Pornhub Launches Mirror for Tor Users
The world’s largest porn site joined the ranks of Facebook, The BBC, and other popular clearnet sites with onion mirrors. According to a press release from Pornhub, the onion mirror is the “latest step by Pornhub to protect users against censorship, unwarranted surveillance and discrimination against LGBT communities.”
The Pornhub Logo and Tor Onion
Press release below.
Pornhub Press Release
Pornhub Launches Tor Mirror Site to Bolster User Privacy and Ensure Platform Security
Pornhub, the premier online destination for adult entertainment, today announced it has made a version of its website available on Tor, a privacy-focused browser that makes it more difficult to monitor users’ online activity. Users can now access Pornhub on the Tor Network via an Onion URL at http://pornhubthbh7ap3u.onion/. The move serves to bolster user privacy, ensure network security, and alleviate concerns about browsing habits among LGBT users whose preferences remain criminalized in certain countries. While certain site capabilities such as account login and consequently, the ability to upload content are disabled while using the Tor site, users are nonetheless able to enjoy completely safe and anonymous browsing on the platform.
The Pornhub Onion Mirror
“Here at Pornhub, we are privacy-conscious and dedicated to ensuring the confidentiality of our users. As ill-willed hackers and compromising surveillance practices become growing concerns, it’s important that we set up internal safeguards to help anonymize the online activity and communication of our users and keep their personal information and digital footprint free from prying eyes,” said Corey Price, VP, Pornhub. “Over the course of the past few years, companies like Facebook, The New York Times and the BBC have set up Tor mirror sites to encrypt and make individual connections on the Internet less traceable. We wanted to follow in their footsteps and introduce a Tor mirror site for Pornhub users. This will help ensure their browsing experience is anonymous, private and secure.”
Pornhub Criminalization
Pornhub is banned in China, according to Greatfire.org.
The Great Firewall
The Philippine government banned Pornhub in 2017 “pursuant to Republic Act 9775 or the anti-child pornography law,” according to the banner displayed when a user in the Philippines attempts to access the website. The ban in the Philippines followed an announcement from Pornhub that users in the Philippines used the site roughly three minutes longer than the worldwide average.
In 2015, the Indian government banned almost 900 sites with adult content. The ban included Pornhub.
Russia has banned and un-banned Pornhub on several occasions. After one ban, Pornhub asked the Russian government body responsible for internet censorship if they would lift the ban in exchange for free Pornhub Premium accounts.
Russia Does Not Want Free Pornhub Accounts
Russia turned down the offer. They later lifted the ban. However, to access Pornhub in Russia, users are required to sign in with their Vkontakte account. According to Motherboard, “to open a Vkontakte account, users need to enter their cell phone numbers. And to legally purchase a SIM card in Russia, you need to disclose your passport information.” In short, Russian users of Pornhub need a passport to access porn.
This is not Pornhub’s first attempt at helping users evade pornography censorship. In 2018 the company launched a free VPN (there is a saying about free VPNs…) and additionally started accepting cryptocurrency payments for premium accounts. They have a clearnet mirror to help users access Pornhub in countries with basic blocklists (Russia, for example, once banned a non-existent DeepDotWeb article after DeepDotWeb refused to remove an article about a Russian darkweb marketplace).
It does not appear as if Pornhub consulted with Alec Muffett before launching their mirror. The majority of the assets are still loaded from Pornhub’s clearnet CDN.
And unlike Facebook and The BBC (and many others), Pornhub does not have an SSL certificate for the onion. (Not that the certificate matters; “Don’t HTTPS Your Onion” explains why these certificates are not necessary for onion services.)
Well. Enjoy? pornhubthbh7ap3u.onion