# [2023 at Tails: a new home, small steps, and giant
leaps](
https://tails.net/news/achievements_in_2023/index.en.html)
**Malicious actors upped the ante in 2023.**
So-called artificial intelligence systems soared in popularity, supercharging
political [disinformation](
https://www.wired.com/story/slovakias-election-
deepfakes-show-ai-is-a-danger-to-democracy/)
[programs](
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/19/ai-generated-
disinformation-us-elections). Internet shutdowns and slowdowns became [firmly
entrenched](
https://www.accessnow.org/publication/internet-shutdowns-
in-2023-mid-year-update/) in authoritarian toolkits to censor progressive
speech. And the [continuing
revelations](
https://securitylab.amnesty.org/latest/2023/11/serbia-civil-
society-threatened-by-spyware/) of zero-click attacks drove home the perilous
omnipotence of the military-digital complex.
**But, we also made plans to call their ante.**
We built a state-of-the-art 3-year strategy to make Tails a formidable
adversary to these powerful, repressive forces. We made plans to better
understand the use of Tails by journalists and activists, and understand and
improve the use of Tails in the [majority
world](
https://www.harvarddesignmagazine.org/articles/shahidul-alam-on-the-
majority-world/). All this while introducing new features and improvements to
existing features that make Tails even more relevant.
Here's the progress we made in the first year of the plan.
## Product development
**The Persistent Storage got even better at storing encrypted data.**
[Tails 5.8](
https://tails.net/news/version_5.8/index.en.html) was one of the
most important Tails releases in years. In Tails 5.8, we unveiled a brand new
Persistent Storage. The new Persistent Storage doesn't require restarting
after creation or any time after you activate a new feature. It also made it
easier to persist more settings. The icing on the cake: a dashing makeover for
the Persistent Storage!
But the new Persistent Storage wasn't all fun and games for Tails users. It
was buggy and we worked extra hard to fix the issues our users faced.
We didn't stop there. We also continued to add functionality to the Persistent
Storage. Now, it is easier to both do [backups of the whole Persistent
Storage](
https://tails.net/news/version_5.14/index.en.html) and [delete the
data of a each feature](
https://tails.net/news/version_5.12/index.en.html).
New button to delete the data of a Persistent Storage
feature[](
https://tails.net/news/version_5.12/delete-data.png)
---
Option to clone the current Persistent Storage in Tails
Installer[](
https://tails.net/doc/persistent_storage/backup/clone.png)
---
We also introduced better password practices for securing the Persistent
Storage. Randomly generated [diceware](
https://diceware.dmuth.org/)
passphrases and an upgraded encryption format make the Persistent Storage
[exponentially more
secure](
https://tails.net/security/argon2id/index.en.html).
**Improvements to the[Tor
Connection](
https://tails.net/news/version_4.20/index.en.html) make it easier
to circumvent censorship.**
The Tor Connection Assistant is slicker. We improved the error messaging when
connecting automatically to the Tor network and the handling of captive
portals.
Connecting to Tor is only part of the story. At times, Tails users may find
themselves on slow Tor circuits. And worse, unable to troubleshoot issues. So,
we've made it easier to close pesky Tor circuits that we can sometimes land
on.
Option to close a circuit in Onion
Circuits[](
https://tails.net/news/version_5.19/close_circuit.png)
---
**Tails remains one of the most secure operating systems in the world.**
This year, we released 15 versions of Tails, ensuring users had the latest Tor
Browser and Thunderbird. Yes, FIFTEEN!
We also asked [Radically Open
Security](
https://www.radicallyopensecurity.com/) to do a security audit of
Tails. Their [findings](
https://tails.net/news/audit_by_ROS/index.en.html)
affirmed our cutting-edge security.
PS: Keeping Tails updated is your best defense against online surveillance and
censorship!
**And we started moving to our new home!**
🎉 ✨ tails.net ✨ 🎉
We completed a bunch of home improvement projects. So our new home is even
more welcoming to folks speaking different languages, we overhauled the
language switcher. We just added Catalan translations too. _Gr acies per ser
aqui!_
[](
https://tails.net/news/achievements_in_2023/language_switcher.png)
High footfall areas of the website got a new carpet too. Check out our new
[Contribute](
https://tails.net/contribute/index.en.html),
[Support](
https://tails.net/support/index.en.html), and [Contact
us](
https://tails.net/about/contact/index.en.html) pages.
A huge shout-out to the volunteers who made these possible:
[@jawlensky](
https://gitlab.tails.boum.org/jawlensky) for the website redesign
and to our [Catalan translations
team](
https://tails.net/contribute/how/translate/team/ca/)!
## Community and organizational health
* **Sprints.** Our core team organized 2 sprints this year. Around Easter, we bunkered up in Paris. The agenda was budgeting the year ahead and building a roadmap to financial health. Also on the agenda: French cheese, spicy Indian snacks, and [Dixit](
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixit_\(card_game). Later in the year, we met again in a mix of online and in-person participation. We reflected on our efforts this year and hatched plans for a more sustainable future of the project.
* **Reflections.** Aspiring to reach and encourage more diverse populations of Tails users, we also embarked on a path to improving the project's diversity. Our core team started meeting fortnightly to reflect on our workplace norms. We are using [this text by the Centre for Community Organizations](
https://coco-net.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Coco-WhiteSupCulture-ENG4.pdf) as our guide to reflection and improvement.
## Financial health
Malicious actors are not going to buckle down, but neither are we. This year,
Tails was instrumental in several high-risk investigations and struggles for
progressive change. Like this [damning
indictment](
https://nocallaronlasolas.serendipia.digital/) of the Mexican
army's systematic surveillance of feminists in the country.
I, ([@bokonon](
https://gitlab.tails.boum.org/bokonon)), joined our small team
at Tails this year, to lead our fundraising activities. I have been obsessing
over how a free software project like ours can continue improving Tails while
keeping it free. And one thing is already clear: we will need your help.
Often.
While we don't how many Tails users donate to Tails, our guess is ~1%. Tails
is designed for use by people living vulnerable, high-risk lives. Many of whom
are likely to not be in a position to contribute. Your donations keep Tails
free for everybody else!
We are near the end of our campaign to fund Tails in 2024, but quite a way off
our goals.
We might never have the resources that powerful, malicious actors do, but we
know one thing: together, we can punch much above our weight. As we go into
the holidays, join us in ensuring that the Internet does not become synonymous
with surveillance and censorship. Give the gift of privacy today!
[Donate](
https://tails.net/donate/index.en.html)
URL: <
https://tails.net/news/achievements_in_2023/index.en.html>
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