Facebook has taken a few steps toward anonymity recently. First it launched its Rooms app, allowing people to gather around common interest without the need to reveal their true identity, and now it has launched its direct link for users accessing it through deep web encrypted browser Tor, so users arriving through this service will no longer be mistaken for hacked accounts.
Tor is a secure web browser that allows its users to navigate the internet without being tracked in any way. It works by adding several layers of encryption to the original data sent or requested by the end user, and routing it through a series of randomly selected computers in its network. The exit node used to connect Facebook’s servers was different every time, causing Facebook to register two separate requests from two completely different geographical locations in quick succession, leading to locking down of accounts suspected to be attacked by hackers or a botnet, leading to unnecessary complications for people using Facebook through Tor browser. Tor is a preferred method for citizens of certain countries – like Iran, China, North Korea or Cuba – to access certain services banned in their respective countries.
With the new link, https://facebookcorewwwi.onion/, Tor users can access Facebook without any of their information leaving the network. They will still be required to log on using their credentials and use their real name on the social network, just like any other user, but their information will always remain in the encrypted Tor network, never making it to the open web. Facebook is the first Silicon Valley company to make this move, which will most likely be popular among individuals not willing to be tracked online.
Tor – acronym of The Onion Router, referring to its numerous layers of encryption – was originally designed by the US Naval Research Laboratory. It allows for a user to hide location and identity by relaying all data sent through several nodes around the internet, making it impossible for an action to be traced back to a certain individual. Military, law enforcement officers, journalists and members of the general public not willing to be tracked are among the users of the network, but it is also preferred by those conducting illegal activities over the internet.