We are extremely proud to present you a beta of 2 new major features of Tails: a complete redesign of the Persistent Storage and the migration to Wayland, which brings a better Unsafe Browser.

This beta also includes an easier way to enter Tor bridges in Tails by scanning a QR code.

This work has been made possible by donations from users like you. If you like these changes and want more, donate now to fund our work in 2023.

We will only release these features officially in Tails 5.8 (December 20), but you can try Tails 5.8~beta1 already!

  1. New Persistent Storage
  2. Wayland and better Unsafe Browser
  3. QR code scanning for Tor bridges
  4. How to test Tails 5.8~beta1?
  5. Get Tails 5.8~beta1

New Persistent Storage

Since January 2021, we have been working on a complete redesign of the Persistent Storage.

The Persistent Storage hasn't changed much since its first release in 2012 because the code was hard to modify and improve. But, we learned from users that the Persistent Storage could do a lot more for you if it had more features and was easier to use.

We've worked hard since 2021 to implement a new design and completely rewrite the code in Python.

The new Persistent Storage doesn't require restarting after creating it or each time you activate a new feature.

It will also make it easier for us to persist more settings in the future.

And finally, it's looks so much better!

Wayland and better Unsafe Browser

Tails 5.8~beta1 replaces the deprecated X.Org display system with Wayland.

Wayland brings more security in depth to Tails by making it harder for a compromised application in Tails to compromise or misuse another application.

For example, since Tails 4.8, the Unsafe Browser is disabled by default because a security vulnerability in another application in Tails could start an invisible Unsafe Browser, reveal your IP address, and deanonymize you.

Wayland fixes this vulnerability and makes it safe to reenable the Unsafe Browser by default.

Wayland also brings in other features that were not working yet in the Unsafe Browser:

  • Sound
  • Uploads and downloads
  • Alternative input methods for Chinese and other non-Latin languages
  • Accessibility features like the screen reader and virtual keyboard

Enjoy!

QR code scanning for Tor bridges

Tails 5.8~beta1 makes it easier to enter new Tor bridges in Tails by scanning a QR code.

To get a QR code, you can either:

We are aware that the QR codes that are currently provided are too big to be easy to scan. We are working with Tor to make them smaller and easier to scan.

How to test Tails 5.8~beta1?

You can either install Tails 5.8~beta1 on a new USB stick or upgrade your Tails USB stick with an existing Persistent Storage to Tails 5.8~beta1.

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 5.8~beta1

To download 5.8~beta1

Direct download

  • For USB sticks (USB image)

  • For DVDs and virtual machines (ISO image)

BitTorrent download

  • For USB sticks (USB image)

  • For DVDs and virtual machines (ISO image)

To install Tails on a new USB stick

Follow our installation instructions:

The Persistent Storage on the USB stick will be lost if you install instead of upgrading.

To upgrade your Tails USB stick and keep your Persistent Storage

  1. Make a backup a your current Persistent Storage in case something goes wrong.

  2. We don't provide automatic an update to 5.8~beta1, but you can do a manual upgrade to 5.8~beta1 and keep your current Persistent Storage.

  3. If you want to stop using 5.8~beta1, you can do a manual upgrade to Tails 5.6.

    Once Tails 5.7 is out on November 22, you will have to do a manual upgrade from Tails 5.8~beta1 to 5.7.

This work has been made possible by donations from users like you. If you like these changes and want more, donate now to fund our work in 2023.

Donate