The most secure browser on the web just got a major update – what’s new

October 28, 2024 TH Author

Tor Browser is, hands down, the most secure web browser on the market. When using Tor, every packet that leaves your browser is not only encrypted but also anonymized, making it very private and secure.

Recently, the Tor developers released the latest major update to the browser, version 14.0. This new release is based on Firefox 128 ESR (Extended Support Release) and includes much-improved font handling, better fingerprinting protections, improved support for picture-in-picture, and more.

Also: The best secure browsers for privacy: Expert tested

However, one new feature makes this release especially intriguing: Tor Browser version 14.0 includes an updated method for requesting a new circuit on Android devices. When using Tor, you can now and then experience a broken website (which can be caused by the nature of using the Tor Network). When that happened, before version 14.0, you’d have to reset your identity and start over.

In previous iterations of the Tor Browser on Android, you could request a new identity through the notification system, while Tor was running. The problem: That process was only possible via the Android notification shade and not within the browser itself. Also, using that process didn’t perform the same steps for an identity reset as Tor Browser on the desktop. Instead, the previous Android process acted as a “refresh all circuits” button, which would affect sites that were working properly.

With the latest update, the process will work on a site-by-site basis, which is far more effective and efficient.

Windows and MacOS, too

The new version also has two update paths for Windows and MacOS users. This was necessary because of support ending for different versions of Windows. The new paths look like this:

Users of Windows 10 or later and macOS 10.15 or later will be updated to Tor Browser 14.0.
Because Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 and macOS 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14 only support Firefox ESR 115, those platforms will remain on Tor Browser 13.5.

In other words, you have to be using Windows 10+ or MacOS 10.15+ to use Tor 14.0. That’s OK because the Tor Project will continue releasing new versions of 13.5 with security updates that are added to Firefox ESR 115.

Also: 5 Firefox-based, privacy-first web browsers that improve on the original

Even with the new path to keep older versions of the browser secure, the Tor developers still recommend users upgrade their operating system, so they can update to Tor Browser 14.0 before the extended support window ends.

Read more about this news on the Tor Project blog and download Tor for your platform of choice from the official download site.