Dark web guides & explainers
Short, plain-English articles about the dark web, Tor and onion services. Updated for 2026. No scare tactics, no ads.
- Fundamentals
What is the dark web?
A plain-English explainer on what the dark web actually is, how it differs from the deep web and the dark net, and what lives inside.
6 min read - Fundamentals
What is Tor?
How onion routing works, what the Tor Browser does differently, and why hidden services exist in the first place.
6 min read - Legality
Is the dark web illegal?
Using Tor is legal almost everywhere. What you do on the dark web is what actually matters. A sober, honest breakdown.
5 min read - History
Who created the dark web?
From a US Naval Research Lab paper in the mid-1990s to millions of daily users: a short history of the dark web.
7 min read - Directories
The Hidden Wiki
An editable index of .onion links, which makes it useful, unreliable and sometimes unsafe. What it really is, and better alternatives.
6 min read - Search
Dark web search engines
Google doesn't index .onion. Here's how dark web search engines actually work, and which ones are worth using.
6 min read - Getting started
How to access the dark web safely
Tor Browser, five minutes, and a handful of safety habits. The honest, ad-free walk-through for desktop, Android and iOS.
8 min read - Fundamentals
Dark web vs deep web
Surface, deep, dark — three terms that get conflated constantly. A clean breakdown of what each one actually means.
7 min read - Tools
Best dark web browsers
There's no single 'darknet browser' — there's the Tor Browser and a few specialised alternatives. Which to use for what.
7 min read