Twitter's Privacy-protected Version

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After Russia restricted access to its service there, Twitter developed a privacy-protected version of its website to bypass surveillance and censorship. Russia has curtailed Twitter and blocked access to Facebook to suppress information about its conflict in Ukraine. While barring the state media from using their services, both businesses have stated that they are striving to restore access to citizens inside of Russia.

Users can access this "onion" version of Twitter by downloading the Tor browser, which enables access to websites on the so-called "dark web," where sites have a .onion suffix rather than a .com. Regular websites, such as Twitter.com, are accessible on Tor as well, but the .onion versions were created exclusively for Tor to guard against malicious actors spoofing the site. The term "dark web" usually refers to illicit websites, like the now-defunct Silk Road drug market, although it is also frequently used by people who want to remain anonymous for their protection or to access websites that are blocked by oppressive regimes.

Versions of Facebook and other websites, like the BBC, are also accessible via Tor. According to the company, Twitter's version has been in development since before the Russian invasion. Alec Muffett, a software developer and internet security specialist who has helped other businesses create onion sites, disclosed Twitter's new service on his personal Twitter account. He tweeted on Tuesday, "This is possibly the most important and long-awaited tweet that I've ever composed."