The Ubyssey’s Secure Dropbox, powered by OnionShare, provides sources a way to share information with our journalists with more security and anonymity than other means.
Getting started
To reduce the probability that third parties, such as your employer or a government agency, can tell you’re using OnionShare, we suggest you connect to it from a network that you don’t normally use, such as a public WiFi network at a cafe you’ve never visited before or even at a public library.
The Ubyssey recommends using a computer you oversee, because a laptop issued to you by your employer, for example, may contain monitoring software that tracks the sites you visit. We also recommend not using any other websites where your identity can be discovered in the same session.
- Once you are connected to a network that you don’t normally use, download and install the Tor Browser. This browser provides an anonymous web browser you can use to share information with us.
- Send The Ubyssey a message on Signal at (604) 283–2023 saying you have information you want to share with us. Our Signal is monitored from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. on weekdays by The Ubyssey’s editor-in-chief and managing editor.
- Once we receive your message, we will send you a secure and personalized OnionShare link over Signal. This link will only open on the Tor browser.
- Open the Tor browser, and once a secure connection to the Tor network has been established, enter the address and passkey provided to you over Signal.
Follow the instructions provided to upload files and leave messages. Transferring large files (such as audio recordings, videos, etc.) over the Tor network can be very slow and has a higher chance of network interruptions. We suggest compressing your files into a zip file or sending each file in different sessions.
How does OnionShare work?
OnionShare is an open-source file-sharing application developed by Micah Lee, a co-founder of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. It uses the Tor network to anonymize your interactions through a process of network anonymity. The connection between the Tor onion service and Tor Browser is end-to-end encrypted, meaning network attackers can’t eavesdrop on anything except encrypted Tor traffic.
Third parties cannot access anything that happens in OnionShare. Using OnionShare means hosting services directly on your computer. When sharing your files with OnionShare, they are not uploaded to any third-party server.
Learn more about OnionShare’s security design here.
How does The Ubyssey use my tips?
Files and messages may be uploaded for the attention of any of our journalists, but only The Ubyssey’s editor-in-chief and managing editor have direct access to these files. After uploads have been decrypted, they are passed securely to the intended section editor and journalist, who will treat them as sensitive data. Journalists working with uploaded files are required to use only Ubyssey office computers and follow security best practices.
Ubyssey journalists may request an interview with you before information is published. Anonymous sources are a critical element of journalism, and The Ubyssey aims to protect the identities of anonymous sources, whistleblowers and others. The use of anonymous sources is governed by our anonymity policy.
No form of communication, electronic or otherwise, can be 100 per cent secure. Correct use of the OnionShare service and personal online safety and anonymity protocols will provide you with a greater level of security than traditional methods of sharing information with journalists. The Ubyssey will take all the steps we can to protect you as a source, but use of OnionShare is at your own risk.