We have all probably come across an unboxing video on YouTube. If you haven’t seen one, an unboxing video is exactly what it sounds like. It is the process of recording the moment when a particular product is opened and removed from the packaging in which it was sold. Yes, they are a bit bizarre. But something that may seem silly to some goes viral for many others. What could make it go viral, you ask? Well, what if you don’t know what you’re opening? Ladies and Gentlemen, the dark web mystery box has just entered the chat.

Unboxing Dark Web Mystery Boxes

Like most trends on the Internet, we as humans tend to push the needle and ruin them. It wasn’t long before brands recognized the unique marketing opportunity and jumped in on the unboxing trend. So they started sending “mystery boxes” to influencers so they could open them on camera. The mystery boxes would contain merchandise from that brand and other partner brands. They even started adding mystery boxes to their websites for consumers to buy and do their unboxing videos. It is a roll of the dice on what you get in the box. But you have a rough idea based on the seller. They are fun and have an element of mystery, but they are safe and harmless overall.

Of course, people online continued to unbox more wild boxes for views, leading us to the Dark Web Mystery Box. These unboxings started to pop up online and were immediate hits, racking up millions of views. Like anything online, there is a lot of skepticism about whether dark web mystery boxes are actually real or staged for views. We’ll get into that in a bit, but first, let’s dig into the “dark web” to give you some additional context.

What is the Dark Web?

The easiest way to understand it is that the Internet has three main layers, and most of the sites you visit daily make up just a tiny fraction of the whole Internet. Here are the three layers:

Surface Web

This layer includes publicly searchable websites like blogs, shopping, news, and YouTube.

Deep Web

This layer consists of sites that require a login to access. So, your email, bank portals, and anything with subscriptions, to name a few.

Dark Web

The dark web refers to content that isn’t indexed by search engines and requires special tools to access, like Tor Browser. While the dark web is often depicted as an anarchic forum for criminal activity, that’s not necessarily true. The dark web is simply an anonymous space on the web that can be abused or appreciated in turn.

How to Access

There are countless tutorials online on accessing the Dark Web, so we won’t dig too deep and just give you the basic steps. Just enough for you to be dangerous, but not enough for us to be liable for anything that happens to you on the dark web. Kidding, sort of.

Here are the steps to getting on the dark web and obtaining mystery boxes of your very own:

1. Connect to a reliable and safe VPN.

2. Download and install Tor Browser.

3. Browse the dark web with the Tor Browser.

4. Protect your identity.

Surface web search engines like Google can’t access the dark web, but specialized dark web search engines can help you find what you’re looking for. The subreddit r/deepweb is a good starting point for asking more experienced users how to search the dark and deep web for the contents you want.

Are Mystery Boxes Legitimate?

As the dark web mystery box unboxing trend ramped up. People pushed the needle with what they were unboxing for views. While researching this article, we watched countless dark web mystery box unboxing videos. People received bloody screwdrivers and a little kid’s dirty backpack in the videos. Baggies marked biohazard with white powder in them. Some boxes were just empty. Most of the videos that we watched seemed staged. Great acting and reactions with creepy items that fit the stereotype of what you may find on the dark web. But overall, these feel like people are trying to capitalize on a trend for views.

It is reported that dark web mystery boxes can range from anywhere between $100 to $10,000. Again, I have no clue if these are actual prices or bogus prices. But if people pay $10,000 for a dark web mystery box, they assume that that money is gone. If a random box shows up, that is a win, regardless of if it is full of trash or drugs. Besides, there is absolutely no way to determine if the seller is authentic, and anything bought on the dark web is done with cryptocurrency—the only untraceable way to pay for things on the dark web.

Should You Order One?

We did not try to buy a dark web mystery box while writing this article. Mainly because they feel like a scam created by opportunistic YouTubers. This is not to say that dark web mystery boxes do not exist in some capacity. If you are feeling adventurous and have the extra money you are ok with spending on what may end up being trash or a scam, then dig deep on the dark web, and you may find an anonymous person willing to send you one. That decision is up to you. But if you order it, we recommend not shipping it to your home. Have it sent to a P.O. Box.

When you unbox it, film your reaction. Who knows, it could go viral.