Resources for activists

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Purpose: Give your Circle the privacy and autonomy tools it needs for the parts of Circle life Logos does not currently cover.

This page lists only tools external to Logos. For Logos tools and reading see Logos onboarding resources. For staying in touch between meetups see Staying connected.

There is no single right stack for everyone or every need. What your Circle needs depends on who it is protecting itself from, so ask yourself that first. Everything in this list is free and open source unless the entry says otherwise. This is a non-exhaustive list of tools chosen for their relevance to Circles. Logos is not paid or otherwise incentivized to promote any of them.

Talk and meet

• Element: encrypted chat and calls on Matrix
• Jitsi Meet: video calls in a browser, no account to join
• Tuta: encrypted email, subject lines included, free tier
• Proton Mail: encrypted email from Switzerland, free tier
• SimpleLogin: throwaway addresses that forward to your inbox

Work together

• CryptPad: documents and sheets the host cannot read
• LibreOffice: full office suite, offline, desktop only
• Fileverse.io: privacy-focused, end-to-end encrypted document and sheets editor
• OnionShare: send a file from your own computer over Tor
• VeraCrypt: lock a disk, a USB stick, or a file
• Cryptomator: lock files before they reach a cloud drive

Fundraising

• Open Collective: ongoing collective treasury + fiscal hosting
• FundBrave: A Regenerative Social-DeFi Fundraising Platform (Benin Circle initiative)
• Giveth: low-friction direct fundraising, crypto native
• Goteo: project-based crowdfunding

AI

• Jan: chat with AI models on your own computer, offline
• Venice AI: private AI chat in a browser, free tier, not open source

Browse and connect

• Tor Browser: hides who and where you are, no iPhone
• Mullvad Browser: hard to fingerprint, pair it with a VPN
• uBlock Origin: blocks ads and trackers, pages load faster
• DuckDuckGo: search with no profile on you, engine not open
• Mullvad VPN: EUR 5 a month, no name, cash accepted
• WireGuard: fast tunnel, needs a server you trust
• Snowflake: makes a blocked Tor connection look like a call
• Orbot: puts your phone's apps through Tor

Passwords and accounts

Start here if you are not sure where to start.

• Bitwarden: password manager, syncs across your devices
• KeePassXC: password manager, file stays on your machine
• Aegis: two-step codes with backups you control, Android

🔑 Shared accounts are the easiest thing for a Circle to lose. Never share a password over chat, put two-step login on every account, and agree who holds recovery access before you need it.

Blockchain 101

• CryptoZombies Origins: a quick, interactive game introducing you to blockchain
• Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Explained: a structured introduction to the basics
• Kernel: go deeper into the ideas behind crypto and a decentralized web

Go deeper

• Gapmap: free software as alternative to centralized options (London Circle initiative)
• Privacy Explorer: tools, protocols, and projects protecting digital freedom
• Personal FOSS Stack Explorer: what privacy researchers actually run
• Privacy Guides: the deep reference, with criteria and reviews
• Security in a Box: physical threats, arrest, a seized device
• EFF Surveillance Self-Defense: scenario guides, including protests

If you use something that you want to have shown here, add it to the section it fits, with one line on what it does, and say why in the edit summary.

Last updated: 27 August 2026.

See also

• Tools
• Start a Circle

← Circles Charter

Contents

For Circle Stewards →