The Tor Project and Tails OS join forces for better online privacy and security

The Tor Project, the organization behind the well-known web browser Tor, and the developers of the privacy-based operating system Tails OS have decided to merge operations.

Intrigeri, the new Team Lead of Tails OS within The Tor Project, explains it’s been a difficult task to run an independent organization for 15 years, whose goal is to ensure online privacy in a digital world. The toughest part however wasn’t the tech. “It was handling critical tasks like fundraising, finances, and HR,” the director says.

That’s why Tails approached The Tor Project in late 2023, suggesting to merge both operations into one organization. “Rather than expanding Tails’s operational capacity on their own and putting more stress on Tails workers, merging with The Tor Project, with its larger and established operational framework, offered a solution,” Intrigeri says.

In a joint statement, both organizations say it’s in the best interest of all internet users to combine forces and better protect people from online surveillance and censorship.

“Incorporating Tails into the Tor Project's structure allows for easier collaboration, better sustainability, reduced overhead, and expanded training and outreach programs to counter a larger number of digital threats,” they state.

Isabela Fernandes, Executive Director at The Tor Project, is happy to welcome Tails as a new division within its organization.

“By bringing these two organizations together, we’re not just making things easier for our teams, but ensuring the sustainable development and advancement of these vital tools. Working together allows for faster, more efficient collaboration, enabling the quick integration of new features from one tool to the other.”

She adds that the collaboration strengthens The Tor Project’s mission and accelerates its ability to respond to evolving threats.

The Amnesic Incognito Live System or Tails is an alternate operating system that’s aimed at preserving online privacy, anonymity and security. The OS never stores data on an internal or external hard drive. That way a user never leaves a digital footprint, which makes it practically impossible to obtain his or her identity.

Tails OS is based on Linux distro Debian and exclusively connects to the internet via Tor, which protects internet users against online tracking, surveillance and censorship by anonymizing internet activity.

Tails OS and the Tor web browser are mostly used by journalists, human rights activists, advocacy groups and dissidents who live in a country with an oppressive or authoritarian regime.