1Password is facing significant backlash from customers and employees after pledging $300,000 to the Omacom Foundation, the nonprofit that oversees Omarchy, a Linux distribution created by David Heinemeier Hansson — a figure known for publishing racist blog posts calling for the deportation of ethnic minorities in Europe.
The donation, announced in 2026, made 1Password a “distinguished corporate patron” of the Omacom Foundation. The backlash was swift: one viral blog post accused 1Password of supporting “the ethnic cleansing of Europe,” while users on social media sought alternative password managers. Internally, employees also expressed disappointment with the affiliation, according to Slack messages obtained by The Verge.
DHH — whose full name is David Heinemeier Hansson — is a Danish entrepreneur best known for creating Ruby on Rails, Basecamp, and the Hey email client. In a July 21st blog post titled “Wolves, sheep, and gypsies,” he wrote of immigrants as “wolves” and called for the deportation of Roma people from public spaces. His controversial views are not new: Duke University Libraries dropped Basecamp in 2023, citing harms linked to DHH’s leadership.
1Password CEO David Faugno told staff the company “does not endorse hateful, dehumanizing, or exclusionary views,” and emphasized that the donation went to the foundation, not to DHH personally. He also noted a business rationale: Omarchy has grown to become the second most used Linux distribution among 1Password’s users. Cofounder Roustem Karimov took a different tone in a separate internal message, suggesting employees should not “claim a monopoly” on moral judgment.
The Omacom Foundation counts 12 founding patrons who each contributed $1 million, including Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Michael Dell, Jack Dorsey, and Shopify’s Tobias Lütke. DHH himself contributed $1 million to the project.
1Password did not respond to The Verge’s requests for comment. Faugno said the company would address the situation further at an all-hands meeting.
Source: The Verge