Hello Tor Developers,

I’d like to share a draft proposal for enhancing the privacy of Tor hidden services (.onion) through garlic-style routing. This idea is inspired by I2P’s garlic routing model and focuses exclusively on .onion services to avoid exit node issues and reduce network impact.

Proposal Overview

• Garlic bundles: Multiple encrypted messages (“cloves”) per bundle, including real requests, dummy traffic, and optional instructions.

• Traffic obfuscation: Mandatory cover traffic, randomized timing, and optional asymmetric send/receive circuits to reduce timing correlation.

• Goals:

  • Increase resistance to traffic correlation attacks

  • Reduce website fingerprinting risk

  • Enhance end-to-end privacy for hidden services

Key Features

• Compatible with existing Tor hidden service architecture

• Optional multipath routing for further anonymity

• Backward-compatible: Clients and services without garlic routing continue using standard cells

I have attached a draft TIP-style document with full technical details, security analysis, and proposed implementation steps. I would greatly appreciate any feedback, comments, or suggestions from the Tor developer community.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

Kester Pembroke