Security News > 2024 > March > Tor’s new WebTunnel bridges mimic HTTPS traffic to evade censorship
The Tor Project officially introduced WebTunnel, a new bridge type specifically designed to help bypass censorship targeting the Tor network by hiding connections in plain sight.
Tor bridges are relays not listed in the public Tor directory that keep the users' connections to the network hidden from oppressive regimes.
While some countries, like China and Iran, have found ways to detect and block such connections, Tor also provides obfsproxy bridges, which add an extra layer of obfuscation to fight censorship efforts.
Since blocking HTTPS would also block the vast majority of connections to web servers, the WebTunnel connections will also be permitted, effectively circumventing censorship in network environments with protocol allow lists and deny-by-default policies.
You can also use WebTunnel with Tor Browser for Android by configuring a new bridge and entering the bridge addresses after clicking "Provide a Bridge I know."
"Right now, there are 60 WebTunnel bridges hosted all over the world, and more than 700 daily active users using WebTunnel on different platforms. However, while WebTunnel works in regions like China and Russia, it does not currently work in some regions in Iran," the Tor Project said.