Tails 7.13

Tails is an amnesic live operating system that routes all connections through Tor and forgets everything at shutdown. Version 7.13 was released on September 16, 2026. We covered it in the news.

What changed

Faster shutdown. Confirmation prompts have been removed from the shutdown path. For most operating systems that would be a minor convenience. For Tails it is a safety feature: the ability to shut down immediately, and have the RAM cleared, is part of the threat model for someone who may need to stop a session in a hurry.

Tor Browser 15.0.23 and Tor 0.4.9.12. The bundled browser and Tor client move forward. Tor Browser is the primary application in Tails and its most realistic attack surface, so keeping it current matters more than almost anything else in the release.

Tails now ships on a two-week release cycle, so updates like this arrive frequently.

Upgrading

Existing Tails USB sticks get an automatic upgrade offer on first connection to Tor after the release. Accept it. If automatic upgrade is not offered or fails, follow the manual upgrade instructions on tails.net.

What Tails is for

Tails is a specific tool for a specific threat model: leaving no trace on the computer you use and routing everything through Tor. It is not a general-purpose desktop. If you want privacy on your everyday machine, hardening a normal distribution is the better approach, which our Linux security best practices guide covers.

Verify Your Download

The Tails download page verifies the image in your browser automatically. For command-line verification with OpenPGP, the install page documents the signing key and process.