Orfox is a free 'Social & Communication' app created by The Tor Project. It is an enhanced version of the Tor Browser where it functions with Firefox for devices.

Protecting Mobile Users Online

Orfox is a web browser app which is modeled from the source codes of Tor Browser and Firefox. Compared to its original source, it received some minor tweaking to Tor Browser’s privacy features. The aforementioned changes enable compatibility with Android’s OS and Firefox Android version.

Keeping Privacy Intact

The app retains some of the features and code that Tor Browser repo based on ESR38 for the additional AF-Droid and Android components to any Firefox Android platform. It also comes with two patches that were unessential for Android platform. Tor Browser reroutes communication to a network of relays hosted by The Tor Project’s global volunteers. This live service prevents hackers from spying the websites that users access, keeps the current location secret from detection by websites and allows users to enter websites restricted or blocked. The app receives automated debug builds through a separate app called F-Droid. In this way users acquire a working copy of Orfox if the current one is unstable. This app includes “Request Mobile Site” where  users can switch between Tor Browser agent to a custom Android user agent, including platforms like “Mozilla/5.0 (Android; Mobile; rv:31.0), Gecko/20100101 and Firefox/31.0”. This option allows viewing a website’s mobile version. As a web browser, it can bookmark sites and contain additional data written to disk. It surpasses the capabilities of a core Gecko browser component. Orfox ensures that every Android code accumulated from online surfing is routed through the Tor Browser’s proxy service. It reinforces the security against leakage of data and privacy. It add patches to the device’s Android Java code layer in order to enable proxy access. This feature proxying to Java network HTTP communications via Orbot HTTP proxy to The Tor Project’s SOCKS platform. Unlike other apps that demand much permission on devices, Oxfor removes them, including permission to access Camera, Microphone, Contacts, Location and NFC to protect users’ privacy. Features like WebRTC are blocked by the app while supporting TCP-based streaming platforms like Chromecasts or Roku devices. Orfox is more advanced compared to The Tor Project’s Orweb, their current default web browser.

Making Browsing Safer

Orfox is the ideal option for device users to secure themselves online. Most browsers are not very secure but the app moves users from their local server to The Tor Project’s very own proxy server.