According to Facebook, more than one million people connected to the site in the past month over the secure and private Tor network.

Though Tor is often associated with illicit “dark web” activities, it ‘s also a valuable tool for users who want to completely preserve their privacy. The network functions by disguising users’ identify and location, sending their information to a network of servers all over the world.

“People who choose to communicate over Tor do so for a variety of reasons related to privacy, security and safety,” the site wrote in its announcement. “It’s important to us to provide methods for people to use our services securely — particularly if they lack reliable methods to do so… This growth is a reflection of the choices that people make to use Facebook over Tor, and the value that it provides them.”

Facebook also said that its Tor traffic has grown in a “roughly linear” pattern since last June, when it announced that about 525,000 people accessed the site securely every month. That would mean about 50,000 new users start accessing Facebook through this shadowy tool every month.

While Tor may get a bad rap in the mainstream press for its criminal connections, it’s undoubtedly a great way for web surfers to  preserve their privacy.