Tor browser picks up new Alpha release with some new features and bug fixes

The latest Alpha build of the Tor browser (v16.0a10) arrived a few days ago, and it includes some user-facing changes and security updates.

The image below shows a snippet of some of the changes, but the actual list of changes is rather huge. There are three major features most people will notice, and the rest are bug fixes and security updates.

Here’s a simplified list of the notable changes: 

1. New built-in manual on desktop: The older Tor Browser shipped an outdated help manual. Now, it has been replaced with the current Tor Project support content. You can access it by typing “about:manual” in the address bar and pressing the Enter key. The layout and wording are now updated. “Learn More” links should point to the right pages.
2. Settings redesign is turned on by default: Firefox recently redesigned the “about:preferences” (Settings) page. You’ll find that the Settings menu looks more recent now with a different sidebar design, spacing, etc.
3. Generic window titles: Normal browsers put the current page title in the window title bar, and other programs can record these titles without special permission. Tor added a switch that freezes every window title to just “Tor Browser Alpha,” so the OS and other apps cannot read the page names. You can turn it on from Advanced Settings, which is located under Privacy and Security. It’s called “Use generic window titles.” This feature is opt-in, and not enabled by default.
4. There are smaller changes as well. Search suggestions stay off, and the update also improves how connection failures are shown.
5. You can now set “Request English” as the preferred language for websites in the language settings.
6. Padlock and PDF behavior has changed on Android, and some junk features have been removed or disabled. Some elements have been changed so that the UI matches Tor instead of stock Firefox.
7. Multi-platform bug fixes.

It’s worth noting that an Alpha release is prone to having bugs and security issues. If you’re someone who requires more robust anonymity and reliability, Tor recommends that you stick with the stable build instead. The Alpha release is only intended for testers/developers.

If you want to read the entire (extensive) list of changes, including what was fixed since the previous 16.0a9 version, you can find that from this link. And if you’re interested in testing out these features, you can find the Tor Alpha download page here.

In other Tor news, the company recently raised $200,000 to keep private browsing alive. Here’s who got the money.

We stand out from the tech-media crowd because we break news stories; we mainly bring you stuff that you won’t find anywhere in the mainstream tech media. Our stories have been picked up by some of the world’s most popular websites and media outlets—more info is available here.