PrivacyTools
 | |
| Motto | Encryption Against Global Mass Surveillance |
|---|---|
| Established | 2015 |
| Type | Non-profit collective |
| Purpose | To provide services, tools, and knowledge to protect your privacy against global mass surveillance programs |
Region | Worldwide |
| Website | privacytools.io |
PrivacyTools (also known as privacytools.io) is a volunteer-run collective providing recommendations of privacy-focused software and services, as well as hosted services including social media, online chat, blogs, and other online services. It was founded by privacy activists in 2015. The group is organized around community discussions on GitHub Issues, Reddit, and their own forum installation.
PrivacyTool's main website features software and online services internet users can use to enhance their privacy, both when browsing the web and when sharing personal information. They cover recommendations for products such as Virtual Private Networks, web browsers, email providers, decentralized social networks, and password managers. The organization is operated in a transparent and open fashion, encouraging crowdsourcing changes to the website, and sharing all financial transactions publicly. Its finances are hosted by the Open Collective Foundation 501(c)(3).
History[edit | edit source]
PrivacyTools was founded in 2015 in response to reports regarding global mass surveillance programs operated by the NSA and its international partners. Its goal is to provide resources, tools, and knowledge to everyday internet users that can be used to protect their privacy.
In April 2019, the PrivacyTools team launched a suite of privacy-centric online services, including a social media platform, instant messenger, a blogging platform, and more.
