Table Of Contents:

Before diving into Onion Share, I would like to show you the table of contents.

What Is Onion Share?

OnionShare is an open-source tool that's available for Linux, Windows, and macOS. It lets you securely share files directly from your computer to the receiver without revealing your identity in the process because it uses end-to-end encryption.   

Note: Using TOR Browser is mandatory in-order to send/receive files using Onion Share.  

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Installation:

The first step is to go to the official download webpage of Onion Share. 

Click on “Download for [OS]” to download the setup file.  

Open the setup file, and then click on the “install” button.  

The installation will start immediately after clicking on the “Install” button.  

Click on the “Close” button to close the setup.  

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Sending Files:

Open Onion Share, it might take a few minutes to connect to the TOR network.  

After opening Onion Share, go to the “Share Files” tab, and then click on the “Add” button.  

Select the file which you want to send.  

Click on the “Open” button after selecting the file.  

Once the file has been uploaded, click on the “Start sharing” button.  

Send the download link to the recipient.   

The recipient must open the link via TOR Browser.  

The recipient may receive a confirmation message, click on the “OK” button to confirm.  

Click on “Download Files” to download the file(s)/folder(s).  

Click on “Save File” and then click on the “OK” button.   

You will see the downloaded file in your default download location.  

Once the recipient receives the file, turn off file sharing in OnionShare by clicking on the “Stop Sharing” button.  

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Receiving Files:

This is another way of sending files, but in this method, the sender doesn’t send the link, instead the receiver sends the link to the sender.   

Open OnionShare, it might take a few minutes to connect to the TOR network.  

After opening OnionShare, go to the “Receive Files” tab, and then click on the “Start Receive Mode” button.  

Send the generated link to the sender.  

When the sender will open the link via TOR Browser, he/she will receive a confirmation, click on the “OK” button to confirm

Now the sender will click on the “browse” button, and then he/she will select the file. After selecting the file, the sender will click on the “Send Files” button.

To know that whether you have received the file or not, click on the download icon present on the top right of the screen.  

If someone has sent you a file, then you will see a message saying “Transferred [Date, Time]” and below this message you will be able to see the name of the received file.  

You will be able to access the received file by going to C:\Users\[USERNAME]\OnionShare\[DATE]\[ID]\  .

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Hosting A Temporary Website:

OnionShare also allows you to host a website for a small period of time.   

Open OnionShare, it might take a few minutes to connect to the TOR network.  

After opening OnionShare, go to the “Publish Website” tab, and then click on the “Add” button.  

Select the folder of your website, and then click on the “Open” button.  

After selecting the folder of your website, click on the “Start Sharing” button.  

Once the sharing has started, someone can easily access your website, by going to the generated URL via TOR Browser.  

The people who will access the website may receive a confirmation, click on the “OK” button to confirm.  

To turn off sharing of the website, click on the “Stop Sharing” button.  

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