[[!meta title="Encrypted persistence"]]

If you start Tails from a USB stick or SD card, you can create a
persistent volume in the free space left on the device by <span
class="application">Tails Installer</span>. The files in the persistent
volume are saved encrypted and remain available across separate working sessions.

<div class="note">

<p>It is only possible to create a persistent volume if the device, USB stick or
SD card, was installed using <span class="application">Tails Installer</span>.</p>

<p>This requires a USB stick or SD card of <strong>at least 4 GB</strong>.</p>

</div>

You can use this persistent volume to store different kinds of files:

  - your personal files and working documents
  - the software packages that you download and install in Tails
  - the configuration of the programs you use
  - your encryption keys

The persistent volume is an encrypted partition protected by a passphrase.

Once the persistent volume is created, you can choose to activate it or not
each time you start Tails.

[[!inline pages="doc/first_steps/persistence.caution" raw="yes"]]

How to use the persistent volume
=================================

  - [[Warnings about persistence|first_steps/persistence/warnings]]
  - [[Create & configure the persistent volume|first_steps/persistence/configure]]
  - [[Enable & use the persistent volume|first_steps/persistence/use]]
  - [[Change the passphrase of the persistent volume|first_steps/persistence/change_passphrase]]
  - [[Manually copy your persistent data to a new device|first_steps/persistence/copy]]
  - [[Check the file system of the persistent volume|first_steps/persistence/check_file_system]]
  - [[Delete the persistent volume|first_steps/persistence/delete]]
