Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Orbot VS Freenet

Compare Orbot VS Freenet and see what are their differences

Orbot logo Orbot

Orbot is an open source ...

Freenet logo Freenet

Mae-enjoy mo na ang LIBRENG INTERNET ACCESS mula sa freenet! Ang libreng net na bet! freenet is an app where you can access the internet for free. Get 24/7 free access to our partner apps and sites. FREE INTERNET!
  • Orbot Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-26
  • Freenet Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-12

Orbot features and specs

  • Anonymity
    Orbot uses Tor to encrypt internet traffic and route it through multiple servers, making it difficult to trace the user's location and internet usage.
  • Open Source
    Orbot is open-source software, allowing users to examine its source code for security and privacy, ensuring transparency and trustworthiness.
  • Privacy Protection
    By routing traffic through the Tor network, Orbot protects users from surveillance and tracking, enhancing online privacy.
  • Bypass Censorship
    Orbot enables users to access websites that may be blocked or restricted in their country, bypassing censorship and content filters.
  • Free to Use
    Orbot is available for free, allowing anyone to enhance their privacy and security without financial barriers.

Possible disadvantages of Orbot

  • Reduced Speed
    Since Orbot routes traffic through multiple nodes in the Tor network, internet speeds can be significantly slower compared to a direct connection.
  • Complex Setup
    For users unfamiliar with Tor or VPNs, setting up and configuring Orbot can be more complex than using standard internet applications.
  • App Compatibility
    Not all apps are compatible with Orbot, and some may require additional configuration to route their traffic through the Tor network.
  • Battery Drain
    Running Orbot can consume more battery power than regular browsing due to the additional processes involved in routing traffic through the Tor network.
  • Legal and Policy Issues
    In some regions, using Tor and similar anonymizing tools can attract legal scrutiny or violate terms of service agreements, potentially leading to restrictions or even penalties.

Freenet features and specs

  • Privacy and Anonymity
    Freenet is designed to allow users to publish and retrieve information with strong privacy guarantees. This is achieved through decentralized data storage and routing, which makes it difficult to trace the source or destination of data.
  • Censorship Resistance
    Due to its decentralized nature, Freenet is built to resist censorship. Data is spread across various nodes, making it hard for any single entity to control or block access to information.
  • Decentralized Network
    Freenet does not rely on centralized servers; instead, data is distributed across a network of volunteers. This reduces single points of failure and lowers the risk of network shutdown.
  • Self-Healing Technology
    Freenet incorporates self-healing algorithms to ensure data redundancy and resilience. If a node goes offline, the network automatically redistributes the data, maintaining availability.
  • Free Software
    Freenet is open-source software, meaning its code is freely available for anyone to inspect, modify, and distribute. This openness fosters transparency and collaboration among developers around the world.

Possible disadvantages of Freenet

  • Performance Issues
    Due to the encryption and decentralization methods used, Freenet can be slower than traditional internet services. Users may experience longer wait times for data retrieval and downloads.
  • Complexity
    Setting up and using Freenet can be more complex compared to conventional internet applications. Users may need to invest time to understand the system and properly configure it.
  • Limited Content Availability
    Freenet's user base is smaller compared to the traditional internet, leading to less content being available. Additionally, because it's decentralized, finding specific content can be more challenging.
  • Storage Load
    As a node in the Freenet network, users contribute storage space to help host distributed data. This can consume significant disk space, affecting the performance of the host machine.
  • Potential for Malicious Content
    The anonymity and decentralization that protect privacy and resist censorship can also be exploited to distribute illegal or harmful content. This raises ethical and legal concerns.

Orbot videos

Orbot Proxy [ App Review ] - How To Use TOR On Android

More videos:

  • Review - Anonymity using the Tor Network (OrBot and OrFox on Android)
  • Review - App Review: Orbot for Android

Freenet videos

Aaron Jones: Introduction To Freenet

More videos:

  • Review - Internet Security: TOR and Freenet

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Orbot and Freenet)
VPN
34 34%
66% 66
Security & Privacy
46 46%
54% 54
Cloud VPN
35 35%
65% 65
Security
28 28%
72% 72

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Orbot and Freenet

Orbot Reviews

Best Tor Browser Alternative for Risk-Free Web Surfing
Orbot is a freely licensed open-source application developed for the Android platform. It functions as a Tor gateway, enabling users to connect to the Tor network and enjoy improved privacy and security.
10 Best Free Android VPN Apps For Your Smartphone In 2021
Orbot offers a local proxy within the Tor network, and it has the ability to encrypt all TCP traffic from your Android device if you give it the necessary permissions. Apart from that, Orbot also provides an option to activate the VPN mode to hide your location.
Source: techlog360.com
8 Similar Apps like Psiphon that are Actually Better
Orbot is probably the best VPN/proxy app that is known to exist for Android. Yes, it isn’t available for iOS, so if you encounter app at the App Store, that should be considered deceptive. Orbot may not give you the fastest speed when connected to the proxy but it surely the most secure VPN app that utilizes Tor network for the internal communication.

Freenet Reviews

The 10 Best Open Source VPN Apps
Although you can get this VPN free of cost, the creators recommend making donations so that the software can be updated more frequently. Lastly, you can install this application on Windows, Linux, and macOS, but Freenet is not available on mobile platforms like some of the other entries on our list.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Freenet seems to be a lot more popular than Orbot. While we know about 33 links to Freenet, we've tracked only 1 mention of Orbot. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Orbot mentions (1)

Freenet mentions (33)

  • We're getting some positive attention on HN right now
    You are linking "original Freenet" to a PDF on freenet.org instead of linking to freenetproject.org ? Source: about 2 years ago
  • Freenet 2023: A drop-in decentralized replacement for the world wide web
    It clashes with the Freenet project https://freenetproject.org/. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: What Are Alternatives to the Internet?
    There's a few abstractions of the web you can use today. https://freenetproject.org/ https://geti2p.net/en/ https://www.gnunet.org/en/ https://www.ipfs.tech/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • A player-owned RPG - would you want to participate in such a game?
    Instead of use of Blockchain you could also use Freenet . The only bad thing here data could be lost, but mostly only data is lost when not used. This could be used to auto purge forks that most people dislike. If for example some reason there are multiple alternatives how the story goes some of them will die after a while and removed from system. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Internet Archive Takes Down BBC’s Documentary on PM Modi: Report
    An automatically space balancing solution would be Freenet. Given that it's content addressing, it's possible to push data into it and have it deduplicate automatically. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Orbot and Freenet, you can also consider the following products

Tor Browser - Tor is free software for enabling anonymous communication.

I2P - The I2P network provides strong privacy protections for communication over the Internet.

Psiphon - Psiphon is circumvention software for Windows and Mobile platforms that provides uncensored access to Internet content. Read more about Psiphon.

Onion.ly - Access the Tor and I2p networking without leaving your favorite browser.

OpenVPN - OpenVPN - The Open Source VPN

Yggdrasil - A proof-of-concept scalable IPv6 meshnet, featuring end-to-end encryption, a unique spanning tree...