# Tails Reviews **Vendor:** Ubuntu MATE **Category:** [Operating Systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/operating-system) **Average Rating:** 4.1/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 23 ## About Tails Tails is a portable operating system designed to preserve privacy and anonymity. It enables users to use the internet anonymously and leave no trace unless explicitly desired. Tails can be run from a USB stick or DVD on almost any computer, ensuring that no data is stored on the local system. Key Features and Functionality: - Anonymity Online: All internet connections are routed through the Tor network, concealing the user's location and usage from surveillance and traffic analysis. - No Trace Left Behind: Tails operates independently of the computer's original operating system and does not write to the hard drive, ensuring that no evidence of its use is left behind. - Built-in Cryptographic Tools: It includes tools for encrypting files, emails, and instant messaging, providing secure communication channels. - Pre-configured Applications: Tails comes with a suite of applications pre-configured with security in mind, including a web browser, instant messaging client, email client, office suite, and more. Primary Value and User Solutions: Tails addresses the critical need for privacy and anonymity in the digital age. It is particularly valuable for journalists, activists, and individuals living under oppressive regimes, enabling them to communicate securely, access information freely, and protect their identities. By leaving no trace on the host computer and routing all internet traffic through Tor, Tails ensures that users can operate in a secure and private environment, mitigating risks of surveillance and data breaches. ## Tails Pros & Cons **What users like:** - Users appreciate Tails for its **strong emphasis on privacy and security** , ensuring complete anonymity during online activities. (4 reviews) - Users find the **easy setup** of Tails convenient, enabling quick use of a portable and secure operating system. (2 reviews) - Users value the **lightweight and portable nature** of Tails, enabling easy access to an OS anywhere. (2 reviews) - Users value the **compatibility** of Tails, easily running it from a USB stick on various devices for privacy. (1 reviews) - Users value Tails for its **security-focused design** , enabling easy, anonymous usage from any USB without leaving traces. (1 reviews) - Users value the **open source nature** of Tails, appreciating its security focus and portability for privacy needs. (1 reviews) - Users appreciate the **robust security features** of Tails, enabling safe and anonymous browsing anytime. (1 reviews) - Security/Safety (1 reviews) - Virus Protection (1 reviews) **What users dislike:** - Users experience **performance issues** with Tails, especially on older computers and when booting from USB devices. (2 reviews) - Users face a notable **lack of support** , especially non-technical users struggling with Tails' limited features and interface. (1 reviews) - Users find the **limited apps and features** of Tails restrict usability for daily or intensive tasks. (1 reviews) - Users experience **limited software** options with Tails, which hinders performance and usability for daily tasks. (1 reviews) - Users feel the **UI/UX design is lacking** , impacting their overall satisfaction with Tails. (1 reviews) - Users find the **usage difficulty** challenging, especially those lacking technical knowledge in navigating Tails' basic interface. (1 reviews) ## Tails Reviews ### 1. Unmatched Privacy and Security, Exceptionally Convenient **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Phillip P. | Cyber Security Engineer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 12, 2025 **What do you like best about Tails?** What I appreciate most about Tails is its strong emphasis on privacy and security. The system is built to leave no trace behind, ensuring that online activities remain entirely anonymous, which provides significant peace of mind. Additionally, the ability to run Tails from a USB stick without impacting the main system makes it highly flexible and convenient to use across various devices. **What do you dislike about Tails?** What I find most frustrating about Tails is its tendency to run slowly, particularly on older computers or when booting from a USB stick. Additionally, some features and applications seem restricted compared to what you get with a full desktop environment, making it less suitable for intensive or daily tasks. While Tails excels at protecting privacy, these strengths do come with certain compromises in usability. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Tails addresses the challenge of maintaining online privacy and anonymity. By directing all internet traffic through Tor and ensuring that no traces are left on the device, it offers strong protection against tracking, surveillance, and potential data leaks. Personally, this allows me to browse the internet with greater security and confidence, reassured that my activities and personal information remain private. ### 2. Tails: Fast, Secure, and Private with RAM-Only and Tor Routing **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Abhinav S. | Senior devops , Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 25, 2026 **What do you like best about Tails?** Tails best feature is that it runs entirely on RAM instead of hard disk.The Tor routing feature make it more secure and private.Zero footprint makes is fast and almost impossible to have malware. **What do you dislike about Tails?** The reset of browser searches every time nakes it hard to catch up with history. It is often slower than other especially while streaming high quality videos.It also lags in graphics card and wifi cards. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Make it just running on RAM and going throigh TOR for browsing make things more secure. You can access files over dark and deep web which is not available to general public. ### 3. Easy Privacy and Security with Minimal Setup **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Vishwjeet T. | Software Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 04, 2026 **What do you like best about Tails?** what i like best about tails is how easy it makes privacy and security without needing much setup **What do you dislike about Tails?** tails can feel slow at times especially because all traffic goes through Tor , and some website may block access or not work properly. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** tails solve the problems of online privacy and secure browsing by protecting my activity masking my identity and many more ### 4. Portable OS with Immediate Usability, UI Needs Work **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Shubham V. | Marketing Assistant, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 12, 2025 **What do you like best about Tails?** I like that Tails is lightweight and portable, which allows me to run an OS wherever I need. I appreciate that it leaves no trace, which is great for privacy and security. I also find the bash kernel quite helpful as it gives me a range of options to run my commands. Additionally, the initial setup of Tails was easy. **What do you dislike about Tails?** UI could be better **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Tails to run an OS wherever I need. It's lightweight, portable, and leaves no trace, solving portability and privacy issues. The bash kernel provides a range of options for running commands. ### 5. Privacy First, Speed Could Improve **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Utkrisht S. **Reviewed Date:** December 11, 2025 **What do you like best about Tails?** I like Tails because it's fully private and fully anonymous, which gives me confidence in my privacy. I also find it sort of portable, which is convenient for use on the go. Setting it up was fairly easy as I just needed to flash a boot drive and a USB to the software. **What do you dislike about Tails?** The speed could be improved. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Tails as an operating system on the go. It is fully private and anonymous, which I find awesome. ### 6. Tails can be recommended for people who prefer privacy over customization. **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Siddarda G. | student, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 14, 2025 **What do you like best about Tails?** Tails is open sourced and it can be used anywhere we can use it by having a simple USB also it focuses more on security and security related topics so that the user can disconnect at any point of time that they want and they can disconnect and treat like that system never existed and It can be easily implemented and can be frequently used. **What do you dislike about Tails?** Since it is an open source product you will not be finding customer support and there are not much number of features that we can use it focuses mainly on security and it just does that. The user interface we will be getting is just a normal ui those who don't have technical knowledge may face some difficulties while using it. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** As i have mentioned earlier this product is mainly for those people who need a lot of privacy for doing things like accessing dark web or testing some things on the dark web as i am a cyber security student i have used tails to know about dark web and the dangers that it can cause to normal people if they access it without proper guidance or proper tools. ### 7. Tailored for Privacy **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Prajeesh M. | S, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 20, 2023 **What do you like best about Tails?** Privacy privacy privacy, There is nothing other than privacy. I believe it's the safest way to use your OS **What do you dislike about Tails?** When we run the OS on older machines it's less responsive **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** For me, it is privacy, and It helps me protect my online identity. A high level of confidentiality gives me the freedom to work on anything that I would like so it is increasing my productivity also ### 8. Best Tool for Hidden Browsing **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Saurav K. | Network Security Engineer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 07, 2022 **What do you like best about Tails?** The anonymity and the way it spoof your location and IP is great. I loved to use if fot internet freedom. There is no trace of your browsing and also it hides your identity completely. **What do you dislike about Tails?** There is still some improvement required in the boot time. Also there is some issue in persistent storage. I felt some data loss but its okay. Everything is great and I wish rest will update soon. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** The major problem of being traced by various organizations and get targeted by them. Using Tails we get a secured machine that help us to being untracked. I highly recommend this. ### 9. Onion Privacy On-The-Go **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Security and Investigations | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 13, 2022 **What do you like best about Tails?** Developed se by the ONION TOR Team with plenty of support material provided on their homepage - makes it easy for people to get started using it. Moreover, this is a light OS to take with you on your travels in a simple USB stick. **What do you dislike about Tails?** Privacy comes at the price of slower speeds while surfing/browsing on the internet, due to the very nature of how the TOR Onion browser works. But that should be already expected by users and I have hopes that this will improve with time. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** I can use tails at computers that are available in hotels, for instance. Also, I can use tails at home whenever I wish to use a secure and private OS for surfing the web anonymously. ### 10. GNU Linux Portable and Safe **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Leandro L. | Production Control and Safety, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 16, 2021 **What do you like best about Tails?** I like security control options, run from USB memory directly on PC without installing third-party programs **What do you dislike about Tails?** I don't like the VPN control I have Internet access limits with TOR browser **Recommendations to others considering Tails:** Internet Security and Main PC **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Tails for Internet connection security, it connects automatically from TOR browser and onion page reader and web browser section. Run GNU Linux from USB stick without interrupting the PC base system ### 11. GNU Linux security **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tatiana L. | Marketing, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 07, 2021 **What do you like best about Tails?** USB capability, boot options, Tor browser, and no logging on PC **What do you dislike about Tails?** Integrated VPN and encrypt personal data with USB image **Recommendations to others considering Tails:** Incognito, free code, security and virus free PC **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Encrypt information Internet, incognito browser, virus free and ext4 system ### 12. Tails Live for greater security on the PC and the Internet. **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Joshua K. | Software Engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 23, 2019 **What do you like best about Tails?** I like how easy it is to start this system on any PC, from a USB memory I have access to the Internet and many more functions without touching the base system of the PC, when I surf the Internet automatically I enter with the TOR connection, I am totally invisible on the Internet. It is free and installation on a USB is fast. **What do you dislike about Tails?** I would like to select additional or personal services when starting Tails, to speed up the process. **Recommendations to others considering Tails:** Connect to any PC without fear of spyware or viruses, this system is free and stable. Download and carry with you at all times in your USB memory so you do not have problems passing information or putting your personal data on web pages. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** This system gives me the opportunity to connect to any PC without fear of viruses or Internet crashes, I can access any web page, Tails does not affect the base system of the PC and starts without any problem. It has no virus and does not keep any record of my data on the PC. ### 13. Protect your PC to the fullest with this Linux distribution. **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Nathan B. | Software Engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 15, 2019 **What do you like best about Tails?** I like the security of this system, the Live is perfect to work from any PC with any Internet connection, security is always the important thing, and when I need to connect from a PC that I do not use frequently start Tails from my USB memory without modifying the PC base system. When I start Tails it automatically connects to the TOR network, with this I circumvent any restriction of the ISP or Firewall within the network and protect my IP address. **What do you dislike about Tails?** Tails is perfect, but it does not have an integrated VPN for greater control of my location, since TOR always assigns random IP addresses and it is necessary to connect from a specific location to transfer data. **Recommendations to others considering Tails:** This system is free and free, so you can trust your security 100%, I recommend you to always be safe where you are. Internet is a wonderful place, but there is always a lot of danger regarding our data and personal things, with Tails forgetting about those problems. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use this system to connect from any protected site, sometimes I need to sit on a PC to check my personal things, but there are PCs that have viruses and with Tails I avoid these problems. ### 14. The best Linux distro to protect your privacy from anywhere **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Jianjun Jeffrey Z. | Programmer/Analyst IV, Higher Education, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** November 21, 2018 **What do you like best about Tails?** It is a solid Linux distro that focuses on protecting customers' privacy and anonymity. It runs on a Live USB flash drive or DVD so there is no trace will be left behind after using it. It comes with software that focuses on security and privacy, such as Tor browser, VeraCrypt, KeePassX, GnuPG, Monkeysign, GtkHash, and more. And if you install Tails on a USB flash drive, you have the option to create a persistent encrypted volume to save your data and to install additional software - if you have enough free space on the USB flash drive. The installation of Tails is not as simple as the installation of other popular Linux distros (Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, etc.), but the official website of Tails has a step-by-step and easy-to-follow instruction on Tails installation. There is also an automatic upgrade mechanism to upgrade your USB stick to newer versions. If you are not ready to run Tails from either a USB stick or DVD, you can also install and run it in a virtual machine such as VirtualBox. Overall, it is a superb Linux distro and it is open source. **What do you dislike about Tails?** I hope there will be more network tools included, for instance, VPN is not supported but sometimes customers have to use VPN. Another issue is the system time is automatically set to UTC to protect users' anonymity, but it might be an annoyance to some users. Also, if you need to install additional language, you might find it hard to do. Another challenge is that the community of Tails is not as big as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian or other popular distros, so when you have questions, it may take longer to find the answer. **Recommendations to others considering Tails:** If you are tired of being tracked by our ISP or other companies when you are online, you should give Tails a try. It is free and can protect your privacy and anonymity when you are connected to the Internet. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** I use Tails to protect my privacy and anonymity whenever I have the choice because I don't want companies to track my Internet usage and send me ads that I don't want to see. ### 15. Ubuntu - But for Security **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Real Estate | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Tails?** Tails is hands down the best Operating System if you are worried about Security. It's built on Linux and comes with everything you need to get up and running on the latest SecOPs Tools; Its literally plug and play. Download it; Check the SHA Sum; Burn it to a USB drive; and boot from the drive. It will walk you through everything you need and you literally will be covered. It automatically connects you to TOR, so you don't need to know anything to have NSA level Security **What do you dislike about Tails?** I dont like how you have to use two USB's to burn it to; i get why they do this; to ensure the operational security of the OS; but it should be optional. **Recommendations to others considering Tails:** Keep a flash drive with tails on it for those just-in-case situations; you never know when you will need it. This is something that is better to be prepared and have; then to be caught without. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Tails solves multiple problems, business or personal. It allows us to travel domestically or internationally, in friendly or hostile environments, and use potentially unsecure computers (coffee shops, etc) and get a TOR connection right away, automatically, while TAILS doesn't do everything, it does alot with very little setup. I would recommend everyone have a flash drive with tails on it to use for any sensitive projects or communications where you need to ensure operational security. ### 16. No data to leak **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Michael S. | IT Department Manager, Marketing and Advertising, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 26, 2018 **What do you like best about Tails?** Tails leaves no trace on the host computer so I am able to work on a computer that I don't own without leaving data behind. The small size of the operating system means it can easily fit on a flash drive and if you have some free space left on the drive, you can enable persistence to allow you to save files and settings. **What do you dislike about Tails?** Doesn't always shutdown cleanly. Sometimes it works fine, other times I have to force the shutdown. Either way, no data is left behind since it runs in memory. **Recommendations to others considering Tails:** Having Tails installed on the HDD can defeat the purpose of leaving no data behind. You may want to consider just having it on a flash drive or external USB drive for increased security, just don't leave it behind in the system. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Needing to access company files without needing to carry a company laptop around since the entire OS will fit nicely on a flash drive and if persistence is enabled, you can save some data back to the flash drive. ### 17. Tails protects your privacy for high risk situations. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Morgan C. | Virtual CIO, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 18, 2019 **What do you like best about Tails?** Tails is a complete sandbox environment which doesn't leak information out to your normal computing environment. It doesn't store any information, so no cookies, logs or cache are retained. Sending network traffic via Tor means that your data can't be eavesdropped on. **What do you dislike about Tails?** Tails is only good for occasional use for high stakes privacy protection. Because no data is stored locally, you can't use it as a regular desktop environment. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Tails protects while traveling in a hostile environment subject to censorship or monitoring. ### 18. Tails - A Privacy Oriented Linux Distribution! **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sophie W. | Developer, Computer Software, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 30, 2019 **What do you like best about Tails?** It feels safer and more privacy orientated than other Operating Systems, and I am in control of my own personal data. **What do you dislike about Tails?** It's not incredibly easy to use, and it's not a great replacement for all other operating systems. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Safety, security, and peace of mind that my data is safe. ### 19. Quick, portable, security minded OS **Rating:** 1.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Adam D. | Web Developer, Media Production, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Tails?** You can run this OS of a thumb drive on almost any computer without actually installing the operating system. **What do you dislike about Tails?** Like all Linux systems the install is a bit complicated and the support/documentation is light, but considering the target market these things are okay **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** I mean it's a privacy oriented OS, right? I kid, it's useful for security testing. ### 20. Try Tails! **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Marketing and Advertising | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Tails?** I liked how easy it was to get. Price wasn’t bad, and it didn’t take a long time to download. It also has a good dashboard and was easy to navigate. **What do you dislike about Tails?** I thought tails did a good job at protecting my security. Security is such a huge issue these days and I feel more comfortable with tails. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Security in general for our company, as well as specific users. ### 21. Privacy for anyone anywhere **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Consumer Services | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** January 31, 2019 **What do you like best about Tails?** it routs all internet traffic through the TOR browser/network. It's much safer that way. Tails uses Tor for the most part. If you are asking if it is safer than just using the Tor browser, then yes, in most cases Tails is safer.. **What do you dislike about Tails?** You can lose the usb or dvd to download. **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Preserving privacy and anonymity ### 22. Tails is a portable and reasonably secure Linux distribution. **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Stephen G. L. | Chief Dogcatcher, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 20, 2018 **What do you like best about Tails?** Tails is a complete distribution with a lot of security tools. **What do you dislike about Tails?** Tails has a steep learning curve. Also it is more of a niche OS, for security applications, primarily. **Recommendations to others considering Tails:** Geronimo! **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** A portable, bootable Linux distribution, that lets you use (for example) public computers, without interacting with systems you don't know about. A more secure way to connect when you are on the road and have to rely on someone else's hardware. ### 23. Tails/Amnesic **Rating:** 2.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Staffing and Recruiting | Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 24, 2018 **What do you like best about Tails?** I like the live access of a DVD/ish and the storage capability **What do you dislike about Tails?** The privacy didn't seem too good... however they were working on encryption **What problems is Tails solving and how is that benefiting you?** Cookies need to be deleted several t times in order to fully download sessions ## Tails Discussions - [can i use taiuls with windows](https://www.g2.com/discussions/can-i-use-taiuls-with-windows) - 2 comments, 1 upvote - [View Tails pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/tails/reviews?section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-05-13+23%3A42%3A01+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=b8aed95a-1cab-435a-8882-10d4c434b018&secure%5Btoken%5D=bfff0ef5d6fa0e15dbb5e95ab0a7eabc61d5e4e3aef326485b0cd113ea492c39&format=llm_user) ## Tails Integrations - [VeraCrypt](https://www.g2.com/products/veracrypt/reviews) ## Tails Features **Memory Management - Operating System** - RAM management **Device Management - Operating System** - I/O management **Backup and Recovery - Operating System** - Data backup **Error Detection - Operating System** - System operations monitoring ## Top Tails Alternatives - [Ubuntu](https://www.g2.com/products/ubuntu/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (2,316 reviews) - [Parrot Security OS](https://www.g2.com/products/parrot-security-os/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (55 reviews) - [Linux Mint](https://www.g2.com/products/linux-mint/reviews) - 4.5/5.0 (185 reviews)