Liberato is COSL’s flagship project under our safer hosting priority area. It is a non-profit project to host websites and dedicated virtual machines for clients and communities who may not feel safe or welcome on larger hosting platforms.
What makes Liberato different is that it is mission-driven. Freedom of expression is protected, privacy is guaranteed, and trust and safety is upheld — not because it’s profitable, but because it’s the right thing to do, and the right time to do it.
Name: Liberato
Dates: February 2025 - Current
Description: Hosting that is secure, privacy-first, and pro-creator
Contact Details: [email protected]
Website: https://liberato.io
Type: Managed Under License Supporting Project
Priority Area: Safer Hosting
Freedom of expression protected
Liberato serves a diverse range of clients: nonprofits, fan sites, chat groups, microblogging platforms, art projects, and others who have struggled with commercial hosting providers. Many have faced deplatforming as content policies have become increasingly restrictive—both more conservative and less inclusive. This suppression of free expression is happening on two major fronts:
- A right-wing populist movement is eroding the protections that once safeguarded vulnerable communities—particularly LGBTQ+ groups—on major platforms. As safe spaces disappear, marginalized voices are left without a home.
- Tighter restrictions on sexual content are disproportionately affecting creators, artists, and communities that don’t even identify as creating adult content. Many are receiving bans and content takedowns despite following the same guidelines they always have.
Liberato stands firm against both of these movements to chill constitutionally protected speech. Its permissive but principled terms of service allow almost all constitutionally protected creative content, while also ensuring that its platform is not used to promote hate speech or violate privacy.
Privacy protected
From cyberbullies and hackers to corporate rivals and overreaching governments, personal information is constantly at risk of being exposed and misused. Liberato is committed to safeguarding its customers’ privacy against threats from all these sources.
Here’s how Liberato protects user privacy:
- Independent infrastructure: Unlike mainstream hosting providers tied to major cloud services that are frequent surveillance targets, Liberato operates on an independent network. While it complies with U.S. laws, its servers and system administration team are located offshore, in a data center with a strong track record for privacy and security.
- Transparency and Accountability: To provide assurance that Liberato is not bending to extra-legal takedown requests, every takedown request received is publicly logged in a transparency archive. Additionally, a warrant canary—a cryptographically signed statement confirming that no government data requests have been fulfilled—is updated monthly.
Just as importantly, Liberato doesn’t collect unnecessary personal information about its clients. In fact if a client pays for their account with Bitcoin, Liberato doesn’t even need to know who they are, and couldn’t disclose that information to anyone.
People need to feel that their safety is a priority before they can seek support. It’s essential for our project to provide an online space where individuals feel confident that their safety and privacy are protected, and Liberato offers that.
Kristin Spooner, COSL Board member and program coordinator of a COSL-supported support group project hosted on Liberato
Trust and safety upheld
Liberato prioritizes trust and safety just as strongly as freedom of expression and privacy. Its Trust and Safety Officer brings experience from major platforms with millions of users, and this expertise is available to assist clients at no additional cost.
A key benefit of hosting with Liberato is that no extra charge is made for access to advanced scanning for illegal child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and reporting to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Liberato maintains its own Microsoft PhotoDNA credentials, which can be integrated into client websites and applications. For an even simpler solution, a Cloudflare-based integration is also offered—without requiring personal data from clients or their users.
However, unlike mainstream platforms that over-censor legal content, Liberato strictly reports and removes only genuinely illegal material. If content is wrongly flagged—either by automated tools or external reports—Liberato will push back against improper takedown demands and protect users from wrongful accusations.
Conclusion
Liberato exists to serve those who need a hosting provider they can trust—one that upholds freedom of expression, protects privacy, and ensures safety without compromise. Whether you’re a nonprofit, an artist, a community organizer, or an independent creator, Liberato offers a secure and mission-driven alternative to mainstream hosting platforms.
Take control of your online presence today. Sign up for a web hosting or virtual machine account with Liberato and become part of a network that stands with users and creators, against bullies, censors and snoops.