What Tor Hides When You Swap XMR

Tor hides your network address from a swap service when your wallet or browser sends its traffic through Tor, but it does not hide the swap itself. Tor routes traffic through relays: the entry relay can see your IP address, while the service sees the exit relay’s address. HTTPS protects the contents of your connection between the exit relay and the service. For the hosted versus atomic XMR bridge privacy comparison, see the separate breakdown of how those swap designs differ.

What does Tor hide from a swap service?

Tor can hide your home or mobile IP address from the service, provided the wallet or browser actually sends the swap traffic through Tor. The service still receives the order details you submit, such as the assets and amounts involved, and may connect those details to an account or other information you provide. Tor changes the route your request takes; it does not make the request anonymous to the service.

Does Tor hide an XMR swap on the blockchain?

No. Tor affects how a transaction is sent over the network, not what the relevant blockchains record. Monero obscures transaction amounts and uses stealth addresses and ring signatures to protect transaction details. Those protections come from Monero, not Tor. If the swap uses a transparent blockchain such as Bitcoin, its public ledger can expose transaction amounts and addresses. Timing can also help an observer connect activity across chains, even when one side uses Monero.

What can a hosted or atomic swap reveal?

A hosted swap operator coordinates the trade, so it can learn the order details it handles. An atomic swap uses a protocol to exchange assets across chains without relying on one operator to complete the trade, but the protocol’s on-chain steps can still leave public data on transparent chains. Tor can conceal your network address from a service or peer that receives your connection; it cannot remove those records or prevent timing clues.

• Use Tor to reduce the chance that a swap service links your order to your IP address.
• Check that the wallet or swap software routes its connection through Tor; using a Tor browser for unrelated browsing does not route other apps.
• Consider what details you give a hosted operator, including account information and order amounts.
• Review which chains the swap touches: Tor protects the connection path, while each chain’s design determines what its ledger reveals.