The Tor Browser Security Slider, in Practice

The security slider in the Tor Browser is the setting most people never touch, which means they run every site at the same level of exposure. Here is what each position actually changes, in practice, and where to set it for a market session.

Standard

Standard is the default. It allows scripts and most web features, which is what a normal website needs to function. It is the right setting for general browsing, where you want sites to work as they were designed. The cost is exposure. Scripts can read more about your browser and your system than you might expect, and a site running at Standard has more surface to fingerprint you with than one running lower. For a market session you do not need Standard, because the market does not need scripts to work.

Safer

Safer disables JavaScript and a handful of font and image features that have been used in fingerprinting attacks. It is the right setting for a market, and the one this guide recommends for every session on a darknet site. The practical effect is that a market running on Safer cannot run the scripts that would profile your browser, and the page still loads and works, because a well built market does not depend on scripting. Awazon runs cleanly on Safer, as do most serious markets. If a site breaks on Safer, that is information. It means the site needs scripts to function, which means it has chosen convenience over the privacy its visitors presumably came for.

Safest

Safest disables even more, including features that some sites need to render at all. It is the setting for when you want the smallest possible footprint and you are willing to accept that some pages will not load completely. For most market sessions Safer is the right balance, because Safest can break a site you actually need to use. Reach for Safest when you are on a site you barely trust and you can afford for it to be partially broken. The slider is not a dial you set once. It is a choice you make per site, and the habit of thinking about which setting a site deserves is worth more than any single position on the dial.