# Rufus privacy rating

A Windows utility that formats USB drives and writes bootable USB media from ISO and disk images, and can download Windows ISOs.

## Summary

Rufus scores 30 out of 100 (grade F) on the OS downloaders and bootable USB tools criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: open source. It does not meet no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and independent audit.

- Website: https://rufus.ie
- Source code: https://github.com/pbatard/rufus
- License: GPL-3.0
- Platforms: Windows
- Home page trackers: none found
- Category: [OS downloaders and bootable USB tools](https://privacyratings.com/os-installers/)
- Grade: F (30/100)

## Criteria

| Criterion | Answer | Note | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | Yes | GPL-3.0. | https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/blob/master/LICENSE.txt |
| No trackers or telemetry | No | The rufus.ie website loads Google Analytics and Google AdSense. The app's update check asks first, unless the executable is named rufus.exe, and can be turned off. | https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/wiki/FAQ#Rufus_connects_to_the_internet_but_I_never_allowed_it_to__why |
| No ads or data sales | No | The rufus.ie website shows Google AdSense ads. The app itself has no ads. | https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/wiki/FAQ#I_have_seen_some_deceptive_ads_on_your_website_How_dare_you |
| Independent audit | No | No independent audit is published. |  |

Source: https://privacyratings.com/os-installers/rufus/
Edit: https://github.com/privacyratings/privacyratings.com/edit/main/ratings/os-installers/rufus.md