.onion Site Status Checker — Is This Onion Site Online?
Check if a .onion site is currently online and reachable through the Tor network. Educational tool explaining how onion service availability works.
.onion Site Status Checker
Learn how onion service availability works and where to check status for known services.
How Onion Service Connections Work
Both sides build circuits to a rendezvous point — neither learns the other's IP address
Introduction points: The onion service picks several relays as introduction points and publishes their addresses (signed with its key) to a distributed hash table. This is how clients discover how to connect.
Rendezvous points: When you want to visit an onion service, your Tor client picks a random relay as a rendezvous point, then tells the service (through an introduction point) where to meet. Both sides build a circuit to the rendezvous relay.
End-to-end encryption:The connection is encrypted end-to-end using the service's public key (which is encoded in the .onion address for v3 services). No relay in the path can read the traffic.
Common Reasons Sites Go Offline
Server maintenance
The operator has taken the service down temporarily for updates or fixes.
DDoS attack
Onion services are vulnerable to denial-of-service attacks that can overwhelm the service.
Operator shutdown
The operator voluntarily shut down the service, either temporarily or permanently.
Law enforcement action
Authorities may seize servers or compel service shutdown through legal processes.
Key compromise
If the private key is compromised, operators may take the service offline to generate a new address.
Tor network issues
Temporary problems with Tor consensus, directory authorities, or the relay network can affect availability.
Known .onion Services & Status Sources
| Service | Description | Status Source |
|---|---|---|
| DuckDuckGoSearch | Privacy-focused search engine | Official site |
| ProtonMailEmail | Encrypted email service | Proton status page |
| FacebookSocial | Social network (official onion mirror) | Facebook onion page |
| The New York TimesNews | News publication (official onion mirror) | NYT official site |
| BBC NewsNews | International news (official onion mirror) | BBC official site |
| SecureDropWhistleblowing | Whistleblower submission system used by many newsrooms | SecureDrop directory |
| Tor ProjectInfrastructure | Official Tor Project website | Tor Project status |
| DebianSoftware | Debian package repository onion mirror | Debian onion services page |
| RiseupEmail | Activist email and VPN provider | Riseup status page |
| OnionShareTools | Secure file sharing, chat, and website hosting over Tor | OnionShare docs |
Deepr (deeprecyrsonacndoosu3udqp7ziofjddoiq6grsfizp3m3mvbiinpad.onion) is a community-driven directory that tracks .onion services organized by category. Each link shows its current status, vote count, and stability history. You need Tor Browserto access it — it's a .onion hidden service.
How to check .onion status yourself
- Use Tor Browser: The most reliable way is to simply visit the address in Tor Browser. A connection timeout usually means the service is down.
- Check Deepr: For popular services, Deepr tracks uptime and provides community-verified .onion links with status history.
- Try multiple circuits: If a connection fails, request a new Tor circuit (Ctrl+Shift+L in Tor Browser). The issue may be with your circuit, not the service.
- Onion service directories: Some directories track the availability of listed services, though their reliability varies.