Today, we are retiring the Tails Verification browser extension that used to be advertised on our download page. We are replacing it with similar JavaScript code that now runs directly on the page.

This new verification procedure is:

• Simpler and faster for first-time users

• Compatible with more web browsers, for example, Edge and Safari

• As secure as the Tails Verification extension

From the logs on our website, it seems like only a minority of downloads are currently being verified. We believe that this simplified verification procedure will greatly increase the number of downloads being verified and improve the security of our users.

Users of the Tails Verification extension can safely remove it from their browser. They will be reminded to do so on the download page.

We will remove the Tails Verification extension from the Firefox and Chrome stores in a few days.

The other 2 verification techniques are still available:

• If you download Tails using BitTorrent, your BitTorrent client automatically verifies the checksum of the Tails image when the download finishes.

• If you know OpenPGP, you can verify your Tails image using an OpenPGP signature.

Special thanks to Mike Meixler who donated his time to help us with the verification JavaScript!

In the future, this simplification will allow us to further simplify the download page and installation instructions. We also want to research how to make the verification faster. If you know WebAssembly, see if you can help us speed up the checksum computation.

See also our design document on the security and threat model of the download verification.