Clearnet
The conventional internet reachable without Tor — standard domains on the public DNS. Contrasts with onion services and private networks.
The clearnet is everything reachable with an ordinary browser: sites on public DNS names, indexed by search engines, served from IP addresses anyone can look up. It is the default internet — the term only exists to contrast it with overlay networks such as Tor’s onion services.
Why the distinction matters
Most Tor Browser traffic actually ends on the clearnet: the connection passes through a circuit and leaves via an exit node, which can see the destination and any unencrypted content. Reaching a clearnet site over Tor hides the visitor’s IP from that site, but the site itself works exactly as it does for everyone else — accounts, cookies, and logs included.
Common mistake
“Clearnet” describes routing, not legitimacy or safety: a clearnet page can be a scam, and an onion address can be a newspaper. The opposite error is assuming Tor makes clearnet browsing anonymous end-to-end. Without HTTPS the exit operator reads the traffic, and with a logged-in account the destination knows exactly who you are.
Category: Network