Repro Uncensored joins the ‘onionverse’
Authored by Tor and Repro Uncensored
When a person's digital data is used as a weapon against reproductive freedom, secure and private internet access isn't just a nice feature–it's the only way to fight back. That's why Repro Uncensored and the Tor Project partnered in 2024 to jointly publish a digital security toolkit outlining basic digital security measures people could take to protect themselves from prying eyes. Today, we are excited to take things one step further by officially launching Repro Uncensored's .onion site.
“Based on our organizations’ mutual goals to increase awareness of digital censorship and surveillance, we are excited that Repro Uncensored is opting to provide this secure, censorship resistant infrastructure to help those seeking reproductive health resources. In matters of health care, people are entitled to privacy. Tor tools, and .onion services in particular, restore that right and allow a user to take back control of their online activity.”
Pavel Zoneff, Director of Communications, the Tor Project
Partnering for privacy and access
As bodily autonomy becomes a point of contention, and as the world moves to criminalise abortion and ban access to reproductive healthcare, we must ensure that we – who live and work for a better Web – can maintain a space where such activity can persevere and can be pursued in safety; safety from surveillance and what follows from it.
Our location data, chat and browsing history, and search activity related to our bodies and how we decide to reproduce suddenly carry harmful consequences to us. Organizations providing reproductive health information face increasingly sophisticated censorship.
“At Repro Uncensored, we receive reports every day from organizations and individuals who run into barriers trying to access or share reproductive health information. It can come with serious risks - especially for people in hostile legal environments. We partnered with Tor because we trust its long-standing commitment to privacy and resistance to censorship. Tor allows us to keep information available for those who need it most, without exposing them to surveillance and risk of criminalization. I think of Repro Uncensored as both a shield and a space to experiment - a place where we can test censorship-resistant infrastructure and privacy-preserving practices that can be adapted by other organizations and movements navigating similar threats.”
Martha Dimitratou, Co-Founder and Digital Director, Repro Uncensored
Repro Uncensored is a global coalition of organizations from across the spectrum of entities who care about and seek to advance reproductive justice, including reproductive health organizations, human rights organizations, internet freedom groups, and artists.
So how does it work?
We appreciate that many newcomers might be reading this and wondering, ‘What are .onion sites, and why should I use them?’ Think of a regular website like sending a postcard—anyone along the delivery route can read it. An .onion site is more like a sealed letter inside another sealed letter inside a locked mailbox—only the intended recipient can access what's inside.
Simply put, .onion sites reduce the risk of revealing your online activity to unwanted onlookers and putting you at risk. They are one of the safest ways to browse the Web because these sites can only be accessed through Tor Browser (or any other browser configured to connect to the Tor network). While other browsers may have laid claim to the term, browsing a .onion site provides the true incognito experience.
Try entering this URL into a regular browser:
https://www.repro4olawbnocan6bcbmeoystb3adusrg6ppg6qr7my6nenjs2r3bqd.onion/
A regular browser will fail to load the page. But if you access it using Tor Browser, the website will load fully, and you’ll be able to view all of its contents.
For those seeking reproductive information online, .onion sites provide many benefits including:
Censorship Resistance: An Onion Service is accessible as long as Tor is reachable to the user. It is also not possible for any state or internet provider to censor a .onion address;
Privacy Safeguards: The communication between the user and the website is fully end-to-end encrypted, with anonymity on both ends;
Metadata Elimination: People can be prosecuted based on metadata and with .onion sites, metadata logging is eliminated on both ends.
So when you visit a .onion site, it’s an entirely private visit (like it should be!); no one can even see that you intended to visit the site, and as a result, no one can block you from reaching it. Akin to paying a visit to a friend, with .onion sites, there’s someone you can lean on and confide in.
Ready for more privacy?
Download Tor Browser from Tor's download page
Open Tor Browser and enter our .onion address
Bookmark the page for easy, secure access in the future
That’s it for now. We continue fighting for reproductive justice, whether in the onionverse or outside. We certainly hope that Tor’s partnership with Repro Uncensored can inspire more action toward serving communities within the reproductive justice space, resisting censorship, and protecting them from surveillance.