There are reports that the Tor Project is merging operations with the amorphous and portable Linux-based operating system Tails, focusing efforts on user privacy and anonymity.
 
Against this trend of continued digital surveillance and regulation meant to break end-to-end encryption, censorship of online services remains firmly on the global agenda.

Tails will now be "integrated into the Tor Project's structure," which enables "easier collaboration, better sustainability, reduced overhead, and expanded training and outreach programs to counter a larger number of digital threats," according to a blog post issued today by the Tor Project's PR & communications director, Pavel Zoneff.

Two become one
Founded in 2006, the Tor Project is a nonprofit most well known for its work on Tor, commonly referred to as "The Onion Router." Tor is a network intended to anonymize internet traffic by routing it through a series of disseminated servers, encrypting data in the process. The Tor Project develops browsers for all the main operating systems, and some of the world's largest tech companies have embraced Tor to support various privacy-centric initiatives.

Tails, on the other hand, has a pre-installed desktop environment and is built on a Linux distribution Debian-derived. It's extremely light and can boot off a removable device, such as a USB key, leaving little in terms of digital footprints.

The Tor and Tails open-source projects are, to say the very least, old friends. Launched originally in 2009, Tails, or "The Amnesic Incognito Live System," connects by default over Tor. More to the point, Tails has drawn funding from many third-party groups and foundations over the years — including the Tor Project itself, which has funded developer resources for the project.

Of course, merging the Tor Project and Tails makes a lot of sense given the focus that the two have been placing on issues of online privacy and anonymity, not to mention their shared background. It may even be a blessing for the most at-risk with a world that is shifting closer to 24/7 digital surveillance. Activists and journalists, among others vulnerable to online tracking, might certainly fall within this category.

In fact, no one other than Edward Snowden has spoken more glowingly of both platforms. Earlier this year, he boasted that he had used Tails part of his whistleblowing activities against the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) over 10 years ago.

According to the blog post, the merger came as a direct result of an approach Tails had issued to the Tor Project at the tail-end of last year. "I had outgrown my existing structure," Tails noted. 

"Running Tails as an independent project for 15 years has been a huge effort, but not for the reasons you might expect," said Intrigeri, a team lead for Tails OS in a statement. "The toughest part wasn't the tech-being it was handling critical tasks like fundraising, finances, and HR. After trying to manage those in different ways, I am really relieved that Tails is now under the Tor Project's wing.".

With resources from both technology and personnel combined, Tor Project says this will put it in a better position to fight the threat of global mass surveillance and censorship of a free Internet. This will range from making the Tor Project more inclusive to "address a wider range of privacy needs and security scenarios," ranging from closer technological alignment to boosted education, training, and outreach programs.

With this kind of integration, by combining two organizations, we are making things easier for our teams while ensuring that the sustainable development and advancement of these vital tools come to fruition ," says Isabela Fernandes, executive director for the Tor Project, in a statement. "Through mutual work, coordination gets faster and more efficient, making it possible to introduce new features from one tool into the other relatively quickly.".