Orbot to route your Reddit and LinkedIn traffic

 While using Orbot to route your Reddit and LinkedIn traffic on your cellphone can enhance privacy and anonymity, it also comes with several potential consequences:

1. Significantly Slower Connection Speeds:

• Orbot routes your internet traffic through multiple volunteer-operated servers (nodes) across the globe.¹ This multi-hop process, while increasing anonymity, inevitably leads to slower and less stable connection speeds compared to a direct connection or a traditional VPN.
• You will likely experience noticeable delays when loading Reddit feeds, opening links, and engaging in discussions.² Similarly, navigating LinkedIn profiles, viewing job postings, and sending messages will be slower.

2. Increased Battery Drain:

• Running Orbot in the background to route all app traffic consumes more battery than regular usage. The constant encryption, decryption, and routing of data require significant processing power.
• You may find that your phone battery drains much faster than usual when Orbot is active for extended periods.

3. Potential for Blocked Connections or CAPTCHAs:

• Some websites and services, including Reddit and LinkedIn, may detect and block traffic originating from Tor exit nodes (the last server in the Tor circuit).³ This is because Tor is sometimes associated with malicious activity.⁴
• You might encounter frequent CAPTCHA requests to prove you are a human, which can be disruptive and frustrating.

4. Impact on App Functionality:

• While Orbot aims to route all app traffic, some apps might not function correctly or as expected over the Tor network. This could be due to various reasons, such as specific network requirements or incompatibility with the Tor network's characteristics.
• You might find certain features on Reddit or LinkedIn not working smoothly or reliably when accessed through Orbot.

5. Reduced Reliability:

• The Tor network relies on volunteers, and the availability and stability of exit nodes can vary.⁵ This can lead to unpredictable connection drops or difficulties in establishing a stable connection.

6. Anonymity is Not Absolute:

• While Orbot significantly enhances privacy by masking your IP address and encrypting your traffic, it doesn't guarantee absolute anonymity.⁶
• If you log into your existing Reddit or LinkedIn accounts while using Orbot, those platforms will still associate your activity with your account, regardless of your masked IP address.
• Advanced tracking techniques or malware on your device could potentially compromise your anonymity.
• The exit node, while encrypting traffic, handles the final unencrypted connection to the website.⁷ Malicious exit nodes could theoretically intercept unencrypted data if the website doesn't use HTTPS.⁸ However, both Reddit and LinkedIn use HTTPS, mitigating this risk for the content of your direct interactions.⁹

7. Complexity and Configuration:

• Setting up and configuring Orbot to route specific app traffic might require some technical understanding. You need to ensure that the apps you want to anonymize are correctly configured to use Orbot as a proxy.

In summary, using Orbot for Reddit and LinkedIn on your cellphone will likely provide a higher degree of privacy by masking your IP address. However, this comes at the cost of significantly slower speeds, increased battery consumption, potential connection blocks or CAPTCHAs, and possible issues with app functionality. It's crucial to understand that logging into your accounts will still link your activity to your identity on those platforms.

If your primary goal is enhanced privacy while browsing Reddit and LinkedIn, consider using the Tor Browser for Android instead of routing the apps' traffic through Orbot. The Tor Browser is specifically designed for anonymous web browsing and includes built-in protections.¹⁰ However, it will only anonymize traffic within the browser itself, not for the dedicated apps.