Electronic Frontier Foundation

What Electronic Frontier Foundation does

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a San Francisco nonprofit, founded in 1990, that works on the civil liberties questions raised by technology: privacy, free expression, surveillance, and digital security. It describes its approach as four combined strategies: impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development.

In court, EFF brings its own cases and weighs in on others; its latest annual report counts 46 amicus briefs. Its technologists also build free tools. Certbot automates getting and renewing HTTPS certificates so websites can use encrypted connections; as of July 2024 it was installed on more than 4 million web servers covering over 31 million sites. Privacy Badger has about 4 million active users, and EFF also publishes the Surveillance Self-Defense guides and the Atlas of Surveillance, which its annual report says holds more than 15,000 entries.

EFF calls itself a donor-funded 501(c)(3), and gifts are tax-deductible. Charity Navigator gives it a Four-Star rating (98%), and CharityWatch rates it B+. In the fiscal year ending June 2025 it reported about $21.6 million in revenue and $25.8 million in expenses (ProPublica).

Key facts

• EFF's Certbot was installed on more than 4 million web servers, maintaining HTTPS certificates for over 31 million websites, as of July 2024 (EFF)
• About 4 million active users of its Privacy Badger tool, per EFF's latest annual report
• 46 amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs filed, per EFF's latest annual report
• About $21.6M revenue and $25.8M expenses in the fiscal year ending June 2025 (ProPublica)

Before you give

• EFF's donation page states gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law and lists tax ID 04-3091431.
• The donation form offers one-time or recurring gifts, with an option to become an EFF member.