Henrique Tourinho

Henrique Tourinho is a software developer, systems administrator, digital activist, and Journalism student from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. His work brings together free software, digital infrastructure, privacy, public information, and projects focused on technological autonomy.

A contributor to the Debian ecosystem since 2018, he formally expanded his participation in the project as a maintainer in June 2025, following an invitation from Steve ?McIntyre. Over more than a decade working with technology, Henrique has developed systems, open-source tools, independent platforms, and infrastructure related to communication, health, public transparency, and digital security.

His work is based on the understanding that technology is not neutral. Through his projects and public positions, Henrique argues that technical decisions can also produce social and political consequences, a perspective he often summarizes with the expression “code is political”.

Biography

Born in Salvador, Henrique became interested in technology at an early age. His knowledge in the field was developed mainly through practice, experimentation, independent study, and participation in communities related to Linux and free software.

Over the years, he began working with web development, Linux server administration, databases, digital infrastructure, and process automation. His work also became increasingly connected to issues such as privacy, digital surveillance, technological sovereignty, and the protection of people and communities exposed to risks in digital environments.

Henrique built a significant part of his professional experience by maintaining servers, developing web systems, managing platforms, creating internal tools, and automating technical and operational processes. He has also participated in the creation of independent digital services and tools made publicly available under open licenses.

In 2018, he began contributing to the Debian ecosystem through activities related to documentation, tool development, systems administration, technical experimentation, and the promotion of free technologies.

In June 2025, Henrique was invited by Steve ?McIntyre, a veteran Debian developer and former Debian Project Leader, to expand his formal participation in the community. From that period onward, he began working as a maintainer.

Since 2021, he has also been technically involved in initiatives related to Riseup.net, an international collective that maintains communication services for activists, journalists, social movements, and human rights defenders.

Henrique is currently studying Journalism. His studies complement his established work in technology by expanding his interest in public information, investigation, document organization, data visualization, and the communication of complex technical and social issues.

His trajectory includes free software projects, independent platforms, public-interest initiatives, and infrastructure designed around privacy, user autonomy, and access to information.

Participation in Debian

Henrique’s relationship with Debian began in 2018, when he started using the operating system more extensively in servers, development environments, and independent projects.

Over time, his participation went beyond using the distribution and came to include documentation, knowledge sharing, the development of Linux tools, and the maintenance of Debian-based infrastructure.

In June 2025, following an invitation from Steve ?McIntyre, Henrique formally expanded his participation in the project as a maintainer.

His work in the Debian ecosystem is mainly connected to systems administration, server automation, Linux tooling, technical documentation, and the maintenance of infrastructure based on free software.

His participation in Debian is also connected to his view of free software as an instrument of autonomy. Henrique argues that access to source code, the ability to study how systems work, and the right to modify them are essential to reducing dependence on closed platforms and centralized services.

Projects

The projects developed or co-created by Henrique cover areas such as public transparency, health, communication, privacy, digital security, and technological infrastructure.

KD O PIX?

KD O PIX? is an interactive investigative dossier launched in February 2026.

The project organizes public documents, court records, and information related to a case involving approximately R$407,000 collected through donations in Bahia. The platform presents information concerning 12 defendants charged by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Its content was structured as a chronological timeline, a relationship map connecting people and organizations, and diagrams designed to make the events and relationships described in the public records easier to understand.

Part of the documentation used in the project was also organized in a public repository, allowing other people to examine the sources on which the dossier was based.

The case documented by the project received coverage from Brazilian media outlets including G1, Folha de S.Paulo, Metrópoles, and Veja.

Henrique was responsible for developing the platform, organizing the information, structuring the database, and creating the resources used to present and visualize the documents.

Corpinho

Corpinho is a free platform for tracking nutrition, health, and daily routines, launched in June 2026.

The system allows users to record meals, water intake, physical activities, fasting periods, body measurements, and personal goals. It also provides histories, nutritional estimates, and information intended to support everyday monitoring.

The project was conceived as a way to give users greater control over their own health records and reduce their dependence on closed platforms and services based on the commercial exploitation of personal data.

Henrique is the founder, software architect, and lead developer of Corpinho. He is responsible for its technical architecture, infrastructure, main features, database structure, and privacy-related decisions.

NTXA

NTXA is a digital security infrastructure co-created by Henrique in October 2025.

The project operates through a network distributed across four continents and was designed to support activists, journalists, dissidents, LGBTQIAPN+ people, women at risk, and other groups potentially exposed to surveillance, persecution, or digital threats.

Its infrastructure uses technologies such as WireGuard, Nostr, and end-to-end encryption. The project states that it follows data-minimization principles, does not maintain activity logs, and does not permanently store users’ IP addresses.

NTXA describes itself as an anti-fascist initiative focused on building independent infrastructure for people and communities that require stronger digital protection.

Henrique participates in the project’s architecture, infrastructure administration, technical policies, and the development of tools used by the network.

Cartinha Online

Cartinha Online is a Brazilian platform for creating and sharing digital letters, created in November 2025.

The service began as an independent project and grew mainly through spontaneous sharing among users and circulation on social media.

The platform allows people to create personalized letters, include music and videos, protect content with passwords, and share it through individual links. It later began developing features related to the physical delivery of letters.

According to data published by the project itself, Cartinha Online surpassed 2 million registered users and 5.1 million letters sent, with access recorded in 56 countries.

Henrique was responsible for the initial concept, software development, architecture, infrastructure, and technical operation of the platform.

Free Software

Henrique maintains dozens of public repositories, mainly related to Linux systems administration, automation, privacy, digital security, deployment, and command-line tools.

Projects developed by him include:

These projects reflect a recurring element of Henrique’s work: turning problems encountered in the everyday administration of servers and Linux systems into reusable tools made publicly available.

Interest in Journalism and Public Information

Henrique is currently a Journalism student. His studies in the field are ongoing and complement his previous experience in software development, infrastructure, privacy, and free technology.

His interest in Journalism is connected to investigation, verification, access to information, public accountability, document analysis, and the communication of complex subjects to broader audiences.

In his projects, Henrique uses technical resources to organize large volumes of documents, identify relationships between pieces of information, construct timelines, and present data in a more accessible format.

This connection can be observed in KD O PIX?, where tools usually associated with software development and database organization were used to structure public records and create a chronological presentation of the case.

Henrique is also interested in the relationship between digital platforms and the circulation of information, particularly the influence of social networks, algorithms, automated systems, and technological infrastructure on public debate.

His Journalism studies do not replace his technical background. Instead, they add a new area of interest to a trajectory already established in software, systems administration, free technology, and digital infrastructure.

Public Work

Henrique’s public work connects technology, freedom of information, privacy, human rights, and digital autonomy.

Digital Privacy

Henrique argues that people should have greater control over their own data and that digital communication should not depend exclusively on companies engaged in large-scale data collection.

His projects seek to apply principles such as encryption, data minimization, the absence of unnecessary logs, decentralized infrastructure, and user control over stored information.

LGBTQIAPN+ Rights

Part of his work is connected to the defense of LGBTQIAPN+ rights and to the development of tools intended to protect people exposed to persecution, violence, or digital surveillance.

This concern is also reflected in the communities served by projects such as NTXA.

Public Transparency

Henrique uses programming, document organization, databases, timelines, and data visualization as tools for making information of public interest easier to understand.

His work in this area is based on the idea that public documents only fully serve their purpose when they can be found, examined, understood, and compared by society.

Technological Sovereignty

Henrique argues that countries and communities in the Global South should participate in the creation, maintenance, and control of the digital infrastructures on which they depend.

In his view, exclusive dependence on foreign companies and centralized services can create risks related to privacy, service continuity, political autonomy, and control over data.

Free Software

His participation in Debian and the publication of open tools reflect his support for access to knowledge, community collaboration, and users’ freedom over the systems they use.

For Henrique, free software is not only a software-development model, but also a way of sharing knowledge, strengthening communities, and reducing technological dependence.

Online Presence

Henrique’s work can be found through his personal website, public repositories, and social media profiles.

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