1Password faces backlash over donation to Linux project tied to DHH
Password manager 1Password is under fire from customers and staff after donating $300,000 to a foundation behind the Omarchy Linux distribution, created by developer David Heinemeier Hansson, who has made controversial anti-immigrant remarks.
Password management company 1Password has drawn sharp criticism after news emerged of its $300,000 donation to the Omacom Foundation, which supports the Omarchy Linux distribution. Omarchy was created by David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH), a Danish entrepreneur known for building Ruby on Rails, Basecamp, and the Hey email service.
DHH has published several controversial blog posts in recent years, including one this July that compared immigrants to wolves and referenced deporting Roma people. The remarks sparked widespread anger on social media, with some users accusing 1Password of supporting ethnic cleansing and calling for alternatives to the password manager.
Internal tension at the company
Reports indicate the donation also caused frustration among 1Password's own employees. Co-founder Roustem Karimov reportedly downplayed DHH's comments in internal communications, urging staff to respect differing opinions, a stance that drew criticism from within the company. CEO David Faugno, meanwhile, stressed that 1Password does not endorse hateful or dehumanizing views, while noting that Omarchy has become the second most-used Linux distribution among 1Password's customers, framing the donation as business-driven rather than an endorsement of DHH's personal beliefs.
The Omacom Foundation also receives backing from several other prominent tech figures who each contributed $1 million, including Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Michael Dell, Jack Dorsey, and Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke. DHH himself also donated $1 million to the foundation. 1Password did not respond to requests for comment, and its leadership has said the matter will be discussed further at an internal all-hands meeting.
