# Why we made Secure Messaging

The Guardian’s Secure Messaging tool allows readers like you to tip off our journalists about newsworthy stories.

It’s a unique new system based on research by the University of Cambridge’s Department of Computer Science and Technology.

The Cambridge researchers set out to solve challenges faced by those who want to share information about wrongdoing with news organisations. These sources act in the public interest, but that doesn’t mean they seek attention, in fact, they may fear scrutiny or even retaliation. They need a safe communication method that doesn't reveal what is said, or who is saying it.

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Democracy demands information.
Antoine Deltour
Source of the LuxLeaks

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Many of the traditional methods are just not secure enough. And the best of them still have problems. They may require advance knowledge of private contact details. They can be difficult to use. And they can involve software that itself could raise suspicion.  

Secure Messaging is designed to tackle these problems by introducing a system for contacting journalists into the normal Guardian app. It's easy to use and extremely secure. And, critically, every copy of the Guardian app behaves the same way, whether it's being used for Secure Messaging or not. This means sources look no different to millions of other users. 

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How Secure Messaging works
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