Securedrop Whistleblower Directory

Communication

Free
No Download/Install required
No registration

The SecureDrop Directory is a centralized repository of verified instances of the SecureDrop whistleblower submission system, an open-source platform managed by the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

A very specialized directory: to be used if your looking to share information publicly, anonymously, via established media. Not for information search.

The service provides a secure, anonymous channel for individuals to share sensitive documents and messages with news organizations, nonprofits, and investigative bodies. By utilizing the Tor network to mask IP addresses and GnuPG for end-to-end encryption, the system ensures that neither the identity of the source nor the content of the submission is exposed to third-party surveillance.

The directory allows users to locate specific onion addresses for major global outlets, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and ProPublica, ensuring they are connecting to authentic and maintained security infrastructures.

Disciplines: Journalism, Whistleblowing, Cybersecurity, Human rights, Legal.

Free alternative to Signal, ProtonMail, GlobaLeaks.

SecureDrop Whistleblower Directory compared with Signal, ProtonMail and GlobaLeaks
SecureDrop Directory	Signal	ProtonMail	GlobaLeaks
Role: The Freedom of the Press Foundation maintains the official directory of SecureDrop instances. It points to the submission addresses of news organisations and is not a submission system itself.	Role: A free, open-source messaging app for calls and messages to individuals or groups. It is a general communication tool, not a channel dedicated to news organisations.	Role: An email service. The vendor states that it uses end-to-end and zero-access encryption, so Proton cannot read the content of a stored inbox.	Role: Free and open-source software used to set up and maintain a secure reporting platform. An organisation hosts it itself, unlike a directory of existing platforms.
Anonymity of the source: SecureDrop sites are reachable only as onion services on Tor. Sources receive a randomly generated code name to note down so that journalists can contact them later.	Anonymity of the source: Registration needs a working phone number verified by SMS, so the service is not anonymous by design. Usernames can hide the number from contacts, according to the EFF guide.
Licence and maintainer: The SecureDrop software is released under the GNU AGPL version 3 and developed by the Freedom of the Press Foundation, which took over the former DeadDrop project.	Licence and maintainer: Described as open source by the EFF guide. The exact licence of each component is not stated in the source consulted.	Licence and maintainer: The vendor describes its encryption as open source and independently audited. It does not state in the source consulted whether the rest of the service is open source.	Licence and maintainer: Released under AGPLv3 with additional terms under section 7, meant to inform whistleblowers about the technology and to make administrators keep systems up to date.
	Cost model: Free to use, and messages travel over a data connection, so there are no SMS or MMS fees.	Cost model: A free plan with 1 GB of storage is offered. Mail Plus is a paid plan billed annually, with 15 GB of storage.	Cost model: The software is free. Hosting and administration costs fall on the organisation that runs the platform.
	Platform and deployment: Android 5 or later and iOS 13 or later are the main targets. Desktop apps exist but require a linked phone.		Platform and deployment: The repository includes Docker and Debian packaging, and documentation is hosted at docs.globaleaks.org.

Topics covered: SecureDrop, Whistleblower, Directory, Open-source, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Anonymous, Secure channel, Sensitive documents, Tor network, IP masking, GnuPG, End-to-end encryption, Third-party surveillance, Onion addresses, Global outlets, Security infrastructures, Investigative bodies, Information sharingISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27002, ISO/IEC 29100, ISO/IEC 27018, and NIST SP 800-53..