Tor, short for The Onion Router, is a decentralized network designed to protect users' privacy and anonymity online. By directing internet traffic through a worldwide overlay network of more than seven thousand relays, Tor conceals a user's location and usage from surveillance and traffic analysis. This is achieved through a layered encryption method, similar to the layers of an onion, making it difficult to trace internet activity back to the user. Tor is commonly used for circumvention of censorship and for accessing hidden services, often referred to as the dark web.