# Desktop operating systems privacy ratings

Operating systems built for privacy and security.

| Name | Grade | Jurisdiction | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [FreeBSD](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/freebsd/) | A (100/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | A Unix-like operating system descended from BSD, developed as a complete system of kernel and userland, with ZFS, jails and the bhyve hypervisor. |
| [Tails](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/tails/) | A (100/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | A portable live operating system that starts from a USB stick, routes all connections through Tor and leaves no trace on the computer unless Persistent Storage is used. |
| [Alpine Linux](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/alpine-linux/) | B (80/100) | Unknown | Alpine is a security-oriented, lightweight distro based on musl libc and busybox. It compiles all user-space binaries as position-independent executables with stack-smashing protection. |
| [Arch Linux](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/arch-linux/) | B (80/100) | Unknown | A minimal, rolling-release Linux distribution for x86-64 that users configure themselves, using the pacman package manager and the community Arch User Repository. |
| [Debian](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/debian/) | B (80/100) | Unknown | A community-developed Linux distribution made entirely of free software, known for stable releases and a large package archive, and the base of many other distributions. |
| [elementary OS](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/elementary-os/) | B (80/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | An Ubuntu-based Linux distribution with its own Pantheon desktop and apps, and AppCenter, a store for pay-what-you-want apps and Flatpaks. |
| [NixOS](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/nixos/) | B (80/100) | Netherlands (Nine Eyes) | A Linux distribution built on the Nix package manager, where the whole system is configured declaratively and upgrades can be rolled back. |
| [Omarchy](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/omarchy/) | B (80/100) | Unknown | Opinionated Arch Linux setup built around the Hyprland tiling window manager, with preinstalled apps, themes and AI agent integration. Created by David Heinemeier Hansson and funded by the Omacom Foundation. |
| [OpenBSD](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/openbsd/) | B (80/100) | Canada (Five Eyes) | A security-focused Unix-like operating system descended from BSD, known for code auditing, secure defaults and exploit mitigations such as pledge and unveil. |
| [Parrot](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/parrot/) | B (80/100) | Unknown | A Debian-based Linux distribution geared towards security, privacy and development, with editions for penetration testing and everyday use. |
| [Qubes OS](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/qubes-os/) | B (80/100) | Unknown | A security-oriented desktop operating system that uses Xen virtualization to run applications in separate, isolated virtual machines called qubes. |
| [secureblue](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/secureblue/) | B (80/100) | Unknown | Hardened images of Fedora Atomic desktops and servers, with a hardened memory allocator and hardened kernel and system settings. |
| [Fedora](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/fedora/) | C (65/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | A Linux distribution developed by the Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat, offering recent software in Workstation, Server and Atomic desktop editions. |
| [Kicksecure](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/kicksecure/) | C (65/100) | Marshall Islands | A security-hardened Linux distribution based on Debian, with hardened kernel and system settings, from the developers of Whonix. |
| [openSUSE](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/opensuse/) | C (65/100) | Unknown | A community Linux distribution sponsored by SUSE, available as the rolling Tumbleweed and the fixed-release Leap, with the YaST and Zypper system tools. |
| [Whonix](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/whonix/) | C (65/100) | Marshall Islands | A Debian-based operating system that runs in virtual machines and routes all traffic through Tor, separating the Tor gateway from the workstation to prevent IP address leaks. |
| [Zorin OS](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/zorin-os/) | C (65/100) | Ireland | An Ubuntu-based Linux distribution from Zorin Technology Group, with desktop layouts that resemble Windows or macOS. |
| [Pop!_OS](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/pop-os/) | D (50/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | An Ubuntu-based Linux distribution from the hardware maker System76, with its own COSMIC desktop environment. |
| [Ubuntu](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/ubuntu/) | D (40/100) | United Kingdom (Five Eyes) | A Debian-based Linux distribution developed by Canonical, with regular and long-term support releases for desktops, servers and cloud. |
| [macOS](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/macos/) | F (35/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Apple's proprietary desktop operating system for Mac computers, built on the open source Darwin core. |
| [Linux Mint](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/linux-mint/) | F (30/100) | Unknown | A desktop Linux distribution based on Ubuntu or Debian, with the Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce desktops and its own tools for updates and system settings. |
| [Windows 11](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/windows-11/) | F (10/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Microsoft's proprietary desktop operating system for PCs, the successor to Windows 10. |
| [ChromeOS](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/chromeos/) | F (0/100) | United States (Five Eyes) | Google's Linux-based operating system for Chromebooks, built around the Chrome browser and tied to a Google account. |

## Criteria

- **Open source** (weight 3): Is all the source code needed to run the product public?
- **No trackers or telemetry** (weight 3): Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
- **No ads or data sales** (weight 2): Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
- **Independent audit** (weight 2): Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?

Source: https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/