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May 5, 2026

Over the course of 2025, we spoke with activists living and working in both connected and remote parts of Africa. Our research spanned a broad exploration of critical needs for connection—to understand what’s important to support by any technology—and a narrow exploration of the applications for peer-to-peer (P2P) solutions. This paper provides a perspective into what's needed most and discusses technology futures through the lens of activists' needs and realities.

May 5, 2026

September 3, 2025

Digesting Censorship Data: 5 Insights for Dashboard Design

September 3, 2025

On behalf of theBlocky project, we set out to understand how different people use censorship data—from journalists to researchers to advocates. What emerged was a set of themes about how censorship data is understood, shared, and acted upon.

September 3, 2025

April 9, 2024

Growing With The People: Insights from Outline VPN Providers

April 9, 2024

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!

April 9, 2024

March 4, 2024

Personas for Publishers

March 4, 2024

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.

March 4, 2024

March 2, 2023

How Tech Teams Can Prepare for Internet Shutdowns

March 2, 2023

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.

March 2, 2023

December 6, 2022

Co-creating Tactics with Myanmar Citizens

December 6, 2022

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.

December 6, 2022

August 26, 2022

Behind the Beans: Crafting a Coffee Label for Clean Insights

August 26, 2022

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.

August 26, 2022

May 14, 2021

A Guide to Clean Consent UX

May 14, 2021

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.

May 14, 2021

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