Your Identity#

Now that you are booted into Tails OS for the very first time, you are ready to create your brand new online identity!

Important: Please take a moment to review our advice about online identities.

Take Your Time

The country has already fallen to tyranny and is quickly becoming a dictatorship. There is no reason to rush through this document. Please, read it carefully!

The USB Flash Drive that you created is simply Tails OS with a copy of the tools we use to manage this project. In order to contribute, you must create an identity, so that it can be granted access to resources.

From a high-level overview, this is our approach to layered security:

App/Service

Purpose

Target

Tails OS

Privacy

People

Tor Network

Privacy

People

General Advice

Privacy

People

Email

Authorization

People/Project

GPG

Authentication

People/Project

SSH

Authentication

People/Project

GitHub

Authorization

Project

GitHub

Accounting

Project

You may also wish to read more about the choices behind our toolset.

Remember Passwords#

In order to be sure that your new identity is completely separate from yourself, it is best to use brand new passwords. Tails OS comes with KeePassXC to help keep track of these new passwords. You just need to keep track of the master password and “password vault” (the saved file).

Although your Tails OS Flash Drive is a very secure place to keep your password vault, it is not the safest. If your Flash Drive is lost or malfunctions, anything stored on it will be gone. We recommend keeping a copy of this password file stored in a more secure location, such as a separate flash drive stored in a safe.

TODO:

  • Link to other keepassxc resources

  • Find a video that shows the use of TOTP

  • This file is encrypted, so you can call it anything and hide it “in plain view”

Email Account#

Every reputable online identity begins with an email address. This identity will be used to track your contributions, and so it is important to keep this separate from yourself.

For example: mom4justice@webmail.com sounds anonymous, but it reveals that this person is a mother and they are likely talking about justice in the real world. Something like iamwitness12341111@webmail.com suggests someone recording on the streets…somewhere.

Unfortunately, many online email providers now require a phone number for registrations. We recommend the email service provider(s) listed here:

  • Atomicmail

SSH and GPG#

Although you have likely never heard of SSH or GPG, these are the standard tools used for critical security, throughout all of technology. They continue to be used because they are both reliable and flexible. When a security vulnerability is discovered, it usually takes unrealistic preparation to execute and is quickly resolved before anyone finds a practical exploit.

They both operate on a similar public and private key principal, where the public key is shared with other people and services, and the private key proves ownership of the public key.

Create an SSH Key#

SSH is an extremely flexible tool that functions exactly like a lock and key.

To create an SSH key pair:

  1. Open up Console

  2. Run the command ssh-keygen -C <your-email>

  3. Press enter for the first prompt

  4. Type a secure password, then press enter

  5. Type the same password, and press enter again.

It should look similar to the following:

# 2. Run the command ``ssh-keygen``
amnesia@amnesia:~$ ssh-keygen -C iamwitness12341111@webmail.com
Generating public/private ed25519 key pair.

# 3. Press Enter
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/amnesia/.ssh/id_ed25519):

# 4. Provide a password and press enter
Enter passphrase for "/home/amnesia/.ssh/id_ed25519" (empty for no passphrase):

# 5. Provide the same password and press enter
Enter same passphrase again:

# The rest is just information
Your identification has been saved in /home/amnesia/.ssh/id_ed25519
Your public key has been saved in /home/amnesia/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:pOBwoX+ft/09ekfXAffia0mYT9VfZ4Qz423jPWkUnig iamwitness12341111@webmail.com
The key's randomart image is:
+--[ED25519 256]--+
|    .          . |
|   . .       .=o.|
|  o o   .    .=*=|
|   = . o   E .o*X|
|    o o S   .+o=X|
|     . . .  o +=*|
|        o .  +.+o|
|         . o  =+.|
|          . .++ +|
+----[SHA256]-----+

That’s all there is to it! The content of id_ed25519.pub now has your SSH public key:

amnesia@amnesia:~$ cat /home/amnesia/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIH+UB0Rkrq22QI4JazN4l6VHo7cP+JTD95a/pRPlSTfX iamwitness12341111@webmail.com

You should now save your secure password, id_ed25519, and id_ed25519.pub into your password vault.

Create a GPG Key#

When it comes to online identities, email is a great solution to uniquely identify various contributors, but this is not enough to prove someone “owns” that email.

In order to prove that an identity is “owned” by someone, we use GPG. This is very similar to SSH, except that it is designed to authenticate messages.

Using The

You Can

Private Key

Sign an email, or message, or any file at all

Public Key

Verify that a private key actually signed something

Public Key

Encrypt any email/message/file

Private Key

Decrypt anything that was encrypted with your public key

Private Key

Sign the Private Key of another person, showing trust

Even though it is possible to create multiple GPG Keys for the same identity (email), each GPG Key has a unique identifier, making this the true unique identifier of an anonymous contributor.

Creating a GPG Key is similar to creating an SSH Key:

  1. Open up Console

  2. Run the command gpg --gen-key

  3. For the “Real name,” the portion of your email before the ‘@’ is fine, then press enter

  4. Provide the email address that you just created, then press enter

  5. Double check spelling, type O (letter) and press enter again

  6. You will then need to provide a secure password

It should look similar to the following:

# 2. Run the command ``gpg --gen-key``
amnesia@amnesia:~$ gpg --gen-key
gpg (GnuPG) 2.4.7; Copyright (C) 2024 g10 Code GmbH
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

Note: Use "gpg --full-generate-key" for a full featured key generation dialog.

GnuPG needs to construct a user ID to identify your key.

# 3. For the "Real name," the portion of your email before the '@' is fine, then press enter
Real name: iamwitness12341111

# 4. Provide the email address that you just created, then press enter
Email address: iamwitness12341111@webmail.com
You selected this USER-ID:
    "iamwitness12341111 <iamwitness12341111@webmail.com>"


# 5. Double check spelling, type ``O`` (letter) and press enter again
Change (N)ame, (E)mail, or (O)kay/(Q)uit? o

# 6. You will then need to provide a secure password
We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to perform
some other action (type on the keyboard, move the mouse, utilize the
disks) during the prime generation; this gives the random number
generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.
We need to generate a lot of random bytes. It is a good idea to perform
some other action (type on the keyboard, move the mouse, utilize the
disks) during the prime generation; this gives the random number
generator a better chance to gain enough entropy.
gpg: /home/amnesia/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: directory '/home/amnesia/.gnupg/openpgp-revocs.d' created
gpg: revocation certificate stored as '/home/amnesia/.gnupg/openpgp-revocs.d/8481BBC34CDD50801DEE42B8195CA29BFF5C92C0.rev'
public and secret key created and signed.

pub   ed25519 2026-01-21 [SC] [expires: 2029-01-20]
      8481BBC34CDD50801DEE42B8195CA29BFF5C92C0
uid                      iamwitness12341111 <iamwitness12341111@webmail.com>
sub   cv25519 2026-01-21 [E] [expires: 2029-01-20]

That long random string above the identity (email) is the GPG Key ID:

8481BBC34CDD50801DEE42B8195CA29BFF5C92C0

This is the actual ID that is used to build trust. When trust is violated, this is also what allows us to review historical contributions and other key signatures.

To make a backup of this key, run:

amnesia@amnesia:~$ gpg --export-secret-keys 8481BBC34CDD50801DEE42B8195CA29BFF5C92C0 > secret_key

You’ll notice the console output also mentions a revocation certificate:

gpg: revocation certificate stored as '/home/amnesia/.gnupg/openpgp-revocs.d/8481BBC34CDD50801DEE42B8195CA29BFF5C92C0.rev'

This file should also be backed up. If your GPG key is ever lost or stolen, this will allow you to tell the world that your previous key is no longer valid.

Key Server#

GPG supports “signing” another key, to show public trust that a key is owned by a trusted identity. This builds something called a “web of trust” that allows mutual trust between identities with no previous interaction.

Everything is cryptographically verified, so we can tell any public key server about this key that we just created and it will synchronize with all other key servers.

Telling the world about the unique key for this identity is as easy as:

  1. Open up Console

  2. Run the command gpg --send-key <Key-ID-From-Above>:

    amnesia@amnesia:~$ gpg --send-key 8481BBC34CDD50801DEE42B8195CA29BFF5C92C0
gpg: sending key 0x195CA29BFF5C92C0 to hkp://zkaan2xfbuxia2wpf7ofnkbz6r5zdbbvxbunvp5g2iebopbfc4iqmbad.onion

  3. This will trigger an email bringing you to a page to verify key IDs

  4. Click Send verification email next to your email

    (this may seem redundant–it is required because one key may have multiple emails)

  5. Click the link in this verification email and the process should be complete:

    Your key 8481BBC34CDD50801DEE42B8195CA29BFF5C92C0 is now published for the identity iamwitness12341111@webmail.com.

Take a Breather#

If you have never worked with security, SSH and GPG may seem like enough to make you give up and walk away. Have no fear…

  • This is as confusing as things get

  • These are standard tools with lots of online documentation

  • Your email address allows you to join our Discord and ask for help

This is a great time to stop and take a break. Give your mind some time to recovery from the key creation process.

Create Your GitHub Account#

Although Version Control Systems itself is decentralized, it is extremely helpful to have a centralized service like GitHub. This provides AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) that makes it easier to collaborate safely, with protection against spam and bad actors.

  1. Go to https://github.com/

  2. Follow the account creation process

  3. We recommend making the following account changes (at https://github.com/settings/profile)

    1. Check: Make profile private and hide activity

    2. Click the “Update preferences” button below this checkbox

    3. Uncheck: Show Achievements on my profile

    4. Click the “Update preferences” button below this checkbox

  4. Upload your SSH Key to: https://github.com/settings/keys

    1. Click “New SSH Key”

    2. Open Console

    3. Run cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub:

      amnesia@amnesia:~$ cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIET0zknbWnxAT1m5kcUF54yFxdWC+ZeJeHSizWKKWNDN iamwitness12341111@webmail.com

    4. Copy and paste the line that follows your command (starting with “ssh”) into the web browser

    5. Provide an optional title and click “Add SSH Key”

  5. Upload your GPG Key to: https://github.com/settings/keys

    1. Click “New GPG Key”

    2. Open Console

    3. Run gpg --armor --export <keyID-or-Email>:

      amnesia@amnesia:~$ gpg --armor --export iamwitness12341111@webmail.com
-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----
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=0k
-----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----

    4. Copy and paste the line that follows your command (including all dashes) into the web browser

    5. Provide an optional title and click “Add GPG Key”

  6. We recommend checking “Flag unsigned commits as unverified” (will automatically save)

That’s it! Your GitHub account is now created, and it has all the security tokens required to prove ownership of your identity, even though the identity is entirely anonymous.

If we ever need to leave GitHub, you will be able to keep these security tokens and use them to prove your identity on any future replacement. You can even change your email address and username, and the GPG Key ID will be enough to verify any link to your old email/username…unless you follow this process and start completely fresh.

Additional Accounts#

You will want to make more accounts, such as Reddit or Discord. As long as you follow our advice about online identities, you will be able to keep these accounts safe.

The next section covers actual usage of this workspace.