🐦 Warrant Canary

A regularly updated statement declaring the absence of secret government requests or gag orders.

Canary Active & Healthy
Statement Period: October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

As of October 19, 2025, PrivVault has:

  • NOT received any National Security Letters
  • NOT received any gag orders
  • NOT received any warrants from any government agency
  • NOT been subject to any court orders prohibiting us from disclosing requests for user information
  • NOT been compelled to modify our client-side code or provide backdoor access
  • NOT been placed under any surveillance programs
  • NOT been required to add any law enforcement hardware or software to our network

PrivVault has received 0 (zero) requests for user data from any government or law enforcement agency during this period.

This statement will be updated on the first day of each month. Failure to update this statement should be interpreted as a sign that we may have received legal orders that prevent disclosure.

PGP Signed Statement
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
iQIzBAABCAAdFiEE... (truncated for display)
=xYz4
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
0
Government Requests
0
Gag Orders
100%
Transparency

What Is a Warrant Canary?

A warrant canary is a method by which a service provider can inform users that they have not received certain legal requests (such as National Security Letters or gag orders) without explicitly saying so.

How It Works

  1. Regular Updates: We publish this statement monthly declaring we have NOT received certain legal requests
  2. Legal Loophole: While we may be forbidden from saying we HAVE received a request, we're not prohibited from saying we HAVEN'T
  3. Absence as Signal: If we stop updating this canary or remove certain statements, users can infer we may have received legal orders

Why "Canary"? The name comes from "canary in a coal mine" - miners used to bring canaries underground because they're sensitive to toxic gases. If the canary stopped singing, it was time to evacuate. Similarly, if our warrant canary stops being updated, it's a warning sign.

Warrant Canary History

Previous Statements

All historical canary statements are cryptographically signed and archived. You can verify their authenticity using our PGP public key.

Why This Matters

Many governments have laws that allow them to:

A warrant canary provides users with a way to detect when a service provider may have been compromised by secret government requests, even when direct disclosure is prohibited.

Important Limitation: Even if our warrant canary disappears, remember that PrivVault uses zero-knowledge encryption. We cannot provide plaintext access to your files because we don't have your encryption keys. The most we could provide is encrypted blobs, which are mathematically impossible for us to decrypt.

How to Verify

1. Check Monthly Updates

This page should be updated on the first day of each month. Set a reminder to check it.

2. Verify PGP Signature

Each canary statement is signed with our PGP key. Download our public key and verify the signature:

# Download our public key
wget https://privvault.com/pgp-key.asc

# Import the key
gpg --import pgp-key.asc

# Verify the signature
gpg --verify canary-oct-2025.sig

3. Monitor Archive

All previous canary statements are archived at: https://privvault.com/canary/archive/

4. Set Up Alerts

Use a monitoring service or RSS feed to get notified if this page changes or stops being updated.

What to Do If Canary Dies

If we stop updating this canary or remove any statements:

  1. Don't Panic: Zero-knowledge encryption still protects your files
  2. Stay Informed: Follow our official communication channels
  3. Consider Options: You can export your data at any time
  4. Trust Math: Even under legal pressure, we cannot decrypt your files

Commitment to Transparency: We believe strongly in user privacy and transparency. We will fight any overbroad legal requests and notify users whenever legally possible. This warrant canary is one of many tools we use to maintain trust with our users.

Contact

Questions about our warrant canary or transparency policies?