FOIA Shield

FOIA Shield is a free, public WordPress plugin for submitting public-records requests with defined operational boundaries. It is designed to reduce accidental disclosure, support repeatable submissions, and produce consistent, auditable request output. The project advocates for individual privacy and full government transparency.

Download Plugin (.zip) Start Here

Important: FOIA Shield is not legal advice, not a legal service, and not an anonymity tool. We are not lawyers and do not provide paid services. Do not submit anything you would not want retained or disclosed later by recipients, intermediaries, or infrastructure providers.

What FOIA Shield does

  • Provides a structured request workflow with predictable, reviewable output.
  • Supports repeatable request templates and consistent submission practices.
  • Uses safety-by-design prompts to reduce accidental sensitive disclosure.
  • Includes admin-facing reference content, test tools, and shortcodes.
  • Supports lawful public access to government records without acting as a gatekeeper.
  • Separates plugin behavior from transport, recipient, and retention decisions.

What FOIA Shield does not do

  • It does not anonymize users or obscure identity.
  • It does not control downstream retention, logging, or disclosure.
  • It does not provide legal advice, legal review, or compliance guarantees.
  • It does not bypass agency intake systems or infrastructure.
  • It does not restrict how others may copy, modify, or reuse the plugin.

Install in 3 steps

  1. Download the plugin .zip file.
  2. In WordPress Admin: Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, upload the .zip, then activate.
  3. Open the FOIA Shield admin page to configure settings and review reference material.

Operational posture

FOIA Shield is intentionally conservative about what it can promise and explicit about where responsibility shifts to infrastructure, recipients, and users. The project focuses on transparency in government processes and privacy-aware submission practices.

  • No anonymity claims: identity exposure depends on how you submit and who receives the request.
  • Email creates durable copies: email delivery may result in long-term retention by multiple parties.
  • Infrastructure logs exist: servers, gateways, and security layers may log metadata.
  • Disclosure risk is contextual: risk varies by agency, jurisdiction, and submission method.

Documentation (read before use)

  • Data & Information Documentation
    Describes what data FOIA Shield processes, what it does not collect, how configuration affects output, and where data leaves plugin control.
  • Security & Operations Addendum
    Details threat assumptions, infrastructure boundaries, logging realities, and operational limitations.
  • Standards Alignment Matrix
    Maps FOIA Shield behaviors to relevant security, privacy, and risk-management standards, with explicit notes on scope and non-claims.

Recommended orientation

Download

Download FOIA Shield (.zip)

FOIA Shield is free to download. There are no paid tiers and no required accounts.

Questions or issues?

For bug reports, implementation questions, or feature suggestions, use the contact page.

Go to Contact