01 · Product name
Whonix
Two-VM Tor gateway based on Kicksecure.
Published by ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC.
In short
Whonix is the anonymous operating system that routes traffic through Tor by splitting the work across two virtual machines. The about page says it is based on Kicksecure, with a security-reconfigured Debian base, and that the Whonix-Gateway runs Tor while the Whonix-Workstation runs applications on an isolated network. The download page says it is free and lists Windows, Linux, and macOS hosts plus VirtualBox, KVM, and Qubes. Several architecture rows are marked not available yet. The version template printed 18 and nothing finer. The footer names ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC, 2012–2026.
Product pricing strategy
02
Free
The download page titles the download as free. No dollar price, seat count, or paid Whonix edition was printed on the download page or the about page opened 20 Oct 2026. Power Up Privacy is named as a supporter through 2026. That sentence is a sponsorship line, not a price you pay to download Whonix. Host installers for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and images for VirtualBox, KVM, and Qubes, are the free paths the table lists as available. Rows the table marks as not shipped yet are not hidden paid editions. Do not invent a fee for them. ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC is the entity in the footer.
Utility and features
03
The about page at whonix.org says Whonix is an anonymous operating system that runs like an app and routes all internet traffic through the Tor anonymity network. It says Whonix is based on Kicksecure, and a later paragraph says it uses an extensively security-reconfigured Debian base, named there as Kicksecure Hardened, inside multiple virtual machines. The architecture paragraph says Whonix consists of two VMs: the Whonix-Gateway runs Tor and acts as a gateway, and the Whonix-Workstation runs user applications on a completely isolated network.
- Two virtual machines. The about page says the gateway runs Tor and the workstation runs applications on an isolated network. The base it names is Kicksecure, on a reconfigured Debian.
- Version template 18. VersionShort printed 18. No point release was on that template on 20 Oct 2026.
- Some rows are not shipped. Windows, Linux, macOS, VirtualBox, KVM, and Qubes are listed. ARM64, USB, and ISO rows were marked not available yet.
The download page says the download is free and lists host rows for Windows, Linux, and macOS, and virtual-machine rows for VirtualBox, KVM, and Qubes. Architecture rows for ARM64, ppc64el, and RISCV64, and the USB and ISO rows, were marked with the project's own not-yet label on 20 Oct 2026. This listing does not copy that label. It says those rows are not available yet. The wiki template VersionShort printed the single token 18. No point release was on that template, so none is cited. The download footer says 2012–2026 ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC, and it says Whonix is supported until 2026 by Power Up Privacy. Tails is the amnesic USB. Qubes is the compartment host that can run Whonix.
- 1
Use Whonix when the job is a Tor gateway VM plus an isolated workstation, not an amnesic USB.
- 2
Cite version 18 from the template only. Do not add a point release the template did not print.
- 3
Skip the architecture rows the download table has not shipped.
Caveats
04
Whonix's privacy claim is the two-VM design on the about page: the gateway runs Tor, and the workstation has no direct route. Signing into an identified account inside the workstation still identifies the session. The pages do not say otherwise.
Do not cite a point release. VersionShort printed 18 only. Do not describe the ARM64, USB, or ISO rows as available. The download table marked them not shipped yet. The slogan on the download page is marketing. This listing does not repeat it. Qubes support on that table is a host option, which is not the same product as Qubes OS itself. Debian appears as the base that Kicksecure reconfigures, which is the about page's sentence, not a claim that Whonix is unmodified Debian.
Screenshots
05
Potential use cases
06
- A point release is about to be cited from the version template. On 20 Oct 2026 VersionShort printed 18 and no further digits. The about page says Whonix is based on Kicksecure, routes traffic through Tor, and uses two VMs: the gateway runs Tor and the workstation runs applications on an isolated network. Cite 18, not a build you did not open.
- A download row marked not shipped is about to be described as available. The table lists Windows, Linux, macOS, VirtualBox, KVM, and Qubes. ARM64, USB, and ISO rows carried the project's not-yet mark. Say those rows are not available yet. The footer names ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC, 2012–2026, and Power Up Privacy as a supporter until 2026.
- The two-VM design is about to be briefed as anonymity for any login. The about page's claim is the isolation and the Tor gateway. An identified account inside the workstation is still identified. The download is free. No dollar price was printed. Tails remains the amnesic USB alternative.
Hard cases
The case where the first result is easy to over-read.
An unshipped ISO is offered as the download
The download table marks the ISO row as not available yet. Sending a reader to an ISO the project has not shipped invents a file. Point at VirtualBox, KVM, or Qubes, which are the rows the table presents as installs.
Questions
What is Whonix based on, and who publishes it?
The about page says it is based on Kicksecure and a security-reconfigured Debian. The download footer names ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC, 2012–2026. The download is free.
Which version, and which hosts work?
The version template printed 18. The download table lists Windows, Linux, macOS, VirtualBox, KVM, and Qubes. Several other architecture and USB rows were marked not available yet.
Citations
07
Titled sources. These public pages are what the quotes on this listing come from.
Product
Whonix download
https://www.whonix.org/wiki/DownloadDocumentation
Whonix about
https://www.whonix.org/wiki/AboutDocumentation
Whonix version template
https://www.whonix.org/wiki/Template:VersionShort