Zcash Wallets With Tor: Hide Your IP on iPhone, Android and Desktop (2026)

Updated November 4, 2026.

Shielded ZEC hides your payments on the chain. It doesn't hide your IP address from the server your wallet talks to. To hide that, use a wallet with Tor. Vizor supports Tor on iPhone, Android, and desktop, and adds experimental Private queries so the server doesn't learn which transactions are yours. Zodl, Cake Wallet, and Zkool also offer Tor. This guide covers what a server can see without Tor, how the four wallets compare, and when to switch it on.

Quick answer

• Get a wallet with Tor. Vizor on the App Store or Google Play, or desktop from vizor.cash/get.
• Turn Tor on before you create or import a wallet. The first sync is when a server would learn the most.
• Keep your ZEC shielded. Tor hides who's connecting. Shielding hides what's on the chain. You want both.
• Expect a slower sync. That's the cost of routing through Tor.

What the server sees without Tor

Most Zcash phone and desktop wallets are light clients. They download compact blocks from a lightwalletd server and decrypt them on your device. Zkool's documentation lays out what that server learns from a direct connection:

• Your IP address, on every connection.
• Which block range you sync, which roughly shows when you were last online.
• Which transaction IDs you request when the wallet fetches full transactions for memos and outgoing addresses. That links your IP to specific transactions.
• Which transparent addresses you query, because transparent data is looked up by address.

None of this breaks shielded encryption. The server still can't read amounts or memos. But IP plus timing plus transaction IDs is metadata, and metadata can identify you. The Zcash coinholder voting page makes the same point: wallet RPC services may see your IP address, and Tor, Nym, or a VPN can help.

Zcash wallets with Tor, compared

We checked each wallet's own docs and release notes on November 4, 2026.

"Not stated" means we didn't find it in that wallet's docs, not that it's missing. Platforms are from each wallet's store listings and docs, so check the build you use.

How Tor works in Vizor

Vizor is a self-custody, open-source Zcash wallet built by a team with years of experience building crypto wallets. Tor is optional and works on iOS, Android, and desktop.

On desktop, the v0.0.47 release notes spell out what Tor covers:

• Enable it before setup, from Network settings when you create or import a wallet, or later from Settings > Privacy.
• Everything that matters goes through Tor: wallet synchronization, transaction broadcasts, in-app services, and supported software-update traffic.
• Fail-closed. While Tor is connecting, or if it fails, direct requests stay blocked instead of quietly going around Tor.
• Separate circuits per broadcast. Independent transaction broadcasts use different Tor circuits, which makes your transactions harder to link to each other.
• Onion servers. You can point Vizor at a custom lightwalletd server, including onion endpoints, so traffic never leaves the Tor network.

Later releases tightened it up. You can stop a pending Tor connection and go back to direct without restarting. Vizor now waits for Tor at startup instead of letting early requests fail, and certificate validation for sync and Tor connections was strengthened in v0.0.61.

What Vizor's Tor doesn't cover, from the same notes:

• Links you open in another app, such as your browser, use that app's connection.
• On Linux, Vizor checks for updates over Tor, but release pages and downloads opened in your browser use the browser's connection.
• Some third-party services reject Tor. Vizor tells you when that affects Pay or Swap and how to continue.

Private queries: hiding what you ask for

Tor hides who is asking. It doesn't hide what's being asked. When a wallet fetches a specific transaction, the server still learns that someone wants that transaction ID.

Vizor's Private queries address that. Added on October 3, 2026, the setting looks up supported transactions without revealing their IDs to servers. It was later extended to transparent funds and history for software, Keystone, and Ledger accounts, without public address lookups. You can choose the server or enter your own HTTPS server.

Know the limits before you rely on it:

• It's experimental, off by default, and mainnet only.
• Turning it on doesn't rescan old history or undo earlier disclosures. Turn it on before you import a wallet if you can.
• Transaction details can take longer to appear.
• With it on, Vizor doesn't fall back to public lookups when the private service is down. Transparent funds stay unspendable until private recovery confirms them.

When to turn Tor on

• Before you create or restore a wallet. A restore downloads your whole history. See how to restore a Zcash wallet.
• Before an Orchard to Ironwood migration. Zodl's walkthrough recommends Tor because without it the server can link your IP address to your migration amounts. See Orchard to Ironwood.
• Before coinholder voting. The voting page tells holders to use Tor, Nym, or a VPN if network privacy matters.
• Day to day, if you can live with slower syncs. Zodl notes the Tor network tends to be slower, especially when you haven't opened the wallet in a while. Cake says syncing is drastically slower than without Tor.

Zodl recommends Tor if it is permitted in your jurisdiction. Check your local rules.

What Tor doesn't hide

• Transparent transactions. A send from or to a t1 address is public on the chain no matter how you connect. See how to send ZEC privately.
• Exchange records. An exchange that knows your identity knows what you withdrew and to which address.
• Your browser. Gift card shops, swap sites, and explorers you open outside the wallet see your normal connection.
• Your device. Tor doesn't protect a phone that's already compromised. Install wallets only from official links. See Zcash wallet scams.

As Cake's docs put it, Tor hides your IP from the servers your wallet contacts and doesn't make transactions anonymous. Shielded ZEC and Tor do different jobs. Use both.

FAQ

Does Zcash hide my IP address?

No. Shielded transactions encrypt the sender, receiver, amount, and memo on the chain, but your wallet still connects to a light wallet server, and that server sees your IP address. Tor, Nym, or a VPN hides your IP from the server.

Which Zcash wallets support Tor?

Vizor (iOS, Android, and desktop), Zodl (as a beta setting), Cake Wallet (built-in Tor, marked experimental), and Zkool (an embedded Tor client, plus Nym and proxy options) all offer Tor. Check each wallet's own docs for what traffic it covers.

Does Vizor support Tor on iPhone and Android?

Yes. Vizor supports Tor on iOS and Android as well as on macOS, Windows, and Linux. On desktop, Tor covers wallet sync, transaction broadcasts, in-app services, and supported software updates, with fail-closed protection.

Does Tor make my Zcash transactions private?

Tor protects the network connection, not the transaction. A transparent transaction is still public on the chain with or without Tor. For on-chain privacy, send from a shielded balance to a shielded address, and use Tor to keep your IP address away from the server.

What are Private queries in Vizor?

An experimental Vizor setting, off by default and mainnet only, that looks up your transactions without revealing their IDs to the server. It complements Tor: Tor hides who is asking, Private queries hide what is being asked for.

Is Tor slower for a Zcash wallet?

Yes. Tor adds latency, so syncing takes longer, especially for a wallet that has been offline for a while or a fresh restore. Zodl and Cake Wallet both note the slower sync in their docs.

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Want Tor in your Zcash wallet? Get Vizor for iOS, Android, or desktop. It's free and open source, and it works with Ledger and Keystone. Questions? Visit Vizor support or browse the code on GitHub.