Kindness Mode: Snowflake Proxying in Orbot

What you need to know

Running a Snowflake Proxy is one of the easiest, safest, and most impactful ways to help people circumvent censorship, especially if you are in a place with an open and free internet. Your device, through your public IP address, becomes an essential bridge for people where Tor is blocked (in, say, Iran or China) and the entrance to the Tor network.

Key Facts to Know

You are not using Tor yourself, you are simply a bridge for someone else. All of the data passing through your device is encrypted; nothing is visible to you. There will be an impact on your bandwidth, but it is minimal, and you can set limits.

Legal Concerns

In most countries, running a Snowflake Proxy is legal. It’s equivalent to making an online “VOIP” call between two points on the internet. In high-censorship networks, this traffic could draw attention, and since your internet is not free and open, it doesn’t make sense to run a Snowflake Proxy.

Privacy Concerns

The fact that your device was connected to by a remote device on the internet can be seen and logged by your internet service provider. Your IP address will appear in the central Snowflake Broker logs since it is necessary to share your proxy’s existence so others can find it. In the app or browser activity of the person you are helping, YOUR IP address is NOT visible and there is no link to your or your device.

Data Usage

Any data used by the device proxying through your connection will count as data on your service or plan. It is best on wifi or with unlimited plans. Proxying can slow your connection slightly. However by default only a very limited number of devices can use your proxy at a time.

How to Minimize Risks

Run Snowflake from a trusted, unrestricted, unlimited network. Don’t use it on shared, public, or corporate networks where administrators might block or misinterpret traffic. When you can, set limits to when and how the Snowflake Proxy should be available.