Tailscale is an identity-based connectivity platform built on the open-source WireGuard protocol. Devices form a peer-to-peer mesh network, a tailnet, in which traffic flows directly between devices and passes through firewalls and NAT without port forwarding. It can also be used like a traditional VPN through an exit node. A coordination server exchanges public keys and distributes access policies; DERP relays forward encrypted traffic when a direct connection is not possible. Authentication runs through an external identity provider. The service is delivered as SaaS.
Tailscale Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Toronto, Canada, backed by venture capital. According to its privacy policy, data is processed in Canada, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. The clients are open source under a BSD licence; the management service is not. For a European organisation, keys and access policy remain dependent on the vendor's coordination server, while the traffic itself is end-to-end encrypted.