Tor Project launches anonymous chat app

- The Tor Project has launched a beta version of Tor Messenger. The chat app, people can anonymously chat with each other. Because the chat system works through the Tor network, the opportunity to be tapped is a lot smaller than commercial chat apps, writes The Verge.

In order to use Tor Messenger you do not otherwise use only the open-source Jabber chat protocol (XMPP). The app also supports IRC, Google Talk, Facebook Chat, Twitter and Yahoo. Tor Messenger promise not to store logs of your chats and you might as anonymous chat show if the browser plugin lets you browse. The Tor Project is ever developed by the US government to allow anonymous Internet browsing.

The service- The Onion Router- works as the name suggests, like an onion. Internet traffic is first looped several times through different servers before the user opens the desired website. This looping is somewhat reminiscent of peeling an onion. The technology behind Tor is virtually impossible to find out who was there when on a particular website.

Initially the service was mainly used by investigation and intelligence, journalists and dissidents, but also cyber criminals have already found their way to Gate. Last year was rolled up illegal marketplace Silk Road. That platform for drug dealers and arms dealers operated entirely via Tor.