Whonix Project Transparency
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Transparency - Advertisements on the Whonix Website, Sponsorships. Past and Present Sponsorships, Sponsorship Policies.
Present Sponsorships[edit]
Monetary Present Sponsorships[edit]
FUTO (Whonix only) (2024-08-26)[edit]
FUTO
is mentioned on the 
Whonix Donors Recognition
page. FUTO does not request special sponsors privileges on feature inclusion, changes, etc. The donation was given expressly to help the project. FUTO does not wish to influence the direction of the project.
Power Up Privacy (PUP) (2024-08-15)[edit]
Power Up Privacy (PUP) is mentioned on the Kicksecure, Whonix Donors Recognition page as well as mentioned in the page footer. PUP does not request special sponsors privileges on feature inclusion, changes, etc. The donation was given expressly to help the project. PUP does not wish to influence the direction of the project.
PUP is also supporting other related projects such as The Tor Project, and Monero. This list is non-exhaustive. See the PUP website for further information.
Conditions[edit]
FUTO, PUP:
- Amount of influence: none
- Non-monetary contributions: none
- Hiring influence: none
- Writing code: none
- Suggesting features: none
Non-Monetary Present Sponsorships[edit]
None currently.
Voluntary Listings[edit]
- Search engines (YaCy | Qwant | ecosia | MetaGer | peekier | all): This is a voluntary listing by Whonix and no discussions have occurred with any of these services. Also see this forum post.
Past Sponsorships[edit]
Monetary Post Sponsorships[edit]
EyeOnPASS (2018)[edit]
- Time: 2018
- Where: Actually on the Whonix website only. Not on the Kicksecure website, which did not exist at this time. Why mention this on the Kicksecure website? See footnote. [1]
- Amount of influence: none
- Non-monetary contributions: none
- Hiring influence: none
- Writing code: none
- Suggesting features: none
- Forum discussion: EyeOnPASS.com
Non-Monetary Past Sponsorships[edit]
All non-monetary sponsorships up to 2023[edit]
The past list of advertisements includes:
- Fosshost:
fosshost.orgwas a non-profit organization that provided hosting services to the open source community. Fosshost provided a stage server for Kicksecure™. - Jobble: link exchange. It shows advertisements for Whonix for related searches.
- Evolution Host: provided system administration advice for the
whonix.orgwebsite.
These advertisements did not:
- result in monetary compensation for the Whonix project;
- influence the direction of Whonix development; or
- lead to changes in Whonix software or website choices (apart from the advertisement itself).
When? Several years ago.
Past Sponsorship Grants[edit]
OTF (2015)[edit]
- Where: Actually on the Whonix website only. Not on the Kicksecure website, which did not exist at this time. Why mention this on the Kicksecure website? See footnote.
- When: 2015
- Details:
Future Changes[edit]
Any future changes will be documented on this page.
Sponsorship Policies[edit]
General Sponsorship Policies[edit]
Last updated: 28 August 2024
This policy applies too all equally, sponsors, donors and advertisers.
- Separate Legal Entities: Whonix always remains a completely separate entity from all donors, sponsors and advertisers.
- Non-Influence Declaration: All sponsors, donors, and advertisers explicitly acknowledge that their contributions, whether monetary or non-monetary, do not entitle them to ANY form of influence over the Whonix project's development, direction, policy or governance. The Whonix team retains full autonomy and makes all project decisions independently, without any external influence.
- Conflict of Interest: The project team is committed to maintaining independence and will take appropriate measures to ensure that sponsorships do not compromise the project's integrity.
- No Endorsement: Acceptance of sponsorships or advertisements does not constitute an endorsement of the sponsor's products, services, or viewpoints by the Whonix project. Any advertisements displayed are for informational purposes only and do not reflect the views of the project or its team. Non-Endorsement policy applies.
- No Liability: The Whonix project and its team members are not liable for any actions, claims, or damages resulting from the use of sponsor-related products or services. Users are encouraged to conduct their own research and make informed decisions when interacting with sponsored content.
- Sponsor Review Process: All sponsorships and advertisements undergo a thorough review process to ensure they align with the Whonix project's values and do not conflict with the project's mission or legal obligations. Any sponsorships or advertisements that could potentially compromise the project's objectives will be declined.
- Compliance with Laws: All sponsorships and advertisements will comply with applicable local and international laws, including those related to advertising, data protection, and intellectual property. The Whonix project will not engage with sponsors or advertisers that operate in violation of these laws.
- Termination Rights: Any sponsorships or advertisements that undergo detrimental changes AFTER the initial review will be promptly re-evaluated by the Whonix team upon becoming aware of the situation. The Whonix project reserves the right to terminate any sponsorship or advertisement at any time if it is determined that the sponsor's actions or products are inconsistent with the project's values, mission, or legal obligations.
- Indemnification: Sponsors agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Whonix project, its team members, and affiliates from any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, or expenses arising from their sponsorship or advertising relationship with the project.
- Changes to Sponsorship Policy: The Whonix project reserves the right to modify its sponsorship policies and practices at any time. Any changes will be reflected on this page and will apply to all future sponsorships and advertisements.
Policy for Advertising on whonix.org[edit]
- No targeted ads
- No tracking
- No spying
- No loading of web content from third party pages
- Just text and images
- Advertisements marked as advertisements
- No JavaScript or similar
Affiliate Policy[edit]
This is only a consideration for a hypothetical future situation. Example: a VPN provider would offer sponsorship if Whonix would provide a wizard for easily setting up VPN [trial] accounts.
- Non-default option
- Non-persuasive option
- Installing only Freedom Software by default (no non-Free, proprietary, nagware)
- Transparency about the partnership
- Maybe publishing scale of sponsorship (sum)
- Sticking to fair, nuanced, intellectually honest option about pros and cons
- No marketing lies
- Wizard for easily setting up [trial] accounts
- Easily replaceable with other vendors
See Also[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
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