Nine months ago Tails and Tor set out to unite forces for Internet Freedom. The goal was to integrate Tails into the organizational structure of the Tor Project to pool resources instead of duplicating them, and deliver a more robust shield against censorship and surveillance. Today we're happy to report that we're already seeing the transformative impact of our united efforts.

Delivering on our promises

The integration of two organizations requires careful planning and collaboration. When we first began our discussions, we made it a point to focus on better serving the shared communities that depend on Tor and Tails. The merger has already delivered on our core commitments in concrete ways:

Countering censorship and surveillance more effectively

Our combined anti-censorship expertise is yielding immediate results. Whenever a new or previously unknown censorship event occurs, we can figure out how best to tackle the issues. China is one such example in action: When obfs4 bridges increasingly became the target of censors, our teams were able to jointly coordinate a strategic response, determining whether to address the issue through improved bridge distribution mechanisms or by adding support for newer pluggable transports in Tails itself. This kind of coordinated response to censorship events was more challenging and time-consuming when we operated separately.

More robust treatment of overlapping threat models

We've ensured that Tails' specific needs are now directly integrated into Arti development, creating a more comprehensive solution for users who need both network and system-level security in high-risk environments. Having both Tor Browser and Tails developers collaborate more closely means that Tails users benefit from smoother, earlier releases that provide user protections faster.

Expanded training and outreach opportunities

Empowering our users through access and digital rights education has been a top priority for both Tails and Tor. Earlier this year, we successfully ran a Tails training in partnership with the Open Culture Foundation the day before RightsCon 2025, reaching activists and journalists who urgently need these tools. By tapping into Tor's Privacy Resilience Grants, we're now supporting more groups in the Global South to run Tails trainings directly in their communities, expanding Tails' reach to new territories and user groups.

Operational resilience to advance our shared mission

The benefits extend far beyond individual projects. Our unified sysadmin team has created a comprehensive 5-year roadmap for merging our digital infrastructures, eliminating redundancies while strengthening both organizations' technological foundations. We've already merged critical services including calendars, GitLab projects, password stores, and documentation systems, with security policies, monitoring systems, and authentication mechanisms currently in progress.

The merger has also clarified roles and responsibilities across teams while providing Tails teams with access to the Tor Project's mature organizational structure and improving system monitoring and management. Our expanded fundraising capacity means we can pursue larger grants and coordinate funding requests that support both tools simultaneously. It allows us to stay resilient in a dynamic fundraising landscape, and maximize the impact of every dollar.

This is a meaningful achievement for every supporter: Your donations now go further toward creating real-world impact rather than duplicating administrative overhead. Our resources are now fully directed toward developing stronger privacy tools and reaching more people who need protection from surveillance and censorship.

Upcoming changes for PayPal donors

Tails, just like Tor, has always been powered by your donations. As part of our organizational merge, we are taking the opportunity to upgrade the way we manage donations, donor records, and communication with you about your donations.

If you have made a donation to Tails through PayPal, your information will be imported into Tor's CiviCRM Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database, which collects only the minimal amount of information and hosts all donor data on Tor infrastructure. Rest assured that Tor will never sell or share your data. Ever. You can read the Tor Project's privacy policy here.

The following information will be imported:

• Name
• Email
• Address, if given
• Past donation history

All of this data will be merged by June 30, 2025. Once the data is completely merged, all PayPal monthly donations will be terminated. If you have an active monthly donation to Tails through PayPal, please watch out for a message from us about migrating your donation.

What you can do today

Thank you for being defenders of online privacy, anonymity, and censorship circumvention tools. We invite all our supporters to join us as part of the unified Tor community, working together to safeguard the digital human rights of individuals worldwide. Please consider renewing your donation today for the Tor Project and help make privacy possible.

The Tor Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to transparency. The Tor Project has a Four-Star Charity rating from Charity Navigator, and has been awarded Candid's Platinum Seal of Transparency. This demonstrates the Tor Project's commitment to openness and honesty in how the organization manages its finances and uses your investment for a greater impact. Your donation is in good hands and goes a long way.