Tor enables access to Facebook where it is banned

With a tweak to its software, Facebook has made it possible for users in countries like Iran and China to give state censors the slip.

The social networking site has been linked on smartphones to an ''anonymizer'' that hid their location and identity, it was reported  in the media on Saturday. According to Facebook, the ''tweak'' had not been designed with China and Iran in mind, but industry analysts saw the ''anonymizer'' feature as a tool for expanding Facebook's reach even further and deeper among smartphone users.

The feature can be availed in 5 easy steps:

1. A voanews.com report said Facebook's app for smartphones that use Android operating system came with a feature that linked Facebook to the ''Tor'' app.
2. With the app, users can circumvent censorship and shield their privacy, the report added.
3. ''Tor'' software was free and Facebook users with Android smartphones could install a mobile Tor app called Orbot.
4. Through a button in the Facebook app users can automatically connect to Facebook through the ''Tor'' network.
5. However, Apple users cannot link to ''Tor'' as they were on iOS operating system.

The Unites States Naval Research had created ''Tor'' as a way to protect secret data sent over the internet.