⚙️ Education & Information

Tor Network Simulator — How Tor Routes Your Data

Interactive animation showing how the Tor network routes your traffic through guard, middle, and exit relays with multiple layers of encryption.

Tor Network Simulator

Watch how your data is encrypted and routed through the Tor network. Each relay only knows the minimum information needed to pass your data along.

Speed:

Click "Start Animation" to see how Tor routes your data through the network.

Origin
Your Computer
Entry Node
Guard Relay

Knows your IP, doesn't know destination

Middle Node
Middle Relay

Knows neither your IP nor destination

Exit Node
Exit Relay

Knows destination, doesn't know your IP

Website
Destination

Encryption Layers on Data Packet

Layer 3 (Guard key)
Layer 2 (Middle key)
Layer 1 (Exit key)

Guard Relay

Knows your IP, doesn't know destination

Middle Relay

Knows neither your IP nor destination

Exit Relay

Knows destination, doesn't know your IP

How Tor Routing Works

Tor (The Onion Router) protects your anonymity by routing your traffic through three volunteer-operated relays, each encrypting a layer.

  • Your computer encrypts data with three keys — one for each relay
  • The Guard Relay (entry node) knows your IP but not your destination
  • The Middle Relay knows neither your IP nor your destination
  • The Exit Relay knows the destination but not your IP
  • No single relay has enough information to link you to your activity
NOTE

When visiting .onion sites, traffic never leaves the Tor network — there is no exit relay. This provides end-to-end encryption within Tor itself.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How does Tor onion routing work?+
Your data is encrypted in three layers. Each relay peels off one layer: the guard relay knows your IP but not the destination, the middle relay knows neither, and the exit relay knows the destination but not your IP.
What are guard, middle, and exit relays?+
Guard (entry) relays are the first hop — they see your real IP. Middle relays only pass encrypted data. Exit relays send your traffic to the destination website and see the unencrypted content.
Can the Tor network be compromised?+
If an attacker controls both the guard and exit relays in your circuit, they can correlate traffic (timing analysis). This is why Tor uses guard pinning and why diversity of relay operators matters.

🔗 Related Tools

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All tools 🛠️🔍 Search .onion links on Deepr.onion — use Tor Browser