While anyone can use it, it’s built for high-stakes exchanges, making it overkill for routine file sharing or data backups. Proton Mail is an anonymous email service that operates an onion site. Finding data on the dark web can be challenging, in this post we’ll cover how the dark web works, how to access it, and the top 5 dark web search engines. Also known as Not Evil, this dark web search engine offers access to a wide array of .onion content. It delivers an uncensored search experience, granting users access to a diverse array of information while effectively excluding illegal content.
Dark Web Search Engines: How To Search The Dark Web Safely
Make Tech Easier provides tech tutorials, reviews, tips and tricks to help you navigate the complicated world of technology. The website has received six Pulitzer Prizes for its grassroots-based journalism. Accessing it through an onion link is much more convenient if you’re unable to directly view it on your screen. Switzerland-based Proton (formerly ProtonMail) is one of the most secure email services, and has a reputation for not logging IP addresses.
How To Set Up And Use The Tor Browser To Search onion Sites
The search engine delivers unbiased search results by avoiding personalized algorithms. This ensures that you receive the most relevant information without being influenced by your browsing history. DuckDuckGo is particularly useful for research, as it provides access to a wide range of invisible web resources.
The Hidden Wiki: Best Dark Web Directory
Dark web websites won’t show up on Google, but they are indexed by dark web search engines such as Torch. Additionally, hidden wiki websites function as directories of categorized .onion links, providing common entry points for users delving into the hidden internet. These search engines catalog .onion domains, which are not easily accessible from regular web browsers. These top 10 dark web search engines are important for research, evidence collection, finding hidden resources, intelligence, and various other resources that are not easily accessible. If one tries to visit the dark web with a regular browser, there will be no web pages to visit.

Separate Your Real Life From Your Online Persona

Many deep search engines prioritize user privacy, but not all of them offer the same level of security. Some may inadvertently index harmful content or fail to protect your data. This makes it crucial to choose search engines with robust privacy protection features. While operating similarly to its surface web counterparts, a dark web search engine is an online tool built to find .onion content hosted on the Tor network and ensure anonymity. These crawlers are designed to respect the network’s anonymity protocols and provide search results based on query keywords. A dark web search engine’s index is significantly smaller compared to the surface web due to its hidden nature.
If you are a researcher, you will find accurate, up-to-date information on any current events or trends. As is the case with most of the sites on this list, Torch makes it a point to let you know that it will not track or censor you and absolutely respects your privacy. The algorithm is said to be updated regularly, and the user interface is very straightforward, so if you are looking for an entry point into the Deep Web, this is a good place to start.
Torch Search Engine Link – Dark Web Search Engine

Torch is the oldest and largest .onion search engine with more than 1 million .onion sites indexed. Just bear in mind that many of those will be out of date, and using this index will require a lot of discretion, due to its size. The nice thing about Ahmia is that it lists .onion sites that want to be found.
Avira Internet Security
They focus on onion sites, update their indexes more frequently, and sometimes block known scam or phishing portals. Candle is a well-known lightweight and intuitively designed dark web search engine that’s ad-free, providing users a distraction-free environment. Like the other dark web search engines, Candle doesn’t track user activity or store data, giving users peace of mind about their online activities and anonymity. Torch is a leading dark web search engine known for its extensive index of .onion sites.
The surface web—which we use for searching day-to-day information—is only its tip. Many more layers of hidden content can be found below—in the deep and dark web. Install Norton VPN to encrypt your internet connection and help protect the personal data you send and receive online.
- Not Evil is a great approach to get TOR-specific search tools, as it functions as a dark web search engine.
- DuckDuckGo’s dark web version brings the same commitment to privacy as its surface web counterpart.
- The Candle search engine is effective but minimalistic—it gives you only the top ten most relevant results for your search queries.
- Some VPNs may slow down your connection or conflict with Tor’s routing process.
- Dark Search also delivers unfiltered results and includes a feature that allows users to directly report illegal content.
A VPN also encrypts your connection, keeping your data safe from surveillance and unauthorized access. It’s specifically designed for privacy, routing your connection through the Tor network to hide your IP address and encrypt your traffic. Built-in features like script blocking and anti-tracking ensure a safer browsing experience.
Hidden Answers
No user names are tied to actual identities, and no moderation like one may find on Reddit. Users leverage these platforms to organize protests, whistleblow, share survival guides, or share files P2P. Keybase is a fantastic onion website that lets you cryptographically bring your different online identities together.
Tips To Safely Search The Dark Web
This includes the potential to pirate copyrighted material, which could also lead to legal consequences. The Kilos search engine is primarily used to find and access dark web markets where illicit drug transactions are one of the main activities. While many search engines steer clear of the dark web’s seedier elements, Kilos embraces it and doesn’t filter search results. Riseup is a volunteer-run collective that offers secure chat and email services primarily used by progressive activists and social justice communities. It’s maintained by an independent organization committed to digital privacy and security. It runs an onion site to help like-minded people mobilize more securely and anonymously.