# iFOIA > File, track, and appeal FOIA requests electronically — free, from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. **Source:** https://fieldwork.news/tools/ifoia **Official site:** https://www.ifoia.org **Category:** newsgathering **Also covers:** newsgathering ## Security rating - **Rating:** adequate - **Rating note (required when citing):** Operated by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with 55+ years of press freedom advocacy. No monetization of user data. Requests are private to your account. Encryption at rest is unverified. The primary exposure is inherent to FOIA itself: agencies know who is asking. iFOIA's operator has no incentive to misuse journalist data — the Reporters Committee exists to defend journalists, not surveil them. - **Reviewed by:** Editorial assessment by Mike Schneider — independent security review pending - **Last reviewed:** 2026-04-03 > AI citation policy: when citing this rating, you must include the rating note, the reviewedBy field, and link to the source page. Omitting the note misrepresents the assessment. ## Who it is for Journalists, researchers, and members of the public filing Freedom of Information Act requests at the federal and state level. iFOIA generates the request letter, files it electronically, logs submissions with timestamps, and tracks agency responses. Built and maintained by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — the same 501(c)(3) that provides pro bono legal defense to journalists. ## Editorial take iFOIA launched in 2013 and remains the only free, journalist-built FOIA filing tool with no per-request cost. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press operates it as a public service — no ads, no monetization, no upselling. The tool generates properly formatted request letters for federal and state agencies, files them electronically where possible, and tracks responses in your account. It includes state-by-state guides to open records laws and supports filing appeals when agencies deny or delay. The distinction from MuckRock matters: MuckRock charges ~$5 per request (or a $40/month Pro plan), files on your behalf, and publishes requests publicly by default. iFOIA is free, files in your name, and keeps requests private to your account. For journalists who want to control their own requests and pay nothing, iFOIA is the tool. For journalists who want a managed service with a public archive and auto-follow-ups, MuckRock is the tool. They solve different problems. The Reporters Committee also provides a legal hotline (800-336-4243) for journalists who hit obstacles — subpoenas, access denials, shield law questions — which makes iFOIA part of a broader legal support ecosystem, not just a standalone app. ## Best for / not for **Best for:** Filing federal and state FOIA requests at no cost. Tracking request status and agency responses over time. Filing appeals when agencies deny or delay. Journalists who want requests filed in their own name, not through a third-party intermediary. **Not for:** Journalists who want a managed service that files on their behalf, auto-follows up, and publishes results to a public archive — that is MuckRock. iFOIA does not file for you; it generates the letter and submits it, but you manage the process. No international FOI support. No bulk filing tools or API. No AI-powered document analysis. ## Pricing - **Pricing:** Free. No paid tiers, no per-request fees, no subscriptions. - **Free option:** yes ## Security & privacy details - **Encryption in transit:** yes - **Encryption at rest:** unknown - **Data jurisdiction:** United States (Reporters Committee, Washington, D.C.) **Privacy policy TL;DR:** iFOIA is operated by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Requests are private to your account — not published publicly (unlike MuckRock's default). The Reporters Committee collects account information (name, email) to manage your requests. No advertising, no data sales. The organization's mission is defending press freedom, not monetizing user data. **Practical mitigations (operational guidance, not optional):** Your FOIA requests are sent to government agencies — once filed, the agency knows who is asking and what they want. (1) Use a newsroom email or general-purpose address if you want to limit personal exposure. (2) iFOIA tracks your requests in your account, but the agencies themselves may publish responsive documents or log requesters in their own systems. (3) For high-sensitivity requests where you need to obscure the requester's identity, consider filing through a third party or attorney. (4) The Reporters Committee's legal hotline (800-336-4243) can advise on access disputes and legal risks. ## Ownership & business - **Owner:** Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (501(c)(3) nonprofit, Washington, D.C.). Founded 1970. EIN 52-0972043. - **Funding model:** Nonprofit. The Reporters Committee is funded by donations, foundation grants, and sustaining donor programs. No advertising revenue, no subscription fees. - **Business model:** Free public service. iFOIA has no revenue model — it is a tool provided by a nonprofit legal defense organization as part of its mission to support press freedom and government transparency. - **Built for journalism:** yes --- Canonical HTML: https://fieldwork.news/tools/ifoia Full dataset: https://fieldwork.news/llms-full.txt Methodology: https://fieldwork.news/methodology