Tarfree

Tarfree is a free and open-source software project that aims to provide a secure and privacy-focused alternative to traditional tar archiving tools. It is designed to create and extract tar archives while ensuring that the metadata within the archive is stripped or sanitized to prevent potential privacy leaks. This is particularly useful in scenarios where sensitive information might be inadvertently included in file metadata, such as timestamps, user IDs, or file permissions.

The primary goal of Tarfree is to enhance user privacy by removing or obfuscating metadata that could be used to track or identify files. This is achieved through a series of options and configurations that allow users to specify which metadata elements should be sanitized. For example, users can choose to reset timestamps to a uniform value, anonymize user and group IDs, or strip extended attributes.

Tarfree is implemented as a command-line utility, making it compatible with existing workflows and scripts that rely on tar. It supports the standard tar options for creating and extracting archives, as well as additional flags for metadata sanitization. The project is maintained by a community of developers who contribute to its ongoing improvement and expansion of features.

Tarfree is particularly valuable for users who prioritize privacy and security in their data handling practices. By using Tarfree, individuals and organizations can ensure that their archived data is free from potentially sensitive metadata, reducing the risk of unintentional information disclosure. The project is licensed under the GNU General Public License, ensuring that it remains freely available and open to contributions from the community.