What’s the Difference Between the Deep Web and the Dark Web? (2024)

What’s the Difference Between the Deep Web and the Dark Web? (1)

When you think of the deep web, what comes to mind? Illegal activity? Phishing and scams? Bitcoins?

Well, you’d be kind of right…and kind of wrong. These are examples of things found in the dark web, a collection of websites that have hidden IP addresses and may require a specific software to access. The dark web is only a small fraction (0.01%) of the deep web, which contains Internet content that is not searchable by your standard search engines. In other words, if Google can’t find what you’re looking for, it’s probably still out there in the World Wide Web; it’s just in the harder-to-access deep web. (If Google can find it, then it’s on the surface web, which makes up about 0.03% of the Internet.)

The deep web and the dark web have been conflated in public discourse. Most people don’t know that the deep web contains mostly benign sites, such as your password-protected email account, certain parts of paid subscription services like Netflix, and sites that can be accessed only through an online form. (Just imagine if someone could access your Gmail inbox by simply googling your name!) Also, the deep web is huge: back in 2001, it was estimated to be 400–550 times larger than the surface web, and it’s been growing exponentially since then.

By comparison, the dark web is pretty small: dark web sites number only in the thousands. The websites in the dark web are characterized by their use of encryption software that makes their users and their locations anonymous.

What’s the Difference Between the Deep Web and the Dark Web? (2)
That’s why illegal activity is so common on the dark web: users can withhold their identity; the owners of illegal websites can hide their location; and data can be transferred anonymously. This means that the dark web is full of illegal drug and firearm transactions, p*rnography, and gambling. A notorious online black market called Silk Road was shut down by the FBI in 2013.

But the dark web’s not completely dark. It’s also used by political whistle-blowers, activists, and journalists who may be censored or could risk political retaliation if discovered by their government. Most notably, the website WikiLeaks has its home on the dark web.

What’s the Difference Between the Deep Web and the Dark Web? (2024)

FAQs

What’s the Difference Between the Deep Web and the Dark Web? ›

The deep web is largely used to protect personal information, safeguard databases and access certain services, whereas the dark web is often used to engage in illegal activities. It is also used for military/police investigations, political protests and anonymous internet browsing.

What is the difference between the deep web and dark web? ›

Purpose: The Deep Web is primarily designed to keep things private, but Deep Web sites typically aren't anonymous. The Dark Web is designed to be anonymous, which makes it a better fit for illegal activities than the Deep Web.

What is an example of a deep web? ›

Some examples of things on the Deep Web include email, subscription content (like Netflix), online banking, databases, internal company networks, or even non-public social media pages.

Do deep and dark web refer to the same thing? ›

The dark web is only a small fraction (0.01%) of the deep web, which contains Internet content that is not searchable by your standard search engines. In other words, if Google can't find what you're looking for, it's probably still out there in the World Wide Web; it's just in the harder-to-access deep web.

What is found on the dark web? ›

Given its anonymous nature, the dark web is also used for illicit and even illegal purposes. These include the buying and selling of illegal drugs, weapons, passwords, and stolen identities, as well as the trading of illegal p*rnography and other potentially harmful materials.

Is Tor Browser illegal? ›

Is Tor's web browser illegal? In almost all countries, Tor is legal. Given that the Tor Browser enables you to reach the dark web, it is understandable that many people assume Tor is illegal. However, in most countries around the world, that is not the case.

What is the dark web in Google? ›

The dark web is a part of the internet that lets people hide their identity and location from other people and from law enforcement. As a result, the dark web can be used to sell stolen personal info.

What is the point of the deep web? ›

The deep web gives users access to far more information than the surface web. This information may simply be pages that aren't important enough to be listed. However, it also includes the latest TV shows, databases that are essential for managing your personal finances, and stories that are censored on the surface web.

How big is the deep web today? ›

Ever wonder how big the deep web is? It contains 7,500 terabytes of information, compared to only 19 terabytes of information in the “surface” web. To look at it differently, it makes up between 90% and 95% of the internet.

What are the benefits of the dark web? ›

The dark web is a hidden network of websites that is only accessible by means of special software. It is hidden from search engines and allows individuals to hide their IP addresses for safety reasons or to keep their illegal activities anonymous.

What is the new name for the dark web? ›

The dark web, also known as darknet websites, are accessible only through networks such as Tor ("The Onion Routing" project) that are created specifically for the dark web.

What is another name for the deep web? ›

The deep web, invisible web, or hidden web are parts of the World Wide Web whose contents are not indexed by standard web search-engine programs. This is in contrast to the "surface web", which is accessible to anyone using the Internet.

What is shadow web? ›

The Shadow Web, on the other hand, is a clandestine fragment of the Invisible Web, purposely cloaked and reachable strictly via specialized software, chiefly Tor (The Onion Router) or I2P (Invisible Internet Project).

Can I check the dark web? ›

You can set up a profile to monitor the dark web so you can learn if your info is found in breaches. You can check for data on the dark web that might be associated with your email address or other info you add to your monitoring profile. Breach results may contain information including: Your name.

Does LifeLock monitor the dark web? ›

What role does Norton Dark Web Monitoring Powered by LifeLock play in helping to protect my information? As part of your service, we scan the surface, deep, and dark web for exposure of information.

Can you remove your information from the dark web? ›

Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to remove your personal information from the internet once it's circulating on the Dark Web. However, you can use a Dark Web monitoring service to check if your data has been exposed.

What does the Tor browser do? ›

Tor (The Onion Router) is a web browser that lets users access a network that anonymizes web traffic to provide private web browsing. Often used to access the dark web, Tor Browser hides IP addresses and browsing activity by redirecting web traffic through a series of different routers called nodes.

What's on the deep web? ›

Deep web content includes email messages, chat messages, private content on social media sites, electronic bank statements, electronic health records (EHR) and other content that is accessible one way or another over the internet.

Are the deep web and the invisible web the same thing? ›

The Deep Web, also known as the Invisible Web, is a portion of the web not reached by standard search engines such as Google and Bing. "It's almost impossible to measure the size of the Deep Web.

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