Orbot Reviews

by Michael676767

this app flat out doesn’t work. It won’t get past 50% and it won’t keep a session alive for longer than 5 minutes. Tor’s Foundation aren’t negligent, but they’re not on top of this. Something’s going horribly wrong right now where even custom bridges just don’t work.

Tor doesn’t work on iOS and it’s completely due to a memory limit hitting the ceiling. The only option that works is a direct connection. That’ll last 5 minutes. I think Apple’s restricting Tor connections completely. I’ve seen the same thing happen on Mac OS if you hit up the Tor Browser with lockdown mode enabled - you just can’t connect no matter what. Apple’s walled garden is hurting Tor, but I have to rate so low and even write because Tor isn’t vocal about what’s happening and assuming it’s known to everyone. It’s not.

by Chulomarine

I had high hopes for the tour project and was a financial supporter that being said I agree with previous reviews on the dysfunctionality of Orbot and relying on this app for Onion Browser to work. Too many issues and functionality works worse than original Tor connections notify. Deleting until develops and Security minded personnel start getting it together and minding the house.

by Cyanalkal

I tried a good 10 times with different configurations (including the “smart config” option a few times) to get the VPN to connect, and it failed every time. I then realized my phone was no longer able to connect with any WiFi networks (of course doing all the usual tests: checking the router, checking wifi on another device, rebooting phone, etc). It only began to work again once I deleted Orbot and all its data. I liked the onion browser before this (though it was a tad slow), but now I can’t use it at all which is very unfortunate…

by DueroBone

The entire point of the tor network is anonymity. Kind of hard when the vpn disconnects every 30 seconds, gives you no notice that it has stopped (the easiest way to tell is that the website loaded quickly), and then takes at least a minute to reconnect. The last one also applies to desktop versions, but not nearly to this extent. If you want to use tor, don’t get Orbot.

For the developers: if you fix the disconnection issue and added a system to kill all traffic upon disconnection, then it would be good.

by John Goodin

It used to be a really good program until the last versions of iOS 16 came along then it got totally bricked.

Lets us all watch and wait until iOS 17.3 gets released sometime in middle January 2024 and try reinstalling it. It most likely is a iOS bug. I just reinstalled it and it’s not even showing up in my listing of installed apps. That in itself potentially points to a major iOS bug.

The this app folks can do a whole lot of things but even they can’t reverse engineer Apples operating system. That’s called hacking in its truest form.

by Mithrandir Prime

Uses some sort of background service/UI client arrangement. Connection between the two frequently dies: the background service becomes unstable and you can’t make TOR connections or get the background service to disconnect so you can make regular non-TOR connections. You're stuck hoping you’ll eventually get some connectivity back, and maybe you will, five minutes later.

by Saying Like It Is

Crashes practically everytime just says connecting wont start counting percentage like used to, and even when (exit) out of Orbot and removed from running app before it even loads up or gets connected it basically kills all internet across fone anything that uses internet, weather apps, app store , ect,... all just freeze up dont load till you delete Orbot from fone,... then they work instantly. and if you reinstall app it works for a time or 3 ,... then starts over crashing n freezing other internet using apps even on personal 5g wifi router wifi connection with full bars,... app does not work

by FallingUpTheConcaveMountain

Orbot fails to connect most of the time, and even when it does, the connection lasts MINUTES at most, but usually within 30 seconds the connection is dropped, without warning or explanation.

The fact that this unserviceable trash is promoted by the official Tor Project disgraces its reputation. Even though I didn’t pay money for this, I deserve a refund on the time I spent attempting to operate Orbot ’s unworkable uselessness.

The regular updates are negated by the ineffective nature of Orbot , and the developers are seemingly completely oblivious to the reality of Orbot ’s failure, as this app is STILL touted as the “official way” to access onion sites and gain more anonymity over the internet on iOS.

by WS Should Not Be Taken

this app is unstable. Often it does not connect. Sometimes when it connects, it is so slow that even texts take a long time to go through if at all. And even when it does connect, it disconnects within seconds or minutes.

It is essentially useless. It makes Tor essentially useless.

by Not T-pain Thankfully

Any attempts to run it on a modern iOS install will result in constant bridge connection loops.

this app also routinely activates itself in the background and as it’s broken this takes down your internet connection - that’s the very definition of malware.

Tested across 4 diff iOS 16.x installs and 5 devices, identical results.

by Evil Doctor Grinch

Orbot struggles to reach 50% when attempting to connect, stops and restarts repeatedly. This continues even after I close Orbot , making it impossible to connect to the internet at all until I completely uninstall it.

by Jared V.

Orbot is still broken. You cannot connect 99% of the time. Incredibly frustrating. Once the developer fixes it, I will change the review but for now Orbot is simply unusable and has been for over two weeks.

by Trolling Derpy Bird

Onion browser forces me to use this when I already have a high-end VPN, and then it doesn’t even work. It constantly fails to connect, prevents me from loading anything needing an internet connection, and does nothing when I request access on onion browser.

by An123pira

If it is not working for you just uninstall it. Otherwise it would mess up your wifi or mobile data which in turn your phone would not be able to connect to the internet. Take care.

by Ysivasai

It gets stuck at 50% for a while and about 4-5 minutes later goes to about 100%. Then gets disconnected and comes to ready to connect state. Keeps doing this a infinite loop. Once in about a 100 times will it connect. Not sure why onion browser uses it. This is a useless app. Might be secure but what’s the point when it almost never works

by MarcusMK

Since Onion browser forces me to use this app, nothing works. this app takes over control of entire iPhone and does not get any connection. Even holds on to control after clicking “Stop”. Had to delete to get my phone connecting to outside world again.

by Jackbteaching

On my XR the this app app when turned on with default settings kills my internet speeds from 300Mbps download speed to an unusable 3Mbps or less! Orbot works well on my android devices and this is my first time using on iOS device.

by KAGTASTIC

Was excited about Orbot , but works nothing like the Android version. Also just stop connecting, so had to delete Orbot .

by Mhdsz

Doesn’t work at all

by EHerron

Orbot is no longer actively updated. Doesn’t work as expected and is a huge disappointment. What happened to the development???

by Ramyar.N

Hi , I just updated my ios to the latest version, then this app couldn’t start to work, I tried every possible options . Any suggestions?

by Tu Swag J

For example using MaxCircuitDirtiness
will cause you to not be able to connect to the network.

The console is disabled until you are connected so you cannot see anything to debug

the most recent update is causing heavy battery loss that didn’t exist is the previous versions (almost a percent every minute or two) but I do think the new exit node menu is well done. This is the only configuration that now works.

The network on Orbot is building circuits too quickly and seems there is nothing that can be done to preserve battery life when mobile

by 🏴‍☠️OSXpirate🏴‍☠️

I don't know how, but this app is completely bricked, either iOS and this app updates or ISP limitations (Russian ISP, traffic maybe blocked by DPI). Either way, this app is NOT STARTING. API access functionality is useless and should be removed, since we can only work with Onion Browser from traditional VPNs, untunneled or improperly tunneled Tor traffic is caught by the ISP and blocked. Traffic masking should be worked on, big trouble with obfs4. this app should be brought up to adequate and reliable operation. Updates should be done under the necessary supervision of The Tor Project, otherwise the this app and Onion Browser officially supported by The Tor Project will not work properly.

by 54321joshpoo

Dear Tor project developers,

I have a problem to adress.
Ever sense you released your latest update in March 2024, I can no longer use bridges on my I'phone.
I read the discription for the new update and I think you should try this.
Give the IOS user an alert on their screen that says, "Please note that this bridge may cause problems in the background and could possibly disccnect you from the internet also together." At least something like that.

Other wise, I'll be on my way.

PS. I dropped my review down to 2 stars. However, I will scale the review up to "Five *s" if you change Orbot back to how it was but with the warnings for certain functions.

by PhelineCat

I’m not sure what’s happening with the half glowing onion that says "Start" but it never goes anywhere toward Finished or Ready. I’ve installed and tested other Tor browsers in the past so I’m reinstalling them. It’s good to have various options for security.

by No Nick…fbhhhhbbvfdf

I had this app on custom bridges and now, it’s still on that but I can’t switch to normal. The update removes support for custom bridges (obfs4), which makes my client completely bricked.

by Cocaine Hill

Cannot connect in Russia. No custom bridges, nor smart connect work.

by Dusty Bubble

Love the tool, especially the content blocker, however after the last update the popup-detection has stopped functioning.

To replicate, block popups from all domains and then, go to a website with popups

Is it possible to get a fix?

by Mamali Pesar

Recently this app is not working in Iran due to strict censorship please address this issue because the tor application is working properly in windows.

by Lulu@2021

work fine in China now as a free vpn, which is outstanding from the paid one and failed provide service in China.

Only issue is not safe with the data as it already claimed on it's website.

by LifterB

Such a fantastic app! I agree with one of the other reviewers: If the developers could include a feature that can block the domains of known trackers like Privacy Pro, seems like that would really enhance privacy.

by Burnsac100

I have a couple content blockers I use in safari, and then I have some DNS content blocking going on as well. I’ve always used this app to block things that are still there and now, for the second time in around 2 weeks the content blocker has completely stopped. I went through the motions trying to debug it, rebooting my phone, disabling each content blocker and extension leaving only this app to run, killing both apps, disabling content blocking entirely, and deleting all of orbots rules did not seem to work. I’m unsure what the issue is. Also, whenever enabling the VPN, if it doesn’t start showing that is has made any progress at all, the cache has to be cleared first and then everything works just fine. Maybe this is more of an iOS issue, but I haven’t done anything differently with my phone anytime recently. I still haven’t updated to iOS 17 either

A feature request that I would have would be to allow one to disable the content blockers individually within Orbot without having to delete them. That would be very nice

by Smilingronnie

This is the best tor connection you can get for Apple and it not some scammy stuff to get you to pay for something that free the only thing that feel funny is it connects via your own browser and give them the ability to access onions I would suggest use duck duck go along with this and add a vpn just to be sure but work well and is fades the all the others I’ve tried of iOS

by Ugjdhh

I love being able to route my connections through Tor, but I was wondering if the ability to block domains and subdomains is being considered since it would be a great feature added on to an already great app, thanks!

by Blanton113

Hello I have some feedback for anyone who is downloading Orbot here is one of the reasons I'd not get Orbot Orbot will interfere with the wifi network and my experience with Orbot is horable and I would not recommend Orbot for anyone to get and that was my review and thank you 👎🏻

by Randomperson7647437

There are a lot of comments pointing out issues (that I also experienced) with a previous version, but—at least for me—recent updates have fixed these problems. With this app back to working, it’s a great tool to consider using, depending on one’s threat model.

by Krilaxos

Edit: plz help me I can’t compile this with Xcode 14+, I get cc link errors.
Was an older version of clang used?

what are you doing. go back to version 1.6.4, increase the memory limit back to 10MB it works fine edit: never mind , i understand now why you did it. for everyone else: it was done because the more you surf or multitask, the more memory you use and when you finally cap out at max the vpn disables for a moment which defeats the purpose of using it at all.

by Ali88888ugtg

One of the problems that this app has in iPhones is that in iOS version 15, for example, it connects to iPhone 7, but in iOS version 16, it does not connect under any circumstances and does not exceed more than 50%, for example, it was tested on three iPhones, iPhone 7 & se

by Quiandake Dingle The Second 👑

This is a great app but their are few issues, to start off with basically their is this thing where u can’t, after that u have to do that then it will do the thing we have been aiming for. The VPN works fine and I like how goofy the bridge is, what I really like about that app is the bridge, it’s like a real life bridge and you can break that bridge and make a new one, then their is quandake dingle the second, that’s the main issue. I really want the team to work on the program to fix the quandak which will better increase the generator thus helping out. By far the best VPN but could use more quixndu if yk what I mean. As a developer my self this has really doddaled me majorly for not complying with term, also a thing to point out is that the color is act light purple not actually purple. Also i notice people breathing while talking and it ruined my life but I got over it. Thanks for this amazing VPN which really helped me do illegal things safely. graciaz

by Peddram

I am very happy that the bugs that I send you will be noticed and improve the quality of the program. I wish you success and health.

by AABBE77

Please add kill switch Block connections without VPN., and Connectivity. completely different Tor Circuit (different middle relay and exit nodes) for every domain you connect to.

by Thelastnickname8

This is the official IOS port of this app! Finally! Orbot works as intended and I recommend it to anyone who values their privacy.

by Ali13641212

After latest update don’t work in Iran

by Caleb_74

Good speed and options to bypass censorship can’t complain.

by E4seTop

Красавчики, что дошли и до эпл, мне правда он нужен только для покупки дерьма на ОМГ!

by Neon_hazmat

Glad to see this app has finally reached iOS! Exciting!

by Nuit_d'hiver

It is so great to have the power of onion router on iOS. Orbot works smoothly.

by Mike_nezhad

What a great news !!!

by Jasenner

UI is rough, but who cares, the function is great.

by Hhijolnvszqgh

Its simple to use, and feels beautiful.

by X14001

امنیت بسیار بالا و‌غیر قابل ردیابی
کلا فیلترشکن ضد آخونده

by CANT LOGIN NO MORE

Love this on android , now on iOS

by El__Papi

Fantastic! I hope we get the ability to run Snowdlakes soon like we can on Android. Especially the ability to use this while using another VPN (like Android also allows)