keys.openpgp.org

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The keys.openpgp.org server is a public service for the distribution and discovery of OpenPGP-compatible keys, commonly referred to as a "keyserver".

For instructions, see our usage guide.

How it works

An OpenPGP key contains two types of information:

• Identity information describes the parts of a key that identify its owner, also known as "User IDs". A User ID typically includes a name and an email address.
• Non-identity information is all the technical information about the key itself. This includes the large numbers used for verifying signatures and encrypting messages. It also includes metadata like date of creation, some expiration dates, and revocation status.

Traditionally, these pieces of information have always been distributed together. On keys.openpgp.org, they are treated differently. While anyone can upload all parts of any OpenPGP key to keys.openpgp.org, our keyserver will only retain and publish certain parts under certain conditions:

Any non-identity information will be stored and freely redistributed, if it passes a cryptographic integrity check. Anyone can download these parts at any time as they contain only technical data that can't be used to directly identify a person. Good OpenPGP software can use keys.openpgp.org to keep this information up to date for any key that it knows about. This helps OpenPGP users maintain secure and reliable communication.

The identity information in an OpenPGP key is only distributed with consent. It contains personal data, and is not strictly necessary for a key to be used for encryption or signature verification. Once the owner gives consent by verifying their email address, the key can be found via search by address.

Community and platform

This service is run as a community effort. You can talk to us in #hagrid on OFTC IRC, also reachable as #hagrid:stratum0.org on Matrix. Of course you can also reach us via email, at support at keys dot openpgp dot org. The folks who are running this come from various projects in the OpenPGP ecosystem, including Sequoia-PGP, OpenKeychain, and Enigmail.

Technically, keys.openpgp.org runs on the Hagrid keyserver software, which is based on Sequoia-PGP. We are running on eclips.is, a hosting platform focused on Internet Freedom projects, which is managed by Greenhost.