We recommend using [[*Thunderbird*|https://www.thunderbird.net/]] in Tails for:

Installing *Thunderbird* as additional software

<p><i>*Thunderbird</i> will not be* is no longer included by default anymore insince Tails 7.8
(May 2026) and later.</p>.

*Thunderbird* is no longer included by default since Tails 7.8 (May 2026).

<p>[[Why is TailsYou can installing <i> *Thunderbird</i>* as A[[additional Ssoftware?|thunderbird|persistent_storage/additional_software]]</p>
.

You can install *Thunderbird* as [[additional software|persistent_storage/additional_software]].

A new version of *Thunderbird* is released in Debian shortly after each Tails release, because both *Tails* and *Thunderbird* follow the [[release calendar of *Firefox*|https://whattrainisitnow.com/calendar/]]. As a consequence, until Tails 7.5 (February 2026), the version of *Thunderbird* in Tails was almost always outdated, with known security vulnerabilities.

To install *Thunderbird* as additional software:

Turn on the **Thunderbird Email Client** feature.

<p>To reopen this page after restarting Tails, choose <b>Apps&nbsp;▸
Tails&nbsp;▸ Tails Documentation</b> and go to <b>Documentation&nbsp;▸
Uncensored and anonymous Internet&nbsp;▸ Emailing and reading news with
Thunderbird</b>.</p>

<p>If Tails detects that you have both the [[**Thunderbird Email
Client|persistent_storage/configure#thunderbird]]** and **Additional
Software** features of the Persistent
Storage turned on, Tails and automatically
adds <i>*Thunderbird</i>* to your list of
[[Additional Software|persistent_storage/ additional_ software]].</p>.

Tails detects that you have both the **Thunderbird Email Client** and **Additional
Software** features of the Persistent Storage turned on and automatically
adds *Thunderbird* to your list of additional software.

Tails also tries to install as additional software the language package
that corresponds to the language of this Tails session, if it exists. To
use *Thunderbird* in another language, see [[using *Thunderbird* in
another language|thunderbird#language]].

*Thunderbird* is downloaded and installed in the background after you
connected to the Tor network.

This first installation can take several minutes. During this time, no
*Thunderbird* launcher is available in the **Apps** menu.

<p>If you are comfortable with the command line and [[set up an
administration
password|doc/first_steps/welcome_screen/administration_password]] when
starting Tails, you can execute the following command to track the progress
of the download and installation:</p>

To openAfter *Thunderbird* is installed, choose **Apps&nbsp;▸ Internet&nbsp;▸ Thunderbird** to open *Thunderbird*.

After *Thunderbird* is installed, choose **Apps&nbsp;▸ Internet&nbsp;▸ Thunderbird** to open *Thunderbird*.

*Thunderbird* will be reinstalled automatically every time you start Tails.
Future installations will be much faster since *Thunderbird* is already
downloaded to your Persistent Storage.

If the automatic configuration succeeds, you might have to specify which protocol to use to connect to your email provider, either **IMAP** or **POP**.

- With **POP**,
*Thunderbird* downloads the emails that
are in the inbox on the server and possibly deletes them from the
server. POP is better suited if you access your emails from Tails only
and store them in the Persistent Storage.

Sites often have a feed icon <i class="fa fa-rss"></i> that points to their
RSS or Atom feed.

If a site has no feed icon, right-click on the home or news page of the site in *Tor Browser*
and select **View Page Source** in the shortcut menu. In the source of the
page look for a link of type *application/rss+xml* or
*application/atom+xml*. Not all sites have a news feed.

*Thunderbird* in Tails is configured
for additional privacy and anonymity.