Windscribe Warrant Canary
A standing declaration, updated daily, affirming that we have not received orders compelling us to compromise our users' privacy.
As of the date below, Windscribe has never:
- Been compelled to log user activity or retain data we don't already keep
- Been ordered to hand over user data we actually possess
- Been required to build a backdoor or weaken our service
- Been required to hand over our encryption keys
- Received a gag order preventing us from disclosing any of the above
This page is updated daily. If updates stop, assume something has changed.
Why We Need a Warrant Canary
Canada is Getting New Privacy-Invasive Laws
Bill C-22 is Canada's Lawful Access Act, and is moving through Parliament at lightspeed. It hands the government broad new powers to compel data, mandate access, and bury it all under a gag order. Framed as safety, it quietly normalizes mass surveillance of ordinary people who have done nothing wrong.
The language in Bill C-22 is vague enough that any business handling electronic information in Canada, including Windscribe, can be ordered to store vast amounts of metadata about everyone using that service.
Other Bills Affecting Your Privacy
Canada's current government is looking to completely transform the digital landscape for its citizens, and sadly not in a good way. C-22 can force companies to store metadata on everyone using their service, but other laws impacting your online privacy have just passed or are quickly on their way to passing.
Bill C-8 allows the government to shut off internet access for individuals, without a court order. Bill C-9 criminalizes certain speech online. Bill C-34 bans under-16 teens from social media, but will require every person to prove with government ID that they're 16 or older. Bill C-36 hands oversight of your data from Canada's independent privacy watchdog to a government-appointed body - chosen by the same government passing these laws.
Together, all these bills lead to a severe erosion of Canadians' online privacy rights.
How This Affects Windscribe
As a privacy company headquartered in Canada, we are squarely in the blast radius of these laws. We built Windscribe so that even if were ordered to hand over identifying logs, we don't actually have any to hand over.
But "nothing to give" only holds if the law lets it. Mandated logging under Bill C-22 would force us to choose between our users' trust in us, and our jurisdiction's legislation. Bill C-34's ID-check regime could easily expand to cover services like ours down the line, something that would completely defeat the point of the privacy tools we offer. This is exactly what's being proposed in the UK government. Canada's legal landscape is shifting fast, that's why this fight is ours too.
Will Windscribe Log Me Under C-22?
Short answer: NO.
Bill C-22 is still not law, and even when it passes, it will require a government order aimed at Windscribe specifically to force us to log our users. The unfortunate part is that such an order can come any day. If such a thing does happen by force of law, the canary above is how you'll know.
In the meantime, we are preparing multiple strategies to exit this jurisdiction so that if we ever do get such an order, it's dead on arrival.
Matching OpenMedia Donations
OpenMedia has been a strong supporter of digital privacy for a long time, and has a rich history of going up against the Canadian government when it has tried to pass similar bills. They have appeared as a witness in government hearings to warn lawmakers about the dangers of proposed legislation, most recently during the C-22 hearings.
They have also been a voice for Windscribe in those hearings, relaying our concerns about C-22 and its impact on Canadians. Right now, they are running a community drive to raise funds for their efforts. Windscribe will be matching up to $5,000 in donations that folks send in. If you value the work this group does, consider donating.
Donate to OpenMedia
