The relationship between journalists and their sources is sacred. The integrity, reliability and effectiveness of the news media depends largely on the quality of this relationship. Journalists bear the heavy responsibility of ensuring that the news they present is accurate, fair and balanced. Their sources often risk a great deal to provide this information. A secure reporting channel is very important.

In an age where doxxing, digital surveillance and data breaches are everyday occurrences, the technology journalists use to protect their sources is critical. Applications that offer end-to-end encrypted messaging, ensuring that the content of their communications remain secure and private, are now a must.
The same applies to using only encrypted email services, which gives both journalists and their sources peace of mind that their exchanges are protected from prying eyes. Such tools are not just accessories; they are fundamental to the ethical protection of sources and the preservation of trust.
At the same time, surveys show that many journalists still rely on regular e-mail, various social media and unprotected forms on their website. The main argument against more secure solutions is the price. Security costs.
ANON::form offers a unique and easy-to-use solution as the first point of contact for whistleblowing and news tips. At a very favorable price.
In short, ANON::form is a secure and anonymized reporting channel where the informant fills in a simple form which is then sent encrypted in a secure manner via e-mail to the recipient where the message is decrypted.
The service uses strong end-to-end encryption (E2EE) where the form data is already encrypted in the browser without leaving any traces behind. And then forwarded without sensitive metadata via purpose-built servers to an email client that can decrypt the message.
The message cannot therefore be tracked nor read by anyone other than the recipient.
ANON:.form offers standard forms and secure transport. We recommend Proton secure email as the recipient, but our forms work with all email services and clients that support PGP encryption, such as Mozilla Thunderbird. Read more about email services and clients we tested with our forms.
Our standard e-forms for news tips meet the accessibility requirements according to EN301549 and WCAG2.1 AA and are spam-protected with Captcha. All standard forms have extensive language support and support an attachment, read more here. On our demo page you will find links to all our ready-made standard forms.
To create your new news tips channel, do the following:
- Create a free Proton account (or buy a subscription if you want to receive reports in e.g. Outlook). Read more about how to create a free account with Proton
- Buy a suitable subscription
- Add a link to your standalone tip form in your website or embed the tip form using our free JavaScript library or plugin for WordPress or Joomla
- Inform “everyone” about the possibility of reporting news tips in a safe way
HINT! Create a QRcode with a link to your tip form and distribute it so that your sources find the form. There are plenty of free options, we recommend QR.io as a simple and fast service.