How We work
Discover our methodology, our collaborative approach and our creative processes.Rethinking Technology: Toward trustworthy and privacy-concious Tools
At Tactical Tech, we advocate rethinking technology—from short-term convenience to long-term sustainability—with trust at the core. Proprietary software (black boxes) demands blind faith, leaving users in the dark about data and security. In contrast, open-source software (open boxes) promotes higher levels of transparency, empowering and giving users control over their digital environments.
The tools we use and promote are guided by seven key principles:
- Open Source: Transparent and non-proprietary.
- Trusted: Audited and reliable.
- Mature: Stable, actively supported by users and developers.
- User-Friendly: Accessible for a wide audience.
- Multi-Language: Supporting localization.
- Multi-Platform: Compatible with Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android.
- Well-Documented: Easy to understand and implement.
Some of the tools that we have tested and used at Tactical Tech are:
- Content Collaboration Platforms: NextCloud
- Office Suite: LibreOffice (a free office suite)
- Operating Systems: We prefer Linux in various flavours Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Tails. Explore:Canonical, Red Hat, and Fedora
- Internet Browsers: Tor Browser, Brave, Mullvad Browser and Firefox
- Encrypted Email, Calendar, and Contacts: Thunderbird, Proton mail and Tuta
- Instant Messenger: Signal,Element and Wire
- Secure Internet Connections: Mullvad VPN and Proton VPN
- Social Media and Video Sharing: Mastodon, Bluesky, and PeerTube
- Communication and Virtual Meetings: BigBlueButton
- Analytics: Matomo
- Project development: GitLab
Are there other tools you would like us to test? Contact us at ttc@tacticaltech.org
Choosing sustainable technology involves challenges, requiring investment in skills, training, and infrastructure. Building sustainable and secure tech systems means treating technology as a foundational pillar—just as vital as management or finance—for resilient organizations. Would you like to learn more about our consultancy services for adopting trustworthy technologies? Tactical Tech offers a comprehensive framework to guide your decisions, ensuring they align with your values and capacities. Contact us at partnership@tacticaltech.org
Our values
We always work collaboratively. We foster collaboration, co-creation and co-development by actively engaging with partners worldwide. We believe that working together and joining forces bring forth innovative solutions, leverage diverse expertise, and allow us to scale the reach and impact of our interventions and resources.
We apply a bottom-up approach to create impactful interventions and resources. We believe that our interventions and resources are only successful when our partners localise and adapt them to the particularities and needs of their communities at the local level. We learn from our partners and their unique insights, ideas, and expertise, enabling us to improve our interventions and resources constantly.
We believe in the power of knowledge sharing. We foster a culture where knowledge is freely exchanged and shared through our work with partners and collaborators. By creating collaborative spaces for sharing ideas, insights, and best practices, we build the capacity of different audiences and enable them to learn from one another and grow their expertise.
We are committed to advancing knowledge within the field of the different ways how digital technologies impact society and democracies. We actively seek opportunities to push the boundaries of innovation, research, and learning.
We don't offer answers; we promote conversations that inform societies and prepare them to make decisions regarding how they relate to digital technologies and they respond to the challenges created by them.
The Glass Room exhibition across the world. Photo courtesy of Atiq Hashmi, Microwave Festival, Hong Kong, 2020
Picture of our Exposing the Invisible the Kit. Photo courtesy of Wael Eskandar, Berlin, 2023
According to the specific type, format and goals of our interventions and resources, we follow these principles:
- Creative Commons license: This means everyone, from individual creators to large organisations and institutions, is permitted to use our creative work under copyright law at no cost.
- Open source: The original source code of our creative work and software is made freely available. This means that our work can be redistributed and modified.
- Localisable: Our interventions and resources can be adapted according to the needs of specific contexts and cultural and social dynamics.
- Scalable: Individuals and organisations can use our interventions and resources to train others, creating a multiplier effect.
- Multi-format: Our resources are available in different formats that individuals and organisations can adopt and adapt according to their spaces, budgets and needs.
Picture of one of our interactive resources translated to the local language. Photo courtesy of Dimension Plus, Taiwan, 2023
Young people interacting with the What The Future Want resources. Photo courtesy of North Macedonia Skopje, 2022