License

PrivacyTools.io is released under the VERNAM License, our own spin on the legendary WTFPL. It is about as permissive as a license gets, with one small ask: copy it, change it, host it, build on it however you like, just keep a visible link back to PrivacyTools.io wherever it ends up. That link is how we keep the lights on.

It opens with a short preamble on why we build this way. The preamble is our philosophy, not a restriction. The binding terms are the numbered items below it.

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VERNAM LICENSE
Version 1, 2026

Copyright (C) 2026 PrivacyTools.io
https://www.privacytools.io

Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim or modified
copies of this license document, and changing it is allowed as long
as the name is changed.

PREAMBLE

We build PrivacyTools.io because we believe strong, free cryptography
makes the world better. It protects the people who need protecting, and
it answers to no one. We release this work under the most permissive
terms we can write, because tools that defend people should spread
without friction and without asking permission.

This preamble is our philosophy. It is not a restriction. The binding
terms are below.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION

0. You just DO WHAT YOU WANT TO, with one catch:

1. Wherever you host, publish, distribute, or build on this work, show a
clear and visible credit to PrivacyTools.io that links to
https://www.privacytools.io. Keep it somewhere ordinary people can see it
(a footer line is plenty), make the link work, and do not imply that
PrivacyTools.io endorses you. That is the whole deal: do what you want, just
send people back to us.

2. Patents. To the extent the authors hold any patent rights necessary to
use this work, they grant you a free, worldwide, non-exclusive license to
those rights. If you start a patent lawsuit claiming this work infringes a
patent, the rights granted to you here end on the day you file.

3. Names. "PrivacyTools.io" and "VERNAM" are names we answer to, not names
we are handing over. The credit link above is a requirement, not a grant:
it does not let you use our names or marks as your own, or in any way that
suggests we made or endorse your version.

THIS WORK IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE AUTHORS
ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANYTHING YOU DO WITH IT.

In plain terms: reuse anything here however you want, just credit us with a working link. This license covers the site itself and our own tools, including VERNAM. The individual third-party tools, guides, and trademarks we link to remain the property of their respective owners and are governed by their own licenses.

Our VERNAM encryptor is our own code, but it ships two permissive open-source pieces, which keep their own licenses. The cryptography itself (XChaCha20-Poly1305, Argon2id, BLAKE2) is built on open, unpatented standards that carry no licensing obligation.

libsodium  (the encryption engine, vendored at /vendor/sodium.js)
The work of Frank Denis and the libsodium contributors, under the ISC License:

    ISC License

    Copyright (c) 2013-2026
    Frank Denis <j at pureftpd dot org>

    Permission to use, copy, modify, and/or distribute this software for any
    purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
    copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.

    THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
    WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
    MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
    ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
    WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
    ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
    OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.


BIP-0039 English wordlist  (passphrase generator, /js/wordlist.js)
The 2048-word list from BIP-0039 by Marek Palatinus, Pavol Rusnak, Aaron
Voisine, and Sean Bowe, under the MIT License:

    Copyright (c) 2013 Marek Palatinus, Pavol Rusnak, Aaron Voisine,
    Sean Bowe, and the BIP-0039 authors.

    Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a
    copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
    to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation
    the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
    and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the
    Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

    The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
    all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

    THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
    IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
    FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
    AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
    LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING
    FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER
    DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.