How to Install Tails 5.14 on a USB Drive using a Mac

At Wisevu we take web security seriously, so if you want to learn how to privately and anonymously surf the web in the safest way possible without leaving a trace on your personal or work station, this article will show you exactly how to do this using Tails OS 5.14 in under 3 minutes.

NOTE: Tails 5.14 may not work on some Mac models, learn which Mac’s/OS Tails 5.14 works on and on which it doesn’t below, or click here.

Watch our video below for easy to follow instructions on how to install Tails 5.14 on a USB Stick using your Mac. For troubleshooting please read below.

NOTE: If you have any issues in the Tails OS 5.14 installation process, or you want to learn more on how to access Tor using Tails 5.14, check out the below two articles and YouTube videos that we did previously. Even though the below articles are for older versions of Tails, the process and troubleshooting will be the same for Tails 5.14.

How to Install Tails 4.2 on a USB Drive on Mac OS and Launch Tor Browser and watch the video here – How to Install Tails 4.12 on a USB Stick on Mac OS and Launch Tor

How to Install Tails 4.11 on a USB Drive on Mac OS and Launch Tor Browser and watch the video here – Video How to Install Tails 4.11 on a USB Stick on Mac OS and Launch Tor Anonymously.

As per Wikipedia,

“Tails or The Amnesic Incognito Live System is a security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving privacy and anonymity. All its incoming and outgoing connections are forced to go through Tor, and any and all non-anonymous connections are blocked. The system is designed to be booted as a live DVD or live USB, and will leave no digital footprint on the machine unless explicitly told to do so.”

In this article and video, we show you how to Download and Verify Tails OS 5.14 (latest version at the time of writing this article) and install it on a USB drive on Mac OS, completely free, without having to burn any DVD’s.

Tails 5.14 Does Not Work On All Macs

We tested Tails 5.14 on several different Mac computers. The USB stick with Tails 5.14 works on the iMac Late 2013 model running Mac OS High Sierra Version 10.13.6, and macOS Mojave Version 10.14.6. It DOES NOT WORK on the following Apple Mac’s – MacBook Pro 2018 model with touch-bar running macOS Catalina Version10.15.7, Version 10.15.5, macOS Monterey Version 12.2.1, MacBook Pro 2018 model running macOS Mojave Version 10.14.5, MacBook Air Early 2015 running macOS Catalina Version 10.15.7 and Version 10.14.6, iMac 2010 model running OS X El Capitan Version 10.11.16 and  MacBook Air early 2013 running macOS Mojave Version 10.14.6. Please let us know if it works on your Mac Model/Version so that we can alert tails support. You should also report yourself is as per this article to help improve Tails. 

Aside from our above tested Mac models/OS versions, we had Youtube users report that Tails also worked on:
2017 Mac versions
Macbook Air 2013 running OS 10.15,

Other Youtube users reported that Tails 4.2 does not work on
2020 iMac
Macbook Pro with Touchbar (2019)
Macbook Pro Late 2016

But we have not tested the above mentioned Macs ourselves, we will however continue testing Tails on newer Mac versions and will provide an update above.

Got Any Feedback?

Are you having any issues installing Tails OS 5.14 on a Jump Drive on your Mac? What do you use Tails OS for? What is your favourite application on Tails OS? Please do share in the comments below.