🧅 Old Tor versions get cut off on September 1
The Tor Project is prepping a big network update and retiring outdated versions along the way. Starting September 1, 2026, Tor 0.4.8 and anything older stops being supported. Here's who has to act and who can relax.
😌 If you just use Tor Browser, breathe easy
The browser's version number isn't the thing to watch here. Current Tor Browser builds already run on supported versions, so nothing breaks as long as yours is up to date. Just check that you're on the latest release.
🔧 Who this actually affects
Anyone running infrastructure: relay operators, onion services, and apps with Tor built in. They need to move to Tor 0.4.9 or newer before September 1, or their systems lose connection to the network once the update lands.
⚙️ What's changing under the hood
The directory protocol is dropping some legacy fields (TAP onion keys and family lines) that were only kept around for old versions. With them gone, clients download less housekeeping data and Tor starts up faster, especially on slow connections. It also clears the way for Arti, the new Tor implementation written in Rust.
📅 The short version
Tor 0.4.8 already hit end of life on June 1 and gets no more updates. Regular Tor Browser users don't need to do anything, but admins should check their version now so they're not knocked off the network in September.
Stay protected,
🌍 Planet VPN
#tor #anonymity #privacy #vpn #cybersecurity
1July 30, 2026 1.4K 2
