Not Evil is a reflection of what the community is looking for and what the community reports as abusive or inappropriate content. One notable feature is its “I’m feeling lucky” button, reminiscent of Google’s counterpart, which displays searches for a random keyword chosen from popular searches on OnionLand. This adds an element of spontaneity and discovery to the browsing process. A VPN also shields your data from prying eyes, making it much harder for anyone to monitor or trace your activity on the dark web.
Safety Tips For Using The Dark Web
Keep your software always up-to-date, exercise extreme caution when clicking on links or downloading files, and avoid sharing personal information. Understanding the inherent dangers of the dark web and taking proactive safety measures are essential for a secure dark web experience. The dark web is a part of the internet not indexed by traditional search engines like Google. It requires special browsers, most commonly the Tor browser, to access its sites, which are often characterized by the ‘.onion’ domain. When using the Dark Web, it is essential to avoid sharing personal information, use strong passwords, and steer clear of sites involved in illegal activities.
Ahmia goes beyond being just a search engine; it is used to read statistics, insights, and news related to the Tor network. Ahmia provides a useful initial service for people who want to explore the dark web. Dark web search engines are designed to make it easier for users to access websites and information on the dark web. These crawlers provide access to sites that cannot be accessed by normal search engines.
Best Dark Web Search Engines In 2025

Forest VPN is a top choice for those looking to enhance their privacy and security online. Unlike other providers, Forest VPN is transparent about its operations, offering a free version supported by advertising and a premium version with enhanced features. Its eco-friendly approach, with battery-saving technology, ensures you have a minimal carbon footprint while browsing. It encrypts your internet connection, keeping your activities anonymous and private. It provides easy access to information for researchers, journalists, and many other purposes. One of the most common reasons for the dark web is the privacy and anonymity of people so that they can use the search engine as they wish and access the pages they want.
Future Trends In Dark Web Search
In 2008, the first Tor Browser was released, making it easier for any internet users to access the dark web. The Tor Browser routes your internet traffic through a network of servers, making it difficult for anyone to track your online activity. The Tor Browser is a free and open-source web browser that is based on the Mozilla Firefox web browser. The Tor Browser is designed to protect your privacy and anonymity when using the internet.
Best VPNs For Staying Safe And Anonymous On The Dark Web In 2025
However, speaking based on personal experience, its search results are not impressive. For instance, I wanted to know Twitter’s onion URL, a very simple piece of information. Yet, it reported everything but that showing how far these search engines have to go in order to improve. That is why in 2006 they created “the most private search engine in the world”, which does not record, track, or share your personal data. Over the years, they added many additional privacy features, such as “Anonymous View” for added protection.
A Quick Guide On How To Use A VPN With Tor
It provides unrestricted and uncensored search results, allowing access to a wide range of hidden content. This isolates any potential malware and prevents cross-contamination with your personal data. Using Tails OS can further security, as all your data is reset every time you close the device. A reliable VPN encrypts your traffic before it enters the Tor network, preventing surveillance from your ISP or malicious actors. During my tests, ExpressVPN’s military-grade encryption and verified no-logs policy provided consistent protection against tracking and monitoring. The kill switch feature also ensures your real IP stays hidden if your connection drops.
Each search engine brings unique features and advantages to the table. Unlike conventional search engines, not Evil employs a unique ranking system based on user clicks. The more clicks a link receives, the higher it ranks in search results, reflecting its relevance to user queries. This approach compensates for the lack of traditional metrics like PageRank on the Dark Web, where onion sites seldom interlink and maintain short lifespans. The reason you can’t simply search for dark web content on search engines like Google while using browsers like Chrome is that they do not have dark net access.
True to its name, Haystack excels in quantity rather than quality, providing a highly efficient means of scouring the dark web with its extensive index. Haystack just might have the most indexed dark website on any dark web search engine at over 1.5 billion indexed pages. It runs on a freemium model, however, so you will have to pony up some cash to go ad-free and for features like access to historical versions of websites. Like DuckDuckGo, Haystack is a privacy-friendly choice, promising not to track your data or compromise your privacy for profit.

Halo Security Enhances Platform With Custom Dashboards And Reports
Toorgle is a dark web search tool that helps users locate hidden websites on the Tor network. Unlike most dark web search engines, the Toorgle search engine allows access to onion sites without requiring the Tor browser. Acting as a proxy, Toorgle searches onion links and presents text-based content and torrent files directly through its interface. Most of us spend our time online bobbing around at the “top” of the web. This is called the “surface” or “open” web and it’s where we can engage with various online services, including e-commerce sites, news sites, blogs, personal websites, and social media.
- The results were spot-on, loading in under a second despite Tor’s latency.
- However, while it may help users find basic links organized by topic, it offers no actual search functionality or dynamic indexing.
- Unfortunately, it requires you to have an invitation code to create an account.
- Only a tiny portion of the internet is accessible through a standard web browser—generally known as the “clear web”.
Is Forest VPN Recommended For Dark Web Browsing?
Its goal is to offer anonymous access to the content without being censored, no matter where you live. As a result, it not only focuses on the UK but also provides worldwide news. In some countries, such as China and North Korea, the government uses heavy online censorship and blocks many dark web websites. Many social media platforms keep their presence on the dark web, and it is no surprise that Facebook has a .onion portal.

Even commerce sites that may have existed for a year or more can suddenly disappear if the owners decide to cash in and flee with the escrow money they’re holding on behalf of customers. The dark web is a subset of the deep web that is intentionally hidden, requiring a specific browser—Tor—to access, as explained below. No one really knows the size of the dark web, but most estimates put it at around 5% of the total internet. Again, not all the dark web is used for illicit purposes despite its ominous-sounding name. Buy login credentials to a $50,000 Bank of America account, counterfeit $20 bills, prepaid debit cards, or a “lifetime” Netflix premium account.

While that’s sometimes true, it can also be used for ethical purposes. Next, select a dark web search engine like DuckDuckGo that can help you find dark web websites that cannot be indexed by traditional surface web search engines, such as Google or Bing. The dark web is a hidden part of the web that is not indexed by traditional search engines like Google and requires specialized software to access. Ahmia is one of the search engines designed to be accessed on the Tor browser. It’s widely used by people on that browser, but you can also use it on regular browsers as a privacy-focused search engine alternative to Google. It will give you more results than you’ll find on Google and doesn’t order or filter what you find based on advertising.
We do not recommend venturing into prohibited, unethical sites on the Dark Web. When you find nasty content, just close all the windows, and Tor will erase your records. If you’re worried about the searches you’ve done on Google, learn how to delete your Google search history. At the end of the day, searching on the Deep Web should be done cautiously. Some Deep Web search engines discussed here are perfectly okay to explore, but once you get into the Tor world, your online guard should be up.