Deliverable: A list of Flatpak apps most relevant to Tails personas We need a list of apps that we really want to work in terms of hardening. Make sure that we don't apply hardening that breaks them. Flatpak applications have permissions. Every packaged app decides what it wants. If an app says that it wants access to your entire files and devices, it gets it. Mitigation strategies: - Global settings that apply to all apps - Exceptions that apply only to certain apps For apps that have several possible alternatives, we need collaboration between UX and engineers to pick the best one while taking into consideration UX, sustainability, and security. # To Do * [ ] Check whether GNOME Software communicates well enough that applications have unsafe permissions? * [ ] Consider adding Thunderbird to the list # Draft list ### Signal - Signal: https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.signal.Signal (26 000) * [x] "Transfer your last 45 days of history." Yay! - Message transfer took 1.5 minute. Good! * [ ] Document "Delete Data" to reset and transfer data again. * [x] Calls work! ### Top messaging apps - Wire: https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.wire.WireDesktop (440, 3 min to install) * ***Wire** is the strongest alternative to Signal because it solves the problem of having to register with a phone number for the users who really cannot afford it, but Wire has sustainability issues.* * No history transfer * Calls work - Telegram: https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.telegram.desktop (100 000, 11 min) * ***Telegram** is more useful to our antipersonas than to our personas and could be dangerous for our users in its default configuration.* * History imported automatically * Calls fail to connect - WhatsApp * ***WhatsApp** would be useful for human rights defenders who support people in the Global South who only have low-end phones or need to keep a low profile.* * Alternatives: - https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.rtosta.zapzap (37 000) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.ktechpit.whatsie (32 000, 8 min) - Talks to me in Portuguese - No calls * https://flathub.org/en/apps/io.github.tobagin.karere (4 300, 1 min) - Talks to me in Portuguese - Onboarding options - No calls - Matrix/Element: https://flathub.org/en/apps/im.riot.Riot (8 700) * Mentioned by P07 and P11 ("*next after Signal*") * Encryption warning on first use * "Unexpected error" when going from matrix.org in Tor Browser to Element, feels like a JavaScript problem on first try of the "Continue" button. * Alternatives: - https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.gnome.Fractal (1 400) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.kde.neochat (870) ### Other messaging apps mentioned in the interviews at least twice Untested in Tails. - Discord: https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.discordapp.Discord (187 000) * Mentioned by P12 (for investigation) and P11 (because it's popular) - Slack: https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.slack.Slack (13 000) * Mentioned by P11 and P06 (*every news room uses Slack on the East Coast*) - Rocket Chat * Mentioned by P07 and P04 * Alternatives: - https://flathub.org/en/apps/chat.rocket.RocketChat (1 000) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.kde.ruqola (100) ### Getting rid of Pidgin Untested in Tails - XMPP * *Nobody that we interviewed really uses Pidgin, the XMPP client included in Tails. Replacing Dino with Pidgin would provide better usability for diehard XMPP users, but is not a viable alternative to Wire and would break backward compatibility with the OTR encryption of Pidgin (that's replaced by more modern OMEMO encryption in Dino).* * WhisperBack count: 7 (gajim) + 1 (dino-im) * [ ] Test and pick an alternative. * Alternatives: - https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.gajim.Gajim (1 700) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/im.dino.Dino (800) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/im.pidgin.Pidgin (760) - IRC * **TODO:UX**: Test and pick an alternative. * Alternatives: - https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.squidowl.halloy (830) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.kde.konversation (650) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.gnome.Polari (600) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/im.srain.Srain (170) ### Non-messaging apps used in WhisperBack reports - VLC: https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.videolan.VLC (100 000) * WhisperBack count: 57 * Not sure if it should be in our list but people will use it. - YouTube * Requested on GitLab a couple of times. * Mentioned in the FAQ until 78a08d5c1e4 because removed from Trixie. * WhisperBack count: 6 (yt-dlp) + 5 (youtube-dl) * [ ] Test and pick an alternative. * Alternatives: - https://flathub.org/en/apps/io.freetubeapp.FreeTube (42 000) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.nickvision.tubeconverter (14 000) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.warlordsoftwares.youtube-downloader-4ktube (11 000) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/io.github.mhogomchungu.media-downloader (2 900) - https://flathub.org/en/apps/page.codeberg.impromptux.ytdl-gui (3 000) - Mumble * Mentioned in interviews: Robin (2025), Claudia and Felix (2018), and Joana and Orlando (2018). * People might prefer Signal calls these days? * WhisperBack count: 8 * https://flathub.org/en/apps/info.mumble.Mumble (1 500) ### Other interesting non-messaging apps **TODO:UX** Test and triage. - OBS Studio: https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.obsproject.Studio (94 000) * One of the most popular app on Flathub. * Now preferred tool for screen recordings: easy and reliable. * Wondering about the possible use in Tails... - Proton Mail: https://flathub.org/en/apps/me.proton.Mail (13 000) * Unofficial * Wondering about the benefits over Thunderbird. - Alpaca: https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.jeffser.Alpaca (13 000) * Uses for AI chats in Tails? - Monero: https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.getmonero.Monero (1 900) * Probably works better than the outdated version in Debian... - Trezor: https://flathub.org/en/apps/io.trezor.suite (800) * Would solve the issues with the Debian package? - Online password manager * Expands password manager to several devices and people. * jvoisin recommends 1Password or BitWarden: https://dustri.org/b/the-quest-for-a-family-friendly-password-manager.html * Alternatives: - BitWarden: https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.bitwarden.desktop (48 000) - 1Password: https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.onepassword.OnePassword (5 200) - Dialect: https://flathub.org/en/apps/app.drey.Dialect (3 200) - Synology Drive: https://flathub.org/en/apps/com.synology.SynologyDrive (2 600) - Cryptomator: https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.cryptomator.Cryptomator (4 900) * Interesting for cloud storage?