Checking the address

A .onion address is a destination, not a name. Two strings that differ by one character are two different hidden services, and the second one can belong to anyone. It might load a page that looks exactly like the market. The method below takes about a minute and removes the question.

The method

1. Copy the reference string from the block above.
2. Paste it into a plain text editor.
3. Paste the string you are checking on the next line.
4. Compare from the end. The last six characters first, because that is where truncation and hand-typing errors hide.
5. Then the first six. Then the middle in chunks of ten, left to right.
6. If the lines differ anywhere, they are not the same address. Full stop.

Shape checks, before you compare

A v3 onion address has a fixed shape: 56 characters from the base32 alphabet, lowercase a through z and the digits 2 through 7, followed by .onion. Sixty-two characters in total.

If the string you are checking is shorter or longer, it is not the same address. If it contains a 0, a 1, an 8, or a 9, it is not a v3 onion at all. If it is uppercase, someone retyped it. If it ends in .onion.watch, .onion.to, or another suffix, it is a clearnet relay, which is a different conversation, covered on the addresses page.

The strings on this site

All three strings here are 62 characters and use only the base32 alphabet. You can confirm that yourself in a text editor. Do it once, now, while the page is open. The habit is worth more than any single check.

When a wrong address still loads

The common failure is a string that loads nothing, which tells you everything. The dangerous failure is a string that loads something. A clone market is built to look right: the same layout, the same fonts, a login form in the same place. The one thing a clone does not control is the address bar. If the bar does not match the reference, you are not on the market, no matter what the page claims.