The Index

Why it’s here

Runs entirely in your browser, so you can download it and use it offline on sensitive material.

Why it’s here

Still the most complete metadata reader there is. Learn the -a -G1 -s flags and you will see almost everything a file carries.

Limitations

Uploaded files are shared with security vendors and paying users. Search by hash instead of uploading anything confidential.

Why it’s here

Useful for checking what an app or device actually sends, not what its privacy policy says it sends.

Why it’s here

One database per identity. Turn on backup before saving, stop it remembering recent databases and key files, and keep TOTP secrets in a separate database.

Limitations

No built-in sync and no official mobile app (third-party KeePass apps fill the gap). Browser integration is the riskiest part. Version 2.8.0, in beta as of October 2026, fixes five low-to-moderate bugs in the 2.7 line.

Why it’s here

Our default VPN. Keep the account number in a password manager, turn on Lockdown mode, and log out and back in before switching to a server that should be unlinked from your last session.

Limitations

No port forwarding, and no OpenVPN since late 2025. Many sites and streaming services block its IPs. Cash and crypto payments can’t be refunded.

Why it’s here

The baseline for visiting onion services and for research you don’t want tied to your own connection.

Limitations

Slow for heavy pages, and many sites block or challenge Tor exit nodes.

Why it’s here

The tool for portable encrypted storage. Verify the PGP signature, tick Never Save History, and on a Mac use the macFUSE build until the FUSE-T bug is fixed.

Limitations

Not for cloud-synced folders. System encryption is Windows only. No protection against tampering, and hidden volumes are fragile in practice. Maintained by essentially one developer.

Why it’s here

Put it in front of whichever inbox you use. Shared-domain aliases for anything persona-related, and never press Spam on a forwarded email. A custom domain makes the aliases portable.

Limitations

The free plan forwards only 10 MB a month (mail over that bounces) and can’t reply. Some sites block alias domains. Server logs with IP addresses are kept for three days. Run by one developer.

Why it’s here

Check every research identity you run, not just your own.

Why it’s here

The spare VPN that’s good enough to be a main. The Standard plan ($6 a month, $60 a year) is enough for most people, and the $2 week is a cheap test. Refunds within 30 days include crypto.

Limitations

Smaller network (89 servers in 42 countries), no port forwarding, and no kill switch listed for iOS. Its add-on services need an email address. RAM-only servers are still a pilot.

Why it’s here

A good default inbox if you sign up over Tor or a VPN, leave the recovery email empty, set a recovery phrase and pay with Bitcoin or cash. Write subject lines as if they were public, because to Proton they are.

Limitations

Proton can see sender, recipient, subject line and timestamps. No IMAP on the free plan. One free account per person, and free accounts can be deleted after 12 months unused. It complied with 8,313 Swiss legal orders in 2025.

Why it’s here

The free VPN to give someone who can’t pay privately yet. Keep it off a real-name Proton Mail account, but Proton’s terms ban multiple free accounts, so one of the two should be paid.

Limitations

Needs a Proton account and may ask for email or SMS verification. No Monero. The free plan is one device with no country choice and no P2P, and free accounts can be deleted after 12 months unused.

Why it’s here

For staying unlinkable from people who shouldn’t learn who you are. Back up the Recovery Password before anything else.

Limitations

The current protocol has no forward secrecy (the next version is meant to add it, with no date). Calls reveal your IP to the other person and to a Session server. A restore loses messages older than 14 days. It nearly shut down for lack of money in 2026 and now runs on donations.

Why it’s here

Save the order URL in a password manager: it’s the whole account. Keep the number in a separate handset and renew its lease every year.

Limitations

No voice calls and no outgoing SMS. Only US numbers on sale as of October 2026. No terms, privacy policy or named operator. The mobile network still sees the handset and where it is.

Why it’s here

The polished no-number messenger. On Android, buy it through the Threema Shop with cash or Bitcoin, then turn on Threema Safe and set an ID revocation password.

Limitations

Paid separately on each platform, and the iPhone version can only be bought through the App Store. One-to-one calls reveal your IP unless you turn on Always relay calls, and group calls send every member’s IP to Threema’s media servers. Linking the desktop beta switches off forward secrecy for your chats.

Why it’s here

The inbox for a compartment that shouldn’t share a company with Proton. If you sign up over Tor or a VPN, you may wait a working day for manual approval.

Limitations

No IMAP, SMTP or PGP. Free accounts are deleted after six months without a login, and you’re allowed one. German courts can order live monitoring of an account’s unencrypted mail.

Why it’s here

Save the page before you cite it. Pages disappear, archived copies tend not to.

Limitations

Coverage and freshness vary by country; check the original registry before relying on a record.

Why it’s here

A quick way to find subdomains an organisation never meant to advertise. The interface is bare, the data is excellent.

Why it’s here

For domains whose public record shouldn’t carry your name. Pay with Monero, turn on two-factor authentication, and move anything important out while things are calm.

Limitations

Njalla, not you, is the registrant on record, and it can suspend the domain at its discretion. Payments are non-refundable, and many users report suspensions with little explanation. Domains start at €15 a year.

Limitations

Most filters and full results need a paid account.

Why it’s here

The fallback when you don’t want any exchange holding your coins. Turn on Monero over Tor in the settings, and open the app within the refund window if a swap stalls.

Limitations

Bitcoin to Monero only, desktop only. A swap takes about an hour, and a stalled one has to be refunded roughly 4 to 28 hours after it started. A maker can withhold an anti-spam deposit from a refund. No audit.

Why it’s here

Save the robot token before anything else and read the coordinator’s profile. As a seller, never confirm until the money is actually in your account. Trade fees are typically 0.2%.

Limitations

You need a Lightning wallet and a few sats for the bond before you can buy. Liquidity is thin outside the big currencies, reversible payment methods invite chargeback scams, and there’s no iPhone app. Still labelled alpha.

Why it’s here

Fees are built into the quoted rates. Pick A or B rated partners, prefer floating rates, add a refund address and run one swap at a time.

Limitations

Its terms exclude citizens and residents of the US, the EEA, sanctioned countries (including China and Russia) and countries that ban crypto. The partner exchange can halt a swap and ask for ID, and the guarantee doesn’t cover AML or legal holds. Closed source.