[[!meta title="Creating and using LUKS encrypted volumes"]]

[[!toc levels=2]]

<h1 id="luks">Introduction to <span class="application">LUKS</span></h1>

<div class="tip">

<p>The simplest way to carry around the documents that you want to use
with Tails encrypted is to use the [[Persistent
Storage|persistent_storage]].</p>

</div>

You can create other encrypted volumes using
<span class="application">LUKS</span> to encrypt, for example, another
USB stick or an external hard disk.
<span class="application">LUKS</span> is the standard for disk
encryption in Linux.

- The *Disks* utility allows you to create encrypted volumes.

- The GNOME desktop allows you to open encrypted volumes.

<h2 id="comparison">Comparison between <span class="application">LUKS</span> and <span class="application">VeraCrypt</span></h2>

You can also open <span class="application">VeraCrypt</span> encrypted
volumes in Tails. <span class="application">VeraCrypt</span> is a disk
encryption tool for Windows, macOS, and Linux. [[See our documentation
about <span class="application">VeraCrypt</span>.|veracrypt]]

[[!inline pages="doc/encryption_and_privacy/luks_vs_veracrypt.inline" raw="yes" sort="age"]]

<h1 id="creating">Creating an encrypted partition</h1>

Choose **Applications**&nbsp;▸ **Utilities**&nbsp;▸ **Disks** to open the *Disks* utility.

<h2 id="identifying">Identifying your external storage device</h2>

The *Disks* utility lists all the current storage devices on the left side of the screen.

Plug in the external storage device that you want to use.

A new device appears in the list of storage devices. Click on it.

[[!img storage_devices_after.png link=no alt=""]]

1. Check that the description of the device on the right side of the screen
corresponds to your device: its brand, its size, etc.