# Tails

14 Hacker News commenters recommended Tails and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for anonymity and privacy, it boots from a USB stick and leaves no trace on the host machine. One critic says it is too complicated for average consumers.

## Why people recommend it

- Boots from a USB stick (5 comments): "It is specifically designed for anonymity and privacy, and can be booted from a usb stick." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46510624)) "Or shut down and boot tails again. You need privacy? Take your time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47872599)) "get off your smart phone and boot tails and do the searches there" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48972294))
- Built for anonymity and privacy (2 comments): "It is specifically designed for anonymity and privacy, and can be booted from a usb stick." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46510624)) "if you're ultra paranoid and want a private OS to read / write" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46178190))
- Isolated, leaves no trace (2 comments): "I prefer to run tails in an isolated environment." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47874069)) "Nice because it leaves no trace." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47266725))
- Hard to target or tamper with (2 comments): "It's not specialized hardware, so there's no incentive for anyone to look for money on it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50086428)) "Tails is made on the premise that exactly this kind of trick will occur." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47871555))

## What people warn about

- Too complicated for average consumers (1 comments): "that simply is just too complicated for the average consumer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50090628))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [OpenBSD](https://hackerapproved.com/p/openbsd.md): 248 recommend
- [Qubes OS](https://hackerapproved.com/p/qubes-os.md): 98 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Tails", https://hackerapproved.com/p/tails/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).