New Tor Browser version released

Tor Browser 16 has been released, based on Firefox 153 ESR, with technical changes under the hood. The update includes various improvements and adjustments aimed at enhancing user experience and security.

Privacy and security audit findings

The Tor Browser team noted that an annual audit of Firefox's code identified over 270 issues referenced in Bugzilla that could affect privacy or security. These issues were addressed in the latest update to ensure a safer browsing experience.

Redesigned settings interface

The update includes a redesign of settings, largely adopting Firefox's structure. The General page has been removed, with its content split across multiple categories such as Appearance, Downloads, Tabs and Navigation, Accessibility, and Languages.

Tor-specific settings updated

Specific Tor settings, such as Connection and Security Level, have been rebuilt using Firefox components. Some settings that could degrade privacy or facilitate browser fingerprinting are hidden or accompanied by warnings to protect user anonymity.

New feature to prevent window title tracking

A new feature allows for generic window titles, replacing all titles with "Tor Browser" to prevent the system or other applications from reading browsing history through window titles. This feature is available via two new lines in the <code>about:config</code> settings.

User manual and ARM 64-bit support

The update also includes a complete revision of the user manual and introduces an ARM 64-bit version for Linux (Aarch64). This architecture was previously in the Alpha branch but is now recommended for the stable branch.

Discontinuation of 32-bit Linux support

Tor Browser 16 no longer supports 32-bit Linux installations. The team noted that very few users should be affected, as they currently receive about 200 update checks per day from this platform, compared to a peak of about 4,000 in 2019.

Android version updates

The Android version incorporates Mozilla's improvements from the past year, including a gradual transition to Jetpack Compose, allowing a migration to "native" interfaces, otherwise known as Material Design 3. The Tor Browser team noted that Google limits the size of applications distributed as APKs to 100 MB, which represents "a constant challenge."

Download links available

Downloads for Tor Browser 16 are available at the following links: Download Tor Browser 16 for computers and Download Tor Browser 16 for Android.