everyday standard browser. Here every client builds a circuit of 3 relays and connects to the server via the circuit. The relay algorithms ensure no relays with the same IP address are linked. From research, 100,000 people download the Tor browser from Tor daily.

6. Tor has Over 145,000 Circuits.

A Tor circuit is the combination of the 3 relays. The entry or guard relay, middle relay, and exit relay. Study shows that Tor has over 145,000 of these circuits. Also, from statistics, close to 44 machines are running Tor clients. Although designed to safeguard its users' privacy, creating a balanced algorithm will be impossible. Tor traffic survey gathered that few relays are selected even three times more frequently than others. Likely there would be network invasion and eavesdropping.

7. The United States Government is Tor's Core Funder and Creator.

The US is one of the largest growing countries in the world, with great love for technology and innovations. In the US alone, over 1Million people access the Tor platform daily. Statistics gathered that in the 1990s and early 2000s, the US government massively funded the development of Tor. The survey revealed that they did this to protect their operatives and informants as they exchanged data.

8. BitTorrent Traffic Accounted for Over 40% of the Tor Traffic.

With the daily increase in the usage of the Tor browser, BitTorrent accounted for over 40% of its traffic. Statistics revealed that close to 70% of BitTorrent users created connections outside Tor. This made the connections and data invisible to the Tor network, rendering bitTorrent users prone to hackers. And also likely to be underestimated.

9. 45% of Sites Hosted Illegal Activities on the Dark Web.

As stated earlier, the Tor network was believed to be the home of dark web activities. According to research, only 45% of sites on the Tor network accommodated illegal activities. Also, the sample of 400 websites revealed that many websites were not so dark.

10. Russia has the Highest Number of Tor Users Per Day.

Furthermore, Russia ranks second world's largest country with many internet users. From statistics, Russia has the largest share of daily Tor usage. Approximately 12,194 people access the Tor network every day in Russia. The United States comes second with about 10,792 users per day. Iran comes third by 7.3% with 3,778 users. Statistics also indicated Ukraine, India, Germany, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom among the top ten.

11. Tor is also a Network as Much as a Browser.

Aside from being a browser, as many people know, Tor is also a network. Contrary to a few beliefs, it is not a VPN but has similar traits. This means certain functions on Tor are identical to most VPNs. Most of all, there are even more differences between the Tor network and other VPNs. One similarity VPN and Tor as network share is that they encrypt traffic. However, the browser only encrypts through itself, and VPNs encrypt every part of your device. You can access internet services with Tor anonymously.

12. Based on Censors, Lithuania Experienced 27 Upturns and 23 Downturns Between July and October 2021.

Between July and October 2021, the censorship incidents in Lithuania were intense. Statistics from Tor show that there were more upturns than downturns. However, the differences in figures were pretty close. 23 downturns and 27 upturns. This was a good outcome for Lithuania. But, it placed it in a position to thrive harder and beat this record if it experienced such censorship efforts again.

13. Using the Dark Web, FBI Agents Apprehended About 200 People for Child Victimization Material.

The FBI has taken over major illegitimate child content sites through the dark web. With this, they monitor the usage of the platforms and trace their users. They install malware on such sites to carry out these operations. For instance, in 2015, the FBI organized a process to track and apprehend about 200 people using Playpen. Playpen is a pedophile website, which the FBI took over, among others. The internet took this news wide at the time.

14. Tor has Recorded Over 40,000 Vendors on the Crypto Market Over the Years of its Operation.

The cryptocurrency market has grown wide over the years, and even more participants are trooping in daily. There are many platforms anyone can trade cryptocurrencies in the world that are fast and reliable. Nonetheless, Tor still recorded over 40,000 crypto market vendors who used its platform for trading the currency. According to statistics, the number grew as people's trust in the browsing platform hiked. Tor still renders certain crypto operations, as people mostly get trading platform extensions. People also use the dark web to carry out crypto deals.

15. It was Anticipated 2019 that Transactions Involving Bitcoin would Reach $1 billion in 2019.

The dark web has always been a go-to for some people for Bitcoin transactions. However, in 2019, the transactions were anticipated to increase to an all-time high. The price of Bitcoin in 2018 started going at a reasonable speed, and transactions with it on the dark web reached about $872 million. This was the highest amount at the time. The cryptocurrency still had even more potential to grow higher in price. So, after analyzing the currency, crypto analysts predicted that transactions with it would increase to $1 billion on the dark web. Tor was not exempted from the transaction platforms.

16. Recent Developments have Shown that with Linkability, Programmers can Track about 27% of the Stream of HTTP from Most Secure Browsers and Even Tor.

Contrary to popular belief, the Tor browser does not entirely give you an anonymous internet experience. Although some programmers cannot track any HTTP stream when you use Tor, other advanced programmers can. From other records, they can track about 27% of the HTTP streams and even more if they use some VPNs. An instance is when some programmers attempted to track BitTorrent users with two attacks. They got about 10,000 users' IP addresses even if they used the Tor browser.

17. Tor and a Few Similar Platforms are the Regular Go-Tos for 26% of Indian Internet Users who Use the Dark Web.

Many internet users in India use Tor to access the dark web. From their analysis of Tor traffic, India has the highest number of dark web users through Tor, with 26% of users. However, they may not be the highest users of the browsing platform. With 21%, Brazilians and Russians follow Indians closely as the second highest number of people to access the dark web through Tor. Next on the ranking list is Indonesia, with 20%, and then a few other countries.

18. Over 65,000 Different URLs with the .Onion' Suffix on Tor.

It might interest you that some of the domains with .onion' are not as dark as many think. Although .onion' is a dark web domain, Tor has over 65,000 URLs, and they all have legal content. Even if all the .onion domains have hidden identities, they don't all operate illegal or dark URLs. There are research results that prove this.

19. There is a Version of TOR Compatible with Facebook, which the Programmers Released in 2014.

Before 2014 Facebook was not compatible with Tor, and it robbed people some people of their privacy when they went on the social media site. Also, people in countries where the social media platform is restricted could not participate.-all theabove changed after the launch of the Tor-compatible version of Facebook in 2014. A Facebook engineer, Alec Muffet, said they have noticed over 1 million users log into the platform through Tor monthly.

20. Degrading the Current Performance of Tor might Cost a Few Thousand Dollars Monthly.

Tor has made strong defense walls for itself against attacks. Hackers who want to take down all 38 bridges of the platform will have to do more work and spend more money. According to some research, launching a DDoS attack on Tor will cost about $3,000 monthly for many months.

Conclusion

The Tor network has undoubtedly seen substantial growth in recent years in terms of users and traffic volumes. While it's difficult to put an exact number of daily active users, most projections estimate there are millions of people worldwide tapping into Tor. This swelling of ranks can be traced back to a few key factors - a growing appetite for online anonymity and privacy, censorship circumvention, and access to dark web sites and services.

However, Tor still faces meaningful challenges on its path ahead. Technical issues like network speed and usability frustrations continue to dissuade less tech-savvy users from jumping onboard. More crucially, Tor lacks the funding and resources to scale up its infrastructure correctly. The lion's share of its budget stems from governments seeking to empower activists under authoritarian regimes.

The road forward remains uncertain. Will Tor manage to resolve its technical and financial limitations? Wider adoption of intuitive user applications and increased funding from corporates or non-profits could potentially supercharge growth. But Tor will likely continue to draw heavy opposition from authorities looking to unmask users and restrict access. How these turbulent crosswinds play out will determine if Tor user counts rise meteorically or stagnate in future years.

FAQsIs Tor network a VPN?

Although Tor can give its users anonymous access to the internet, it is not a VPN. There are many differences between the software and a VPN.

Which VPN uses Tor?

Surfshark, Express VPN, NordVPN, PrivateVPN, CyberGhost, and a few other VPNs use Tor. They are more compatible with Tor than other available VPNs.

What is the weakness of Tor?

Tor can protect users against traffic analysis, but it can't stop end-to-end correlation in many cases. So, this weakness can be spotted by programmers.

References

• The dark web doesn't exist, says Tor's Dingledine. And folks use networks for privacy, not crime
• The Truth about the Dark Web: Intended to protect dissidents, it has also cloaked illegal activity
• 15 things you need to know about Tor
• Measuring Tor Relay Popularity
• The potential harms of the Tor anonymity network cluster disproportionately in free countries
• Tor metrics users
• Share of internet users who have used technologies that allow access to the dark web as of February 2019 by country
• One Bad Apple Spoils the Bunch
• Tor Browser in numbers
• Intended to protect dissidents, it has also cloaked illegal activity