What is the Snowflake Proxy from the TOR network ecosystem?

Snowflake is a system that gives people worldwide access to censored websites and apps. Similar to VPNs, it helps to circumvent internet censorship. Snowflake ensures that your online activity is disguised as if you were using the internet for normal video or voice calls, making it more difficult for internet censors to detect.

There are many tools like Snowflake that “transform” internet activity, with each tool using its own method. Some tools redirect traffic so that it appears to come from known cloud services such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services. Other tools encrypt the traffic in such a way that it appears completely random.

As a result, it is difficult for censors to block such circumvention tools without blocking large areas of the internet, which would thwart the original goal.

Unlike VPNs, it is not necessary to install additional software to connect via a Snowflake proxy and circumvent censorship. This bypass function is usually integrated directly into existing applications. Currently, Snowflake is embedded in Tor Browser on desktop and Android devices, Onion Browser on iOS, and Orbot on Android and iOS. If you have downloaded any of these apps and they are blocked in your country, you can bypass the block by enabling Snowflake in the app settings.

Here is a detailed explanation of how Snowflake works:

1. Peers and proxies: Snowflake consists of volunteer proxies (using the Snowflake browser extension) and users in censored regions, known as clients. These clients want to use Tor, but are unable to reach Tor network nodes directly due to network blocks.

2. Use of WebRTC: Snowflake uses WebRTC, a technology that enables real-time communication (such as video and audio chats) directly in the web browser. WebRTC enables peer-to-peer communication, which means that data can be transferred directly between users' computers without a central server.

3. Mediation via brokers: When a client wants to connect to Tor, it contacts a central “broker” via a non-blocked connection. This broker mediates a connection between the client and one of the voluntary Snowflake proxies.

4. Short-lived connections: Connections through Snowflake are ephemeral and change frequently, making it difficult for censors to detect and block them. Each Snowflake proxy only forwards the client's data for a short time, often only minutes.

5. Integration with Tor: After the broker establishes a connection between a client and a Snowflake proxy, the client can connect to the Tor network through the proxy. The client's data is routed through the proxy as if the proxy itself were using Tor.

Snowflake is particularly useful for users in highly censored environments because it places minimal technical requirements on the voluntary proxies and maximizes the use of existing web technologies to circumvent censorship. It is also an important option for users who have no other methods to bypass heavy network monitoring and blocking.