Dark web websites are not indexed by standard search engines and can only be accessed using specialized tools, such as the Tor web browser. These sites provide a level of privacy and anonymity unavailable on the surface web, offering content and goods that cannot be easily found through traditional online platforms. Unlike traditional search engines, it doesn’t track or store personal information, ensuring your searches stay private. It’s a popular choice for users worried about online surveillance and data collection.

Tordex

Tor Browser aims to make all users look the same, making it difficult for you to be fingerprinted based on your browser and device information. The Dark Web and Darknets offer valuable spaces if you value privacy, freedom of speech, or research security technologies.If you misuse them, the consequences can be severe. Unlike the Deep Web, Darknets are intentionally hidden and designed to preserve privacy and anonymity. Even platforms like Netflix, which require paid access, are technically part of the Deep Web.

Features That Define a Reliable Dark Web Search Engine

Since you are navigating in uncharted territories with all the myriad threats today, you’ll have to disable them in your network settings to stay safe. You risk being targeted for attacks if you explore the dark web without protection. The threat can extend to your entire network of devices connected to the internet. In some countries, evading government restrictions to seek new political ideologies is punishable. For example, China uses the Great Firewall to block access to Western sites. Accessing blocked content can result in being placed on a watch list or imprisonment.

What Is a Dark Web Search Engine?

Ideal for experienced researchers who need wide and unrestricted visibility across dark web content. Suited for users confident in managing unfiltered data without built-in safeguards. Ahmia stands out through robust content filtering systems that exclude illegal materials and harmful sites from search results. Since receiving Tor Project support in 2014, Ahmia has maintained dual access points through both clearnet and onion interfaces. Dark web sites use .onion domains that only resolve through the Tor network.

Added security: Use a VPN

While many dark websites appear sketchy, The New York Times is an exception. It offers reliable news coverage without exposing readers to harmful or illegal material. Unlike the surface web, where pages are easily searchable, dark web sites use encryption to hide their IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. Always remember that while the above measures significantly reduce risks, no method guarantees complete security on the dark web. Always exercise extreme caution and verify the legality of any services you access. BlackCloud offers encrypted file storage specifically optimized for the Tor network.

OnionLinks

• Because of this, some people use it to get around government restrictions, while others use it for illegal activities like smuggling drugs and weapons.
• The 2025 DBIR found that 30% of infostealer-compromised systems were enterprise devices.
• You can run a dark web scan to see if any of your data has leaked onto the black market.
• The dark web hosts a number of marketplaces that house illegal activity, such as drug and firearms sales, terrorism, hacking services, identity theft, illegal pornography, and even human trafficking.
• The project is widely regarded as a cornerstone of internet anonymity, supporting activists, journalists, and individuals in restrictive regions worldwide.
• Many dark websites are set up by scammers, who constantly move around to avoid the wrath of their victims.
• Loopholes exist, and if your government is motivated enough to track what you’re doing, they can.
• I found in my tests that all features work identically to the regular version.
• Unlike the regular internet, the dark web doesn’t use standard URLs or search engines.

Dark web search engines crawl publicly accessible .onion addresses. Neither do invitation-only marketplaces or password-protected sites. The most sensitive criminal activity happens in these private spaces. It’s a bit of a contradiction to talk about search engines for dark web darkweb marketplaces sites because, by definition, these are not sites that get indexed by traditional search engines. Many dark web search engines on the darknet suffer from spam, because these spammy sites want to be indexed and found by the search engines as opposed to genuine onion sites.

What Is the Dark Web & How to Stay Safe

If you get a reliable vendor, you should procure the services to stay safe when accessing the dark web. You can also run a dark web scan to see if your information has been leaked on the dark web. This dark web monitoring will help you track illicit activities and minimize the risks of cyber-attacks. Many reputable websites and news outlets like ProPublica and SecureDrop often share official domain addresses of onion sites on their pages.

Dangerous software

You don’t know what might lie behind them or whether they carry malicious payloads. To make its journalism more accessible to readers around the world, the New York Times launched its onion service in 2017. You won’t find any “hidden” stories here—it’s the same content as the normal web edition—but users in countries with government censorship will appreciate having a secure way to access it. Once connected, navigate to a dark web search engine like Ahmia or Torch using their .onion addresses. ProPublica is one of the safer Tor sites to visit, because it doesn’t link to illegal content or activities.

How We Reviewed Dark Web Marketplaces?

Since Hidden Wiki maintains all kinds of websites, ensure you don’t open something you don’t want to see. Tor Browser is the standard browser used for accessing the dark web — it’s quick and easy to install via the official Tor Project website. So not only is your web activity hidden by Tor, but you can also mask your IP address for other network processes by connecting via a range of global VPN server locations. However, depending on your goals and overall system security, Tor alone may not be enough to fully protect your privacy.

FAQs on the Best Dark Web Search Engines

We don’t want to leave you with the impression that everything on the dark web is nefarious or illegal. The Tor network began as an anonymous communications channel, and it still serves a valuable purpose in helping people communicate in environments that are hostile to free speech. “A lot of people use it in countries where there’s eavesdropping or where internet access is criminalized,” Tiquet said. The terms “deep web” and “dark web” are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Deep web refers to anything on the internet that is not indexed by and, therefore, accessible via a search engine like Google.

Although profiting from pirated copyrighted material is unethical and illegal, there are some exceptions to using copyrighted material, such as a “private study” provision under UK law. The CIA is contactable on the dark web, providing a completely anonymous way to get in touch with them. However, if you’re communicating with state intelligence agencies, you should use Tor alongside a VPN for maximum privacy.

Non-indexed content

Their dark web presence also creates a secure platform for whistleblowers to submit material without the risk of retaliation. Sci-Hub has nothing to do with science-fiction literature, but with science itself. The first website on our list is, allegedly, the largest repositories of scientific papers on the dark web.

The New York Times — globally recognized news coverage

You can download Tor at The Tor Project for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. If you’re an iPhone user, you can download Tor from the App Store. This is especially valuable in countries with oppressive surveillance and censorship regimes. The dark web also helps individuals communicate about or sell illegal items such as weapons, drugs, malware, etc. Many people see hacked information and stolen card data being sold on the dark web.

• Although Onion Browser helps route your traffic through Tor on iOS, it may not match Tor Browser’s protections on its official apps.
• Law enforcement pressure is one of the main reasons dark web marketplaces remain unstable and short-lived.
• You risk being targeted for attacks if you explore the dark web without protection.
• Your ISP and the government might not be able to view your activity when on the Tor Network, but they do know you are on the Tor Network, and that alone is enough to raise eyebrows.
• The Tor Project created ExoneraTor to let users check whether a specific IP address served as a Tor relay on a given date.
• Awazon became the successor of the popular AlphaBay market, which the authorities shut down successfully in July 2023.
• Articles are published regularly and include interesting information, images, and quotes from officials.

It is essentially a list of all the notable websites available on the Tor Network that is kept in a single, organized place. For this reason, it is always better to use a trustworthy VPN for Tor while accessing the Dark Web, as this will provide a robust additional layer of privacy. The Tor network is designed to provide you with privacy and anonymity. That said, most experts agree that at least some nodes on the Tor network have been compromised by intelligence agencies like the CIA and the NSA.

How dangerous is it to click on random onion links?

It makes up about 6% of the internet, and it’s where you find everything from illegal marketplaces to forums for whistleblowers. If you’ve ever checked your medical results online through a portal that required a login, you were navigating the deep web. It’s huge, making up about 90% of the internet, but it’s mostly mundane, hidden behind login screens for privacy and security. Many advanced search engines now include APIs or integration options that allow teams to feed dark web data directly into systems like SIEM or SOAR. Connecting Tor before VPN (Tor → VPN) is generally not recommended because it defeats much of Tor’s anonymity protection. For most security research, VPN → Tor provides reasonable protection.

This ensures that your traffic is routed through the secure tunnel and your real IP address isn’t exposed. The Tor Project recommends that iPhone users install Onion Browser — you can download the app directly from the App Store. Although Onion Browser helps route your traffic through Tor on iOS, it may not match Tor Browser’s protections on its official apps. Tor Browser isn’t available on iPhones due to Apple’s App Store rules. Apple requires all iOS browsers to use its WebKit rendering engine, which Tor Browser doesn’t support. Avoid jailbreaking your device or installing apps from untrusted sources.

• So, if the website looks fishy, close the tab, and forget about it.
• It also encrypts your connection to Tor’s entry node, preventing your ISP from seeing that you’re using Tor at all.
• In this section, we have listed the most popular resources on the Dark Web.
• They run crawlers inside the Tor network and index .onion sites.
• Since receiving Tor Project support in 2014, Ahmia has maintained dual access points through both clearnet and onion interfaces.
• To access the dark web, you will need the Tor browser, which provides the necessary anonymity and security.
• In addition, Darknetlive has a list of dark web vendors, which is very convenient — it offers detailed information about each vendor, including .onion addresses (in alphabetical order) and FAQs.
• This adds extra protection since opening Tor itself encrypts your traffic.

The United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has developed its .onion site on Tor. This might seem very strange, given that the site’s goal is to allow people around the globe to communicate with them in a secure and anonymous way to submit intelligence, tips, or information. Riseup is a collaborative organization created by people doing activism to provide secure, encrypted means of communication via the internet and assist in bringing change within society.

The dark web is a section of the Internet not searchable through traditional search engines, where privacy and anonymity reign. It is notorious for illegal transactions and activities such as drug trafficking, arms dealing and identity fraud. It also provides a safe haven for whistleblowers, journalists and those seeking free expression under oppressive regimes. Before Hidden Wiki is Daniel, a ‘dark web websites’ aggregator that can help you navigate the onion maze.

Tor browsers create encrypted entry points and pathways for the user, so dark web activity remains anonymous. The encryption technology routes users’ data through a large number of intermediate servers, which protects the users’ identity and guarantees anonymity. The darknet version of DuckDuckGo is not a search engine for the dark web, but a private browsing tool for the dark web. DuckDuckGo’s regular site can take you to the dark web, as it brings up onion sites and dark web links when searched. Neither DuckDuckGo’s dark nor normal versions keep a log of your web activity.

It describes itself as a tool for social change and “a project to create democratic alternatives.” Riseup requires you to have the onion link as well as an invitation. SecureDrop uses Tor to provide a safe way for whistleblowers to contact various news outlets. Prominent organizations like The Guardian, The New York Times, and ProPublica have implemented it. The software requires two-factor authentication to receive what’s been uploaded by the whistleblower and allows two-way communication between the anonymous contact and the media outlet.

For iOS, the Onion Browser is a Tor-powered option, but desktop remains more secure for research. Private forums, invite-only markets, and encrypted channels are invisible to them. They also can’t access Telegram or Discord where criminals increasingly operate. Ethical hackers use dark web search engines to find leaked credentials for authorized testing.

The Hidden Wiki doesn’t discriminate, so if you randomly start diving into the onion sites listed, you may come across objectionable or dangerous material. Both DuckDuckGo and Ahmia are safe choices for finding Tor Browser links without being tracked. Any onion websites you visit from these search engines is another story.

Never click on dark web links unless you know exactly what they are. Skilled cybercriminals can tap into Tor nodes, track you, and get your personal information. If you’re planning to visit the dark web, make sure you use a trustworthy VPN with advanced features working together to protect your privacy. You can use a VPN to add a much-needed boost to your privacy on The Onion Browser (Tor). Get CyberGhost VPN to encrypt your connection and browse the dark web safely.

ZeroBin is a minimalist paste-bin tool that allows users to share text securely and privately on the Tor network. Insights like these help researchers and advocates understand how and why Tor is being used. With this info, the wider online community can grasp Tor’s impact and its ability to provide secure and anonymous internet access. Although Hidden Answers offers an outlet for anonymous dialogs, users should stay cautious while browsing.

Before clicking any of the dark web links below, you’ll need to get the Tor Browser (also called the Onion Browser) or another service that provides dark web access, such as the Brave browser. Onion sites are considered part of the deep web because search engines like Google and Bing can’t index them. While using the dark web may seem suspect on the surface, it is perfectly legal, and there are many legitimate uses of Tor and anonymous browsing. Start with a trusted dark web search engine like Ahmia to find specific content. Never download Tor from third-party sites, and always verify you’re on the official Tor Project website before downloading.

• If you connect to your VPN and fire up Tor Browser, you’re using Tor over VPN.
• With plenty of scams, malicious links, and phishing sites, it can be easy to find yourself in trouble.
• You should replace with the directory where you put the COCO data.
• NoScript and HTTPS Everywhere extensions provide additional protection against malicious scripts and unsecured connections.
• However, in the event of a dispute don’t expect service with a smile.
• Certain details of your traffic can be intercepted at the entry and exit points of the node, by the people running those nodes, if they know what they’re doing and what they’re looking for.

Dark web hacking forums are bad, but it gets so much worse than what you’ve heard. If you’re sensitive (or just a normal person, really), you might want to completely avoid the dark web. If you really must buy something, research how to do it safely using cryptocurrency. If you buy something on the dark web, you’re taking a leap of faith. If the vendor doesn’t follow through, you don’t have any recourse.

On Tor, you can type in any URL you’d like to visit, including .onion links on the dark web. Unlike typical web browsers, Tor Browser uses onion routing, which encrypts and routes traffic through multiple servers around the world to hide your IP address and provide private browsing. In addition, all domains on the Tor network end with the top-level domain .onion (instead of .com).

These require automated monitoring that continuously watches sources search engines can’t reach. Criminals increasingly use Telegram channels and Discord servers. These platforms aren’t part of the Tor network, so dark web search engines can’t index them. Yet significant credential trading and breach announcements happen there.