Dear Tails Developers,
I'm a regular Tails user (currently on 7.1) who values the project's commitment
to privacy and amnesia, but I've been puzzled by the persistent choice to
default Tor Browser to the 'Standard' security level. While I understand the
emphasis on out-of-the-box usability for newcomers, this setting undermines the
core privacy ethos for the majority of users by enabling features like
autoplaying videos and JavaScript on non-HTTPS sites—risks that could lead to
unintended tracking or exploits.
The 'Safer' level offers a compelling middle ground: it disables autoplay (a
clear privacy win), blocks JS on insecure HTTP connections (aligning perfectly
with Tor's threat model), and imposes only minimal functionality loss (e.g., no
major site breakage, unlike 'Safest'). Most importantly, it reduces user
error—many of us, myself included, forget to manually adjust the slider each
boot, resulting in accidental lower-privacy sessions. Enabling persistence for
this setting (a great addition since 5.8) helps power users, but it doesn't
address the default experience for first-time or occasional boots.
Community sentiment echoes this: Recent discussions on r/tails (e.g., threads
from 2024-2025 on security levels and persistence) show a strong preference for
'Safer' among experienced users, with frequent complaints about the extra step.
If 'Safer' became the default, it would normalize higher protection without
increasing fingerprinting risks—assuming high adoption, it keeps the user pool
uniform, just at a safer baseline. Users needing full JS for specific sites
(e.g., certain .onion services) could still dial back easily.
I'd love to hear your thoughts: Is there plans to shift the default to 'Safer'
in an upcoming release, perhaps 7.3 or 8.0? This small change could make Tails
even more intuitive for privacy-focused folks without sacrificing accessibility.
Thank you for your tireless work—it's made a real difference in my digital
safety.
Best regards,
Ricardo Bishop
[email protected]
Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email.
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