Sponsor 8
Project Title: Tor Browser for Android
Project Period: 7/31/2017 - 12/31/2018
Project !Goals/Activities
This program will support human rights and democracy by giving mobile users in the Global South an easier way to access uncensored Internet content and services without fear of surveillance. The Tor Project will work with the Guardian Project to build a Tor Browser for Android based on the Orfox browser app that is functionally similar to the desktop Tor Browser. This effort will improve Tor’s support for mobile-first users on low-power devices and slower networks.
|| Objective 1: || Build a Tor Browser for Android to empower mobile users to safely, anonymously, and securely interact with Internet resources and services.
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Activity 1: Build a Tor Browser for Android with functionality and build processes in parity with desktop Tor Browser.
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Activity 2: Research and develop Android-specific fingerprinting defenses for Tor Browser.
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Activity 3: Work with Mozilla to merge built defenses back into Firefox Mobile. ||
|| Objective 2 || Specifically lower the barriers to secure, anonymous interactions for mobile users with limited bandwidth, slow networks, and low-power devices.
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Activity 4: Enable standalone use of Tor Browser for Android without separate Orbot installation.
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Activity 5: Improve usability of the Tor Browser for Android, relative to Orfox, including anti-censorship bridges.
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Activity 6: Improve software and Tor Network architecture to improve usability for low-speed networks and low-power, low- RAM devices.
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Activity 7: Improve the Tor Network’s controller interface to allow mobile apps to reduce bandwidth and battery use.
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Activity 8: Enable better reporting of network and connection errors to apps that use Tor Network. ||