Android users can now enjoy anonymous browsing. A group of developers at the University of Cambridge have released two Android applications that allow users to browse the web anonymously: TorProxy and Shadow.
TorProxy is an application that makes it possible to use Internet sites and services anonymously from a mobile device. This is the Tor client, which handles all of the communication with the Tor Network.
Shadow is built in Android browser can’t be configured to work with TorProxy. In addition to using the Tor network to anonymously retrieve information from the Web, Shadow also helps you manage any “cookies” sent to Shadow by Websites to protect your browsing history.
How to use TorProxy and Shadow
- Install TorProxy and Shadow by downloading them from the Android Marketplace or AndroLib.
- Start the TorProxy application.
- Select a profile for TorProxy:
- off — do not connect to the tor network.
- on-demand — only connect to the tor network if a program (e.g. Shadow) needs it. This profile is probably the best choice if you only want to make occassional use of an anonymous Internet connection.
- always on — maintain an anonymous connection whenever the phone is actively in use.
- Once a connection to the Tor network is requested, a notification of the state of the connection appears in the notification bar. A countdown will appear with an estimate of the time remaining before an anonymous connection becomes available.
- To browse the Web, start the Shadow web browser. Shadow works in a very similar way to the normal Android Web browser. The Menu button reveals the usual browser options. Typing in a URL will initiate an anonymous connection over the Internet via Tor.
More details about the software, including download and installation information, is available on the DTG TorProxy and Shadow web page. The source code of TorProxy and Shadow are available under the GPL v2 license.
Update 9/18: Here is a step-by-step tutorial with screenshots on how to browser anonymously on Android devices.
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Android Application To Browse Anonymously
TorProxy is an application that makes it possible to use Internet sites and services anonymously from a mobile device. This is the Tor client, which handles all of the communication with the Tor Network.
Shadow is built in Android browser can’t be configured to work with TorProxy. In addition to using the Tor network to anonymously retrieve information from the Web, Shadow also helps you manage any “cookies” sent to Shadow by Websites to protect your browsing history.
How to use TorProxy and Shadow
More details about the software, including download and installation information, is available on the DTG TorProxy and Shadow web page. The source code of TorProxy and Shadow are available under the GPL v2 license.
Update 9/18: Here is a step-by-step tutorial with screenshots on how to browser anonymously on Android devices.