We replaced balenaEtcher with Rufus in our installation instructions for Windows to solve privacy concerns with balenaEtcher.

Since January 2019, we had been recommending balenaEtcher to install Tails from Windows and macOS. We loved the simplicity of balenaEtcher, which was really easier to use and worked on macOS as well.

Shortly after, balenaEtcher started displaying ads. Although we didn't like that, we initially didn't view it as a significant privacy risk and had no better alternative at the time.

However, in 2024, the situation changed: balenaEtcher started sharing the file name of the image and the model of the USB stick with the Balena company and possibly with third parties. While we have not experienced or heard of any attacks against Tails users stemming from this change, we believe it introduces potential for abuse. To eliminate that risk altogether, we started looking again for alternatives.

After evaluating 7 other tools, we finally chose Rufus. We had tested Rufus many years ago, even before recommending balenaEtcher, but it was much harder to use and modified the Tails image in ways that were risky.

Congratulations to Akeo Consulting, the company behind Rufus, for really improving the usability and reliability of their tool!

We have not yet replaced balenaEtcher in our installation instructions for macOS because Rufus doesn't work on macOS. Also, as Tails doesn't work on Apple M1 and M2 processors, people who install Tails from macOS represent less than 10% of installations nowadays.

Still, we recommend 2 alternatives for macOS: installing Tails using dd on the command line or using Raspberry Pi Imager.