Yes. You can run Tor over NymVPN to add an additional layer of anonymity on top of NymVPN's mixnet or decentralized routing. NymVPN's exit policy permits Tor traffic on ports 9001 and 9030, so connecting your Tor Browser through an active NymVPN connection works out of the box.
How to use Tor over NymVPN
- Open the NymVPN app and sign in with your 24-word access code.
- Choose your preferred mode and gateway:
- Fast mode for a usable Tor experience (recommended for most use).
- Anonymous mode for the strongest layered anonymity, accepting significantly slower browsing.
- Connect.
- Once NymVPN is connected, open Tor Browser as you normally would. Tor will route through your NymVPN connection automatically.
For information on switching between modes see What's the difference between NymVPN Fast and Anonymous mode?
Why combine Tor with NymVPN?
Tor gives you access to the .onion ecosystem and the Tor anonymity network. NymVPN gives you metadata protection and decentralized routing that Tor doesn't provide. Layering both means:
- Your ISP sees only encrypted traffic to a NymVPN gateway, not the fact that you're using Tor. This matters in regions where Tor is blocked or flagged.
- Tor's entry guards see only the NymVPN exit gateway IP, not your real IP. Even if a Tor relay is malicious, it doesn't see your true location.
- Anonymous mode's cover traffic and packet mixing add resistance to traffic analysis that Tor alone is vulnerable to.
Honest about trade-offs
Tor over NymVPN is slower than either tool used alone. The latency adds up across the layers:
- Fast mode + Tor: noticeably slower than Tor alone, but still usable for most browsing.
- Anonymous mode + Tor: significantly slower. Use this only when maximum unlinkability matters more than speed (e.g., journalism, whistleblowing, high-risk research).
For everyday browsing where you don't need .onion access, NymVPN alone (especially Anonymous mode) already provides stronger anonymity than Tor, with better performance.
Technical note: exit policy
NymVPN's exit policy opens ports 9001 and 9030, which are the standard Tor relay and directory ports. This is what allows Tor Browser to negotiate its circuit through a NymVPN connection without manual configuration.
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Does using Tor through NymVPN break any of NymVPN's anonymity guarantees?
No. NymVPN's mixnet protections apply to whatever traffic flows through it, including Tor traffic. Layering Tor on top adds its own protections; it doesn't weaken NymVPN's.
Will websites detect that I'm using Tor?
Some websites may detect and block Tor exit nodes. NymVPN can't change that. Using NymVPN alone (without Tor) avoids this issue. Choose a non-datacenter node in the NymVPN location selector to avoid this issue.