People often confuse the deep web and the dark web as the same thing. But there are many differences between deep web vs. dark web. 

While both are essentially part of the internet, how you access them, what purpose they serve, and what content they offer differs. 

In contrast to both the deep web and the dark web, we have the surface web, which is the part of the Internet easily accessible through search engines. 

The deep and dark web are significantly bigger than the surface web. 

Before we jump to the subtle difference between the deep web and the dark web, let’s look at what they really are, as that will highlight the main difference between them. 

What is the Deep Web? 

The deep web is the part of the Internet that’s not indexed by search engines. In other words, these websites or applications won’t be searchable through search engines. 

These websites lie below the surface web, which is indexed by web crawlers. 

Search engines use web crawlers to index websites so they can be shown in the search engine result pages (SERPs). 

The deep web comprises websites with paid subscriptions, private databases/networks, or applications. 

People visit and use the deep web all the time. If you stream TV shows and movies through a streaming service, you’re visiting the deep web, as all the content is only accessible by paid subscribers and not indexed by search engines. 

Most of the deep web is legal and used for day-to-day functions. For instance, companies may use private online databases that are unavailable to the public and can only be accessed by their employees. 

Most of the deep web today comprises private applications, databases, and intranets used by governments, educational institutes, and businesses. 

In short, any web pages not indexed by web crawlers come in the deep web category. Of course, that may also include illegal and objectionable websites and content. 

In most cases, these webpages on the deep web are not indexed because of security, so only people who are supposed to access them use them. 

What is the Dark Web? 

The dark web is essentially a part of the deep web, but unlike other parts of the deep web, the dark web is purposely hidden and can only be accessed through special browsers. 

It’s considered smaller than the surface web, but it’s hard to tell how big it really is. 

Unlike the deep web, which comprises password-protected websites and applications, the dark web also requires special browsers like Tor or ZeroNet. 

You can’t access websites on the dark web through search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. That’s because these websites have been purposely hidden from web crawlers of these search engines. 

Basically, the dark web is the anonymous part of the Internet, where identities are completely hidden, and access to websites is encrypted. 

How does that really work? It works through a unique registry operator that ensures regular browsers make these websites inaccessible. 

More importantly, access is limited as traffic passes through tunnels in a randomized network architecture. 

In other words, the activities on the dark web are difficult to trace. 

And lastly, firewalls and other security tools prevent web crawlers from indexing these websites, hence their unavailability on regular search engines. 

Most people associate the dark web with illegal activities, and that’s largely true. 

Because of the hidden nature of this part of the web, it has become a haven for illegal activities such as unlawful content distribution or selling private information. 

But the dark web’s security and anonymity can also be used for legal activities, such as sending private messages. 

Deep Web vs. Dark Web: Differences 600

You probably understand the difference between the dark web and the deep web already, but let’s dive deeper into different categories and see how they differ. 

Scope and Size

Of course, one of the main differences between the deep and dark webs is their size. As the dark web is a part of the deep web, it’s significantly smaller than the latter. 

While we don’t exactly know the size of the dark web, it’s safe to assume that it’s smaller than the deep web, which also includes websites accessible by regular browsers. 

The deep web’s scope is much larger than the dark web in that it covers a wide range of websites and applications. 

Unlike the dark web, the websites found on the deep web aren’t always illegal or dubious. In fact, many of them are legitimate websites used by businesses, agencies, and even common users. 

In comparison, the dark web’s scope is limited as it covers purpose-built websites deliberately hidden from the public. 

Access 

Another significant difference when it comes to deep web vs. dark web is access. 

While you can access parts of the deep web through popular browsers like Chrome, Opera, or Firefox, you need special browsers to access websites on the dark net. 

That’s because only these special browsers are allowed to access these websites, and they help keep the interaction with them anonymous. 

While there are many dark web browsers, the most widely used is Tor. 

Not only does it help make access to indexed websites anonymous, but its hidden services functionality gives access to hidden websites (these are URLs with the suffix .onion). 

So, the dark web is harder to access than the deep web. While the latter isn’t searchable on search engines, most of it can be accessed through any browser should you have permission to access it. 

Dark web browsers like Tor encrypt traffic and route it through randomized servers or nodes to make the website's users and host untraceable. 

That said, flaws in security in Tor or other browsers can sometimes lead to the user being tracked. 

Use

The dark web is notorious for criminal activities. The anonymity it offers has helped create a whole subsection of the Internet rife with illegal activities. 

For instance, stolen data like usernames and passwords or credit card numbers end up on the dark net. 

Similarly, malware and ransomware are sold on the dark web. Malicious actors can use the malware to infiltrate networks. 

This is why many businesses use dark web monitoring to keep an eye on their data’s availability on the dark web. 

Not all use of the dark web is bad. For instance, journalists may use it to safely and anonymously share stories, especially in places with high censorship. 

As the dark web is a part of the deep web, the latter also gets a bad rap sometimes, which isn’t the case. 

The deep web’s use is incredibly diverse compared to the dark web. For instance, a university’s online library with access limited to students is part of the deep web– perfectly legal. 

Most of the Internet is the deep web, including intranets, subscription services, and other private social media accounts or posts. 

Security

The deep web is mainly safe, especially if it’s trustable websites with firewalls and encryption. However, not all websites are secure on the deep web, which can leave users vulnerable to attacks. 

The dark web is largely secure to access because it’s heavily encrypted and anonymous. 

That said, novice and unsuspecting users may fall victim to scams or malicious activities when using the dark web. 

As mentioned, it’s rife with online criminals who are on the lookout for vulnerable users online. 

Is It Legal to Visit the Deep Web or the Dark Web?

The use of the deep web and dark web isn’t technically illegal. Most deep web can easily be accessed through common browsers like Chrome or Safari. It’s only the dark web that requires special browsers. 

Most users don’t really need to use the dark net, nor is it possible to accidentally stumble upon it as it’s only accessible through Tor or another special browser. 

Visiting the dark web itself isn’t illegal, but what you use it for may be. For instance, if you’re sharing content that’s been illegally acquired or unlawful, your use can be qualified as illegal. 

It’s best to be cautious and avoid the dark web, as you don’t want to do something that may be considered unlawful unintentionally. 

FAQs

Who created the dark web?

The dark web is believed to have been created by Ian Clarke, a University of Edinburgh student who proposed an anonymous, decentralized Internet in 2000. 

However, work on what is the dark web today had already begun in the 1990s. It wasn’t until Tor was made public that the dark web came into existence. 

What are the three layers of the Internet?

The three layers of the Internet are surface, deep, and dark. The surface web is accessible by most browsers and search engines. The deep web is more hidden as it’s not indexed and accessible only by specific users. The dark web is even more hidden and accessible only through special browsers. 

How big is the deep web?

The deep web is considered the biggest part of the Internet. Some estimates put its size at a whopping 7,500 terabytes. 

That’s significantly bigger than the surface Internet, which is less than 20 terabytes.