Twenty-seven open-source tools, organized by what the network is doing—not by product category alone.
Chosen is not endorsed. Security changes; inspect current project guidance before trusting a tool with sensitive work.
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Showing all 27 tools.
The catalog
Full catalog renders in HTML. The situation picker only narrows it.
P2P encrypted messenger over Bluetooth/Wi-Fi — no servers, so there's nothing to shut down.
Became a lifeline during Iran's January 2026 shutdown that cut off 85M+ people.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Bluetooth mesh chat — no internet, no SIM card needed.
Downloads in Nepal jumped ~1,400% in five days during the Sept 2025 Gen-Z protests; Nepal briefly became its largest user base.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Open-source LoRa long-range mesh network for off-grid text messaging on cheap radios.
Kilometres of range with no tower, no SIM, and no one to ask — off-grid by design.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Bluetooth mesh messaging for when the internet disappears.
Used during shutdowns in Hong Kong, Myanmar, and elsewhere.
Researchers found serious security flaws in earlier versions — prefer Briar for sensitive comms.
The gold-standard open-source end-to-end encrypted messenger.
Its encryption protocol is so trusted that even WhatsApp runs on it.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Decentralized, self-hostable encrypted chat rooms.
Self-hostable means no single company can switch your community off.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Encrypted messaging that travels over ordinary email servers.
It rides the email network — blocking it means blocking email itself.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Anonymous browsing; access blocked sites.
Two decades of audits and daily use by journalists and readers of blocked news worldwide.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Run a browser extension and become a proxy helping censored users reach Tor.
Your everyday browser tab can become someone else's way out — no technical skill required.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Open-source VPN/proxy tunnel built to defeat filtering.
Purpose-built to defeat national-scale filtering, and battle-tested for years.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
P2P web browser that shares cached pages across users.
Pages you've already read travel peer-to-peer to people who can't reach them.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Camera app that encrypts and hides photos/videos.
Built for human-rights documentation — evidence stays hidden even if the phone is taken.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Guardian Project tool that adds cryptographic metadata to photos and videos.
Turns any phone photo into verifiable evidence — signed, timestamped, tamper-evident.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Court-ready verified footage capture.
Designed with lawyers so footage stands up in court, not just on social media.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Run a test, contribute open data on what's blocked in your network.
Every test you run becomes public, citable evidence of censorship.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
India's live internet-shutdown tracker, maintained by SFLC.in.
The tracker behind the headline — every Indian shutdown, logged and public.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Real-time global internet observatory.
Often the first alert the world sees when a country goes dark.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Open-source crowdsourced mapping and reporting.
Born from crisis response — mapping what's really happening when official channels won't.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Collaborative decision-making for groups.
Decisions made in the open by the whole group — not in someone's DMs.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Participatory-democracy platform.
Used by cities worldwide to put budgets and proposals in citizens' hands.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Citizen-participation platform — proposals, budgets, votes.
Democracy as software: propose, deliberate, vote — in public.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
CRM built for nonprofits and volunteer movements.
Contacts, campaigns, and donations — without handing your member list to Big Tech.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Open-source peer-to-peer texting for mobilization.
One volunteer, one phone, thousands of real conversations.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Anonymous submission system for sources and journalists.
Trusted by major newsrooms worldwide to protect their sources.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Share files anonymously over Tor.
Files travel directly between people over Tor — no middleman ever holds a copy.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Self-hostable whistleblowing platform.
Any newsroom or watchdog can run its own secure leak inbox.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Amnesic live OS that leaves no trace on the computer.
Boot from a USB stick, shut down, and the computer forgets you were ever there.
No project-specific limit has been added to this catalog entry yet. Check the source documentation.
Take the file
The repository and data packages can be copied now. A verified APK/ZIM bundle is not yet published.
Release package
Download the published datasets or clone the repository. Offline application bundles remain a visible distribution gap.
Practice
Start with a threat model. Keep project documentation close.
Corrections / additions
Open one issue with the source, the use case, and the limitation we should state.
