# Tails privacy rating

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.

## Summary

Tails scores 100 out of 100 (grade A) on the desktop operating systems criteria. It meets 4 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and independent audit. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act.

- Website: https://tails.net
- Source code: https://gitlab.tails.net/tails/tails
- Jurisdiction: United States. Five Eyes member. Subject to the US CLOUD Act.
- Home page trackers: none found
- Category: [Desktop operating systems](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/)
- Grade: A (100/100)

## Criteria

| Criterion | Answer | Note | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes | GPL-3.0 or later. | https://tails.net/doc/about/license/index.en.html |
| No trackers or telemetry | Yes | Tails is made by the Tor Project, whose privacy policy rules out tracking, telemetry and analytics in its applications. | https://www.torproject.org/about/privacy_policy/ |
| No ads or data sales | Yes | Funded by donations from individuals and organizations through the Tor Project. | https://tails.net/about/index.en.html |
| Independent audit | Yes | Radically Open Security audited automatic upgrades and recent changes, and the full report is published. | https://tails.net/news/audit_by_ROS_2024/ |

Source: https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/tails/
Edit: https://github.com/privacyratings/privacyratings.com/edit/main/ratings/desktop-operating-systems/tails.md