Secure Tip

If you have documentation, knowledge or suspicion of something that should come to light, you can send us a tip without revealing your identity. Follow the three steps below, so that neither we nor anyone else can trace the message back to you.

🧅 Step 1: Download and use Tor Browser

Tor Browser hides your IP address, so neither Proton, ExtraFokus nor any third party can see where you are when you create the account and send the tip.

Go to torproject.org from a computer or phone that is not owned by your employer.
Download and install Tor Browser for your operating system.
Use ONLY Tor Browser for all of the following steps. Never log in on a regular browser along the way, and do not log in to your private email, Facebook or anything else in the same browser session.

If possible: use public wi-fi (café, library) instead of your home or work network, especially if your tip concerns your current workplace.

A VPN is easier to set up than Tor Browser and also hides your IP address from Proton. But the VPN provider itself knows your real IP address and can in theory be forced to hand it over, which Tor’s decentralised design avoids. If you choose a VPN anyway, use a provider with a documented no-logs policy. Tor Browser is still the safest choice.

📧 Step 2: Create a new, anonymous Proton Mail account

NEVER use your private or work email address to contact us. Create a fresh Proton Mail account that cannot be traced to you.

Inside Tor Browser: go to proton.me/mail and create a free account.
Choose a username that does not contain your name, nickname, date of birth or anything else recognisable.
Avoid reusing a password you use elsewhere.
Skip phone number verification if possible. If Proton requires it anyway, do not use your own number.
Do NOT write your name, job title or other identifying information in the email itself, unless you deliberately choose to come forward.

🔐 Step 3: Encrypt your message with our PGP key

Proton encrypts automatically between two Proton accounts, but is still subject to Swiss law. By also encrypting with our PGP key, you ensure that only those at ExtraFokus with access to the private key can read the content, whatever happens to the Proton account along the way.

Copy our public PGP key:

In Proton Mail: click the padlock icon next to the recipient field and paste the key (Proton has built-in PGP support for external keys).
If you do not have access to the built-in function, use a tool such as Mailvelope (browser extension) to encrypt the text before you paste it into the email.
Write your tip in the email itself: what you know, when, and ideally how it can be documented or verified.

📤 How to send the tip itself

Send your encrypted email to:

[email protected]

Watch for whether we reply with a follow-up question. Log in to the Proton account again through Tor Browser to check replies, never through a regular browser or on a network that can be linked to you. If you need to erase all traces afterwards, you can avoid saving the login details in the browser and close Tor completely after use.

🛡️ What this method protects against, and what it cannot

If you follow all three steps, neither ExtraFokus, Proton nor an authority asking Proton for data can trace the message back to your identity or read the content without our private key.

It does not protect you against:

A device that is already monitored or infected with spyware, regardless of which browser or email you use
You yourself revealing identifying details in the text (name, job title, specific dates only you know)
You logging in to the Tor-Proton account from a network that can clearly be linked to you, after you have used an anonymous network the first time
Physical surveillance or suspicion raised at the workplace, if you prepare or send the tip from there

If you are in doubt whether your situation requires more than this, say so in your first message. We never reply with questions that could reveal your identity to others.