Shared technology against censorship
Protect people’s ability to participate in the Internet.
People use the Internet to read independent news, share ideas, and keep in touch. Censorship can put all of that out of reach.
Outline Foundation builds and freely shares tools that help people access information and communicate despite censorship.
Impact
Three transformations that expand who can help
Outline’s work has grown from helping people run their own services to making the underlying technology available across apps. Our next ambition is to help more people create that technology.
Make deployment accessible
Outline VPN makes it easier to set up a virtual private network and share access with family, friends, colleagues, or a community. People choose where their service runs and who receives access.
Use Outline- Monthly active mobile users
- 1.3M+
- Outline servers
- 50K+
Reported November 2026. The mobile figure excludes sideloaded installations and desktop use.
Make technology reusable and interoperable
The Outline software development kit (SDK) gives app developers reusable ways to connect despite censorship. Shared interfaces let them combine technology from different teams, so an improvement can help people through several apps.
Explore shared technology- News apps
- 32+
- Circumvention tools
- 12+
Apps and tools using Outline technology, reported November 2026.
Our next ambition
Enable more people to create technology
Effective censorship-resistance technology is scarce. Reuse helps it reach more people; enabling more creators expands what is available. Our next ambition is to make it easier to investigate a block, test an idea, and turn it into a component that other teams can adopt.
See the next transformation
The value of shared investment
Fund a shared capability. Help it reach people through many products.
A useful connection technique can strengthen Outline VPN and other apps that adopt it. Its creator can focus on making that capability work, while existing applications and services bring it to their audiences.
Support the people building it
Fund Outline engineering, or support independent developers creating compatible technology. More teams can pursue ideas and contribute their expertise.
Strengthen a shared foundation
Outline engineering maintains the VPN, SDK, tools, and research. Independent developers add compatible components. Shared interfaces let app teams combine this work and adopt improvements.
Put it to work for people
Providers use Outline VPN to serve their communities. News apps and other circumvention tools bring shared capabilities to their own audiences. Each team integrates, tests, and releases what works for its users.
Learn from real deployments
Providers and communities contribute testing, experience, and feedback. That learning improves the tools, methods, and research behind the next round of engineering, benefiting contributors across the ecosystem.
Shared investment supports both wider adoption and the creation of new capabilities. Its value grows as teams put the work to use and share what they learn.
Ways to support shared technologyResearch
Shared knowledge people can use
Research supports all three transformations. Understanding how censorship works helps us choose what to build and test. We share findings, methods, and tools so others can investigate interference and develop their own responses.
Outline Foundation
An independent home for Outline
Outline Foundation carries forward the Outline team’s work as an independent nonprofit. We develop shared tools and research, working with the developers, operators, and communities who put them to use.
Support the work
Keep the work moving as censorship changes
Techniques that work today may stop working as censors adapt. Your support helps us investigate new blocks, test and share improvements, and help app teams put them into use. Monthly giving helps sustain that work as the challenge changes.