# SecureDrop

> Source: https://fuckyc.org/services/securedrop/
> Website: https://securedrop.org/
> Categories: Anonymous hosting, Messaging
> KYC: none — Open-source whistleblower submission system run by individual publications. Sources contact via Tor onion service with no account, no email, no phone.
> Status: active
> Jurisdiction: Freedom of the Press Foundation (United States)
> Fiat on-ramp: no
> Payment methods: donation
> Founded: 2013
> Open source: yes
> Custodial: no
> Last verified: 2026-05-12

## Verdict

SecureDrop is the canonical Tor-onion-service whistleblower intake system. Operated by individual publications under FPF stewardship. For journalists handling sensitive sources, it is the gold standard; for sources, it is the highest-privacy submission channel available to most newsrooms. See the directory at securedrop.org/directory/ for participating publications.

## Strengths

- The reference Tor-onion-service-based intake system for journalist sources.
- Multiple layers of cryptographic protection between submitter and journalist's identity.
- Used by The New York Times, The Guardian, ProPublica, The Washington Post, The Intercept, and dozens of others.
- Maintained by the Freedom of the Press Foundation; open source.

## Caveats

- Source/submitter does not pick the operator — the operator is the publication running the instance.
- Each publication's threat model and operational discipline determines actual privacy in practice.
- Use Tor Browser and follow the publication's specific instructions before submitting.

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## What SecureDrop is

A whistleblower submission system implemented as a Tor onion service. Each publication runs its own instance.

## Threat-model fit

The reference channel for whistleblowing to a newsroom. See the journalists and whistleblowers stack guides for the broader context.

## Sources

- [SecureDrop project](https://securedrop.org/) — accessed 2026-05-12
- [SecureDrop — directory of publications](https://securedrop.org/directory/) — accessed 2026-05-12
- [Freedom of the Press Foundation](https://freedom.press/) — accessed 2026-05-12