{"id":16311,"date":"2026-09-18T18:03:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T02:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/?p=16311"},"modified":"2026-09-22T18:09:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T02:09:56","slug":"what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Tor Browser, and How Does It Differ From a VPN?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learn what a Tor Browser is, how Tor works, and how it compares to a VPN. Find out which privacy tool best fits your security needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5272,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-online-privacy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is a Tor Browser? Tor vs VPN Privacy Guide | McAfee<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what a Tor Browser is, how Tor works, and how it compares to a VPN. Find out which privacy tool best fits your security needs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is a Tor Browser? Tor vs VPN Privacy Guide | McAfee\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn what a Tor Browser is, how Tor works, and how it compares to a VPN. Find out which privacy tool best fits your security needs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"McAfee\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/McAfee\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-19T02:03:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-23T02:09:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"McAfee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mcafee_home\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mcafee_home\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"McAfee\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"McAfee\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#\/schema\/person\/86adf9e7adefeebb7c47e88f4e969cf7\"},\"headline\":\"What Is a Tor Browser, and How Does It Differ From a VPN?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-19T02:03:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-23T02:09:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/\"},\"wordCount\":13,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Online Privacy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/\",\"name\":\"What Is a Tor Browser? Tor vs VPN Privacy Guide | McAfee\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-19T02:03:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-23T02:09:56+00:00\",\"description\":\"Learn what a Tor Browser is, how Tor works, and how it compares to a VPN. Find out which privacy tool best fits your security needs.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"man with disability uses laptop in kitchen\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Learn at McAfee\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Is a Tor Browser, and How Does It Differ From a VPN?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/\",\"name\":\"McAfee\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#organization\",\"name\":\"McAfee\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/mcafeelogo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/mcafeelogo.png\",\"width\":193,\"height\":88,\"caption\":\"McAfee\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/McAfee\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/mcafee_home\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/mcafee\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/mcafee4consumers\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/McAfee\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#\/schema\/person\/86adf9e7adefeebb7c47e88f4e969cf7\",\"name\":\"McAfee\",\"description\":\"We're here to make life online safe and enjoyable for everyone.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/author\/mcafee\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Is a Tor Browser? Tor vs VPN Privacy Guide | McAfee","description":"Learn what a Tor Browser is, how Tor works, and how it compares to a VPN. Find out which privacy tool best fits your security needs.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is a Tor Browser? Tor vs VPN Privacy Guide | McAfee","og_description":"Learn what a Tor Browser is, how Tor works, and how it compares to a VPN. Find out which privacy tool best fits your security needs.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/","og_site_name":"McAfee","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/McAfee\/","article_published_time":"2026-09-19T02:03:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-23T02:09:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"McAfee","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mcafee_home","twitter_site":"@mcafee_home","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"McAfee"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/"},"author":{"name":"McAfee","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#\/schema\/person\/86adf9e7adefeebb7c47e88f4e969cf7"},"headline":"What Is a Tor Browser, and How Does It Differ From a VPN?","datePublished":"2026-09-19T02:03:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-23T02:09:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/"},"wordCount":13,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp","articleSection":["Online Privacy"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/","name":"What Is a Tor Browser? Tor vs VPN Privacy Guide | McAfee","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp","datePublished":"2026-09-19T02:03:01+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-23T02:09:56+00:00","description":"Learn what a Tor Browser is, how Tor works, and how it compares to a VPN. Find out which privacy tool best fits your security needs.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/disabled-person-safe-online-12.webp","width":2000,"height":1200,"caption":"man with disability uses laptop in kitchen"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/what-is-a-tor-browser-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-vpn\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Learn at McAfee","item":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is a Tor Browser, and How Does It Differ From a VPN?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/","name":"McAfee","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#organization","name":"McAfee","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/mcafeelogo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/mcafeelogo.png","width":193,"height":88,"caption":"McAfee"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/McAfee\/","https:\/\/x.com\/mcafee_home","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/mcafee\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/mcafee4consumers","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/McAfee"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/#\/schema\/person\/86adf9e7adefeebb7c47e88f4e969cf7","name":"McAfee","description":"We're here to make life online safe and enjoyable for everyone.","url":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/author\/mcafee\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16311"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16317,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16311\/revisions\/16317"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}