You can help Tails by testing the first beta for the upcoming version 4.0!

We are very excited about it and cannot wait to hear your feedback :)

  1. What's new in 4.0~beta1?
  2. Known issues in 4.0~beta1
  3. How to test Tails 4.0~beta1?
  4. Get Tails 4.0~beta1
  5. What's coming up?

What's new in 4.0~beta1?

Tails 4.0 will be the first version of Tails based on Debian 10 (Buster). As such, it upgrades essentially all included software.

We are particularly interested in detecting new problems with the following hardware:

  • Mac computers
  • Recent Nvidia and ATI/AMD graphics cards

Other changes in Tails 4.0~beta1 include:

  • Replace KeePassX with KeePassXC. (#15297)

  • Add support for Thunderbolt devices. (#5463)

    If you have a Thunderbolt device, please try using it.

    Choose Devices ▸ Thunderbolt from the Settings utility to authorize your Thunderbolt devices, if needed.

    See also the design document on Thunderbolt 3 in Fedora 28 to see how Thunderbolt is integrated in GNOME.

  • Remove Scribus. (#16290)

    You can install Scribus again using the Additional Software feature.

  • Remove LibreOffice Math. (#16911)

    You can install LibreOffice Math again using the Additional Software feature.

  • Allow opening persistent volumes from other Tails USB sticks. (#16789)

  • Display OpenPGP Applet on the left of the Tor status icon. (#14796)

  • Add the Files browser to the list of favorite applications. (#16799)

  • Change the background of the boot menu. (#16837)

  • Use the default bookmarks from Tor Browser instead of our own default bookmarks. (#15895)

  • Remove the Home launcher from the desktop. (#16799)

  • Remove the default accounts in Pidgin. (#16744)

Technical details of all the changes are listed in the Changelog.

Known issues in 4.0~beta1

How to test Tails 4.0~beta1?

We will provide security upgrades for Tails 4.0~beta1 like we do for regular versions of Tails.

Keep in mind that this is a test image. We tested that it is not broken in obvious ways, but it might still contain undiscovered issues.

Please, report any new problem to tails-testers@boum.org (public mailing list).

Get Tails 4.0~beta1

To download 4.0~beta1

Direct download

Tails 4.0~beta1 ISO image

Tails 4.0~beta1 USB image

BitTorrent download

Tails 4.0~beta1 ISO image torrent

Tails 4.0~beta1 USB image torrent

To upgrade your Tails USB stick and keep your Persistent Storage

  • Automatic upgrades are not available to 4.0~beta1.

  • You can do a manual upgrade.

To install Tails on a new USB stick

Follow our installation instructions:

  • Install from Windows
  • Install from macOS
  • Install from Linux

All the data on this USB stick will be lost.

What's coming up?

Tails 4.0 is scheduled for October 22.

We need your help and there are many ways to contribute to Tails (donating is only one of them). Come talk to us!