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Tails
is a portable operating system
that protects against
surveillance and censorship.
Avoid surveillance, censorship, advertising, and viruses
Tails uses the Tor network to protect your privacy online and help you avoid censorship. Enjoy the Internet like it should be.
Your secure computer anywhere
Shut down the computer and start on your Tails USB stick instead of starting on Windows, macOS, or Linux. Tails leaves no trace on the computer when shut down.
Digital security toolbox
Tails includes a selection of applications to work on sensitive documents and communicate securely. Everything in Tails is ready-to-use and has safe defaults.
Free Software
You can download Tails for free and independent security researchers can verify our work. Tails is based on Debian GNU/Linux.
Who uses Tails
Activists use Tails to hide their identities, avoid censorship, and communicate securely.
Journalists
and their sources use Tails to publish sensitive information
and access the Internet from unsafe places.
Domestic violence survivors use Tails to escape surveillance at home.
You whenever you need extra privacy in this digital world.
Recommended by
Tails is part of the Tor Project, a global nonprofit developing tools for online privacy and anonymity. To better protect you, the same people are building the Tor network, the Tor Browser, and Tails.
Tor Project and Tails joined forces in 2024.
If you look at the way post-2013 whistleblowers have been caught, it is clear the absolute most important thing you can do to maintain your anonymity is reduce the number of places in your operational activity where you can make mistakes. Tor and Tails still do precisely that.
— Edward Snowden,
NSA whistleblower
One of the most robust ways of using the Tor network is through a dedicated operating system that enforces strong privacy- and security-protective defaults. That operating system is Tails.
— EFF,
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Supporters
The Tor Project is funded by donations from people like you and organizations that support Internet freedom. Meet our supporters.