Type: Web page archiving service
Access: Tor Browser or regular browser
Account required: No
Clearnet version: archive.today / archive.ph / archive.is
Storage: Permanent — archived pages do not expire
Last verified: March 2026
What Is Archive Today?
Archive Today — also known as archive.ph and formerly archive.is — is a web archiving service that creates permanent snapshots of web pages. When you archive a URL, Archive Today fetches the page in its current state, renders it completely including JavaScript-generated content and stores a static copy permanently. The stored copy is accessible via a unique URL that remains valid indefinitely, even after the original page is deleted, edited or placed behind a paywall.
Its .onion address provides two specific privacy benefits not available through the clearnet version: your IP address is hidden from Archive Today’s servers when you create or access archives, and the sites you are archiving cannot see that you visited them through a referrer header analysis since the request originates from a Tor exit node rather than your browser.
Onion Address
Clearnet versions:
- archive.today
- archive.ph
- archive.is (may be blocked in some regions)
How to Use Archive Today
Archiving a New Page
- Open Tor Browser and navigate to the .onion address
- Paste the URL you want to archive into the top input field labeled “My url is alive and I want to archive its content”
- Click the blue save button
- Archive Today fetches and renders the page — this takes 10-60 seconds depending on page complexity
- The archived page opens automatically — its permanent URL contains a unique hash
- Bookmark or copy the archive URL — this is the permanent link to the snapshot
Checking if a Page Is Already Archived
- Paste the URL into the bottom input field labeled “My url is dead or I want to get an earlier version of it”
- Click the search button
- Archive Today returns all existing snapshots of that URL with timestamps
- Select the snapshot closest to the date you need
Accessing an Existing Archive
- Paste the archive URL (format: archive.today/XXXXX) directly into Tor Browser
- The stored snapshot loads — no request goes to the original site
What Archive Today Captures
| Content Type | Captured? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Page text and layout | ✅ Yes | Full rendered HTML |
| Images | ✅ Yes | Embedded in archive |
| JavaScript-rendered content | ✅ Yes | Executes JS before snapshot |
| Paywalled content | ⚠️ Sometimes | Only if accessible without login |
| Login-required content | ❌ No | Captures login page instead |
| Video content | ❌ No | Static snapshot only |
| Metadata (title, description) | ✅ Yes | Captured at archive time |
Use Cases
Preserving evidence. Journalists and researchers archive pages that document illegal activity, official statements or corporate communications before those pages can be edited or deleted. An archive created immediately after discovering important content provides a timestamped record that cannot be altered by the original publisher.
Bypassing paywalls. Many news articles are freely accessible for the first few hours after publication before being paywalled. Archiving during the free access window creates a permanent copy accessible to anyone via the archive URL. Some articles that others have already archived are findable through Archive Today’s search without requiring a fresh archive.
Sharing links without giving traffic. Sharing an archive URL rather than the original URL means the destination site receives no traffic, no referrer data and no analytics data from the link click. Useful when you want to reference content without endorsing or benefiting the original site.
Accessing blocked sites. If a site is blocked by your ISP or government, an existing archive of its content may be accessible through Archive Today when the original URL is not. This is not a reliable bypass — archives only exist if someone previously archived the specific page — but is useful for accessing already-archived content.
Research documentation. Academic researchers and journalists document web sources at a specific point in time — pages change, links rot and important information disappears. An Archive Today URL provides a citable, permanent record of what a page said at a specific moment.
Archive Today vs. Wayback Machine
| Feature | Archive Today | Wayback Machine |
|---|---|---|
| .onion address | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Manual archiving | ✅ Yes — archive any URL on demand | ✅ Yes — Save Page Now |
| Automatic crawling | ❌ No — manual only | ✅ Yes — crawls web automatically |
| JavaScript rendering | ✅ Yes — executes JS | ⚠️ Partial |
| Paywall bypass | ✅ More effective | ⚠️ Less effective |
| Historical coverage | ⚠️ Manual archives only | ✅ Decades of web history |
| Robots.txt compliance | ❌ Ignores — archives anyway | ✅ Respects exclusions |
When to use Archive Today vs. Wayback Machine: Use Archive Today for archiving current pages — especially paywalled content, JavaScript-heavy pages and content you want to preserve immediately. Use Wayback Machine for accessing historical versions of pages that no one manually archived, or for browsing what a site looked like years ago. For research requiring historical records, check both — their coverage is complementary.
Privacy When Using Archive Today
Via .onion: Archive Today cannot see your real IP address. The sites you archive cannot see your browser visiting them. Your ISP cannot see that you used Archive Today or which pages you archived.
Via clearnet: Archive Today logs your IP address when you create archives. The archived pages show Archive Today’s IP to the target site rather than yours — providing some protection against the archived site tracking you — but Archive Today itself has your IP.
Archives are public. Every archive you create is publicly accessible to anyone who has the URL or discovers it through Archive Today’s search. Do not archive pages that reveal sensitive personal information, proprietary content or anything you would not want publicly accessible in perpetuity.
Timestamps are permanent. Archive URLs contain a timestamp indicating when the page was archived. If you are archiving something for evidence purposes, the timestamp provides useful documentation. If you are archiving something that you later want no record of having visited, the timestamp in the archive URL establishes your interest in that content at that time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete an archive I created?
Archive Today does not provide a user-facing deletion mechanism. Archives are intended to be permanent records. Some archives have been removed following legal requests or operator decisions, but there is no self-service deletion. Create archives only of content you would be comfortable with being permanently publicly accessible.
Does Archive Today work for all websites?
Most publicly accessible pages can be archived. Some sites actively block Archive Today’s crawler through IP blacklisting or bot detection. Paywalled content behind a hard login wall cannot be archived by Archive Today directly — only the login page is captured. Sites that load content through APIs after page load may not be fully captured despite JavaScript execution.
How long do archives last?
Archive Today’s design intention is permanent storage — archives do not have expiry dates. The service has operated since 2012 and archives from that period remain accessible. Practical permanence depends on the service continuing to operate, which is not guaranteed for any single service. For critical archiving needs, use both Archive Today and the Wayback Machine to create redundant copies.
Can I access Archive Today archives if the .onion is down?
Yes — archive URLs use the format archive.today/XXXXX regardless of whether you originally accessed them via .onion or clearnet. Any existing archive is accessible through the clearnet domain even if the .onion is temporarily unavailable. The .onion provides privacy for creating and accessing archives — the archives themselves are stored on Archive Today’s servers and accessible through any access method.
Is using Archive Today to bypass paywalls legal?
This varies by jurisdiction and the specific site’s terms of service. In most countries, accessing freely available content through an archive is not illegal — the archiving itself may violate a site’s terms of service but is generally not criminal. For legal clarity in your specific situation, consult a lawyer. Archive Today explicitly states it ignores robots.txt — its approach to archiving is intentionally comprehensive regardless of publisher preferences.