The circumvention technology space is riddled with complexity due to the social realities of authoritarian countries and the ever-changing technical capabilities of governments to block the internet. As censors evolve, circumvention experts and VPN providers must also evolve. The insights of this research report shed light on the social challenges and technical hurdles encountered by both the people using VPNs and those providing them. Dive in and read the full report!

There's been a dramatic shift in the media environment. With an overwhelming amount of diverse content, people have a choice in what they read, listen to, or watch. Audience-driven content, paired with good journalism, is paramount for success in digital journalism. Persona development brings about new thinking in the newsroom. It's a research process that brings a human-centered approach to developing news products.

Anywhere you go, the Internet is an essential part of our interconnected world and is the reason why governments have been using internet shutdowns as a way to gain control. As designers, developers, and innovators of technology we believe that it’s important to support people through these situations. And specifically for usability practitioners, understanding the reality people face will help teams expand their point of view and create a technology more resilient to these acts of oppression.

Over the course of 8 months, we joined Localization Lab to facilitate the co-creation of materials with citizens of Myanmar. Since the events of February 2021, the country has had interruptions in communications and internet connectivity. Power outages have swept the country. It’s become more difficult to be online and to connect over certain matters. Further, with terrorism as the new normal, violence has taken lives and destroyed hope for many.

Inspired by Dr. Bronner’s approach to inject philosophy into mundane moments of life, we wove together our philosophical ideas about capital surveillance. And how we believe people and data should be treated by tech. Our musings are found on the Insightful Beans coffee label for Clean Insights.

Introducing anything related to tracking your users or measuring behavior can be a very sensitive topic for privacy-centric apps. Integrating a respectful, sophisticated consent user experience is critical for meaningful adoption and a happy community. The models and tips presented in this post showcase the consent UX ideas developed for the Clean Insights methodology.

Think about the last time you gave your consent. Who did you give it to? Why? How did it make you feel? In a growing digital and data age, many consent experiences are easier to bypass than examine. There's room for more imagination. To start, let's stop to consider what people want to share.

Close your eyes and repeat after me, "Minimum Viable Data". Let that sink in for a moment. 🤔The typical school of thought around 'big data' is—'collect everything and we'll figure it out later'. The Clean Insights approach is different. It encourages you to be precise in determining which data you need and what to measure. This activity will warm up your brain on this approach.